The Craft of Writing

Research and Development (R&D) is a term used to describe corporate or governmental innovation. This course considers the politics of research and the logic of development specifically within the colonial world. We will focus on the idea of “engineering” modernity. How has the colony served as a testing ground or laboratory for scientific and technological research? What is the relationship between this research and social development? What kind of historical framework does the relationship between research and development often assume? Can we ever access native cultures prior to their incorporation into the global circuitry of capitalism and industrialization? Readings from postcolonial theory and science studies, as well as novels and films, will help us consider these questions as a class while preparing students to successfully complete individual research projects about research in the colonial world.