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Canada is often described as a democratic, “multicultural” nation whose political institutions are capable of recognizing a diversity of cultural identities, expressions, and practices. However, many Indigenous thinkers and activists argue that the politics of recognition that characterizes Canada’s engagement with Indigenous communities should be rejected or refused, owing to the Canadian state’s persistent colonialism in dictating the terms of dialogue, typically in culturally and economically assimilating ways. This Indigenous politics of refusal thus challenges both Canada’s open and accommodating self-image and the liberal notions of culture and cultural diversity that have shaped Canadian political thought. The first part of this course explores the philosophical underpinnings of the idea of recognition, alongside its application within Canadian political theory. It then assesses the adequacy of a liberal politics of recognition for addressing Indigenous-settler relationships in Canada. Our main guide will be Glen Sean Coulthard’s 2014 work Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition, which applies the work of anticolonial theorist Frantz Fanon to Canada’s interaction with Indigenous communities. Reading Coulthard’s work alongside other Indigenous authors, we will explore the challenge of pursuing non-colonial forms of recognition in relation to questions about freedom, rights, property, gender, and political discourse, and to the way that Indigenous authors and activists imagine alternative futures and practices of self-determination beyond the terms of Canadian nationalism.
Dr. Andrew Tebbutt
ICS 153301 / 253301 W22
Remote (Online Synchronous)
Mondays, 6pm - 9pm ET
(MWS, MA, PhD)
Syllabus
Enrolment Notes:
To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register January 14, 2022. Maximum enrolment of nine (9) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.
*Attention TST students: if you are interested in taking this course for credit, you must petition your college of registration to count the course credit toward your degree program.
CANCELLED
