Colonialism in comparative perspective: Post-Soviet Eurasia CEES5092

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: Yes
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course explores issues of colonialism, empire, and postcolonialism in the context of post-Soviet Eurasia. This complex region is often ignored in contemporary debates about colonialism, despite ongoing legacies from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. This course introduces students to themes and perspectives from colonial and decolonial theory, and applies them to the study of the post-Soviet Eurasian region.

Timetable

10 2-hour seminars

Requirements of Entry

Acceptance to relevant Postgraduate Programmes. No pre-requisite courses are required

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Report (35%)

Students will compile a concise report (2500 words).

 

Essay (65%)

(4000 words)

Course Aims

The aim of this course is to introduce students to themes and theories of colonial and postcolonial theory. Students will learn about the applicability and the limitations of existing approaches to the post-Soviet Eurasia and will investigate colonial legacies in the from historical, cultural, sociological, and political perspectives. The course also aims to provide a comparative perspectives, where the students will reflect upon the similarities and differences between the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union and other colonial empires.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

 

Evaluate colonial legacies in post-Soviet Eurasia

Critically analyse how applicable colonial and post-colonial theories are for the study of post-Soviet Eurasia

Synthesise their knowledge of the thematic content of the course to produce concise analytical reports for specific countries in the region

Analyse colonialism from multiple regional and thematic perspectives

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.