Aimé Césaire, "Discourse on Colonialism"

23 Fevereiro 2026, 12:30 • Chiara Nifosi

Introduction to Césaire's text: Césaire's biography, the context of the "Discourse" and the postwar process of decolonization. The first part: the false equivalence of colonization and civilization; reframing the contact between cultures and civilizations. 

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Haiti: historical introduction

11 Fevereiro 2026, 12:30 • Chiara Nifosi

Pre-revolutionary Haiti and the Revolutionary Wars: historical overview. Baron the Vastey: excerpt from "The Colonial System Unveiled".

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Course introduction

9 Fevereiro 2026, 12:30 • Chiara Nifosi

Introduction of course, weekly syllabus and assessment:

Course attendance and participation (10%): students are required to attend regularly during the semester, read the materials assigned for each class, and actively participate in the class discussion.

Midterm response paper (20%): students will be asked to react to one or more passages drawn from the readings tackled in the first part of the semester (600-800 words). Deadline for submission: April 10.

Weekly comments on Moodle (30%): (a total of 8 comments during the semester, cf. Moodle platform) students will be required to post weekly comments in the Discussion threads opened for each corresponding week on Moodle. Students are required to share individual posts of 150-200 words in either English, Portuguese or French with their reflections and/or questions in relation to the reading assigned for the Monday session.

Final in-class exam (40%): this assignment will consist in a final test with open questions. The final exam will take place on May 25.

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