Presentation over Postcolonial Theory
For this final project, you will be creating a presentation over Postcolonial Theory. Initially, postcolonial was applied to literature originating in the waves of independence from previously colonized regions of the world (1950s1990s). Nonetheless, the effects of those colonial relationships are still ongoing. An ethnography is a study of people and cultures. So, for this project, we will be studying the people of our 21st-century world. Think of it as an opportunity to display your acquired knowledge and push the ideas past our discussions of the literature There are three parts that you must include in your Final Project submission: Summary: Provide a summary of postcolonial theory. What is it? What is it concerned with? How is it a tool for looking at the world today? Why is it important? Consider when and how it emerged as a school of thought and give concrete examples to anchor your explanations. The goal of this section is to demonstrate your command of the theory and reflect on its intended purpose. Reflection: Choose the postcolonial theme that has most resonated with you this term. Discuss yourself and your experiences in relation to that theme. Be specific, taking your reflection beyond general observations. The goal of this section is to demonstrate in what ways the theories have been relevant to your life or have caused you to reflect on your experiences. Application: Locate two (2) 21st-century texts that you find promising for postcolonial analysis and perform a succinct analysis of each. Remember that a text is any cultural artifact. What themes emerge, and what are the messages about those themes? How does the theory illuminate your experience of the text? The goal of this section is to take the theory beyond the texts to identify how the concepts apply to the world around us. Make sure you are creative. You want to pick a work that was written (or created) in the 21st century (so 2000 onward) that explores post-colonial themes. This does not mean you have to pick a book. You can pick a few photographs, a movie or two, etc. I know the assignment says texts, but it also specifies that text refers to any cultural artifact, so seriously, have fun with it. Some fun ideas: poetry The Hunger Games (movies or books) Zootopia Moana Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive Series Game of Thrones (series or books) Black Panther Really, if you can explain the connection to post-colonialism, it will be approved. You also want to consider how it is going to come across to the audience. Add music, narrate your presentations, etc. Just make sure you consider the visuals and what it will look like. Ask someone else to review your presentation before you submit it, so you get it from the perspective of its delivery from a different point of view. Make sure you include a references slide at the end. There is not a minimum number or maximum number of slides, use as many as you need to get your point across, but I would expect there to be at least one slide per topic.
