Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies

Paul Gilroy and Postcolonial Criticism

In this course, Dr Zaki Nahaboo (Birmingham City University) explores the topic of postcolonial criticism through the writings of British sociologist Pail Gilroy. In the first module, we look at race, ethnicity and postcolonial studies. After this, we focus on Paul Gilroy's book The Black Atlantic. Then, we look at Gilroy's book There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack. In the penultimate module, we explore Gilroy's book After Empire: Melancholia or Convivial Culture?. Finally, we explore Gilroy's idea of humanism.

Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies

In this module, we look at race, ethnicity and postcolonial studies. In particular, we will focus on: (i) the biological theory of race and how it became discredited; (ii) how ethnicity began to replace race as the dominant term; (iii) Stuart Hall's idea of race as a 'floating signifier'; and (iv) why postcolonial studies is important for media and cultural studies.