Postcolonial Theology (THE2026)

Staff	Professor Susannah Cornwall - Convenor
Credit Value	30
ECTS Value	15
NQF Level	5
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
Duration of Module	Term 1: 11 weeks;

Module aims

In this module you will:

Be introduced to postcolonial theory including key concepts such as Orientalism, hybridity, hegemony, subalternity, and decolonization.
Learn about the part colonialism and decolonialism have variously played in the Christian tradition, interpretation of the Bible, sex, gender and Christologies.
Explore how Christianity’s historical relationship with empire has shaped recent and contemporary understandings of non-western traditions and interpretative frameworks.
Examine in detail texts from a range of postcolonial and decolonial theologians and biblical interpreters including those living in diaspora.

ILO: Module-specific skills

1. Demonstrate knowledge of some of the major developments, questions and figures in postcolonial theology
2. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of postcolonial theology
3. Demonstrate awareness of the similarities and differences between postcolonial theology and other postmodern theologies

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

4. Assess the cogency and coherence of the arguments of others
5. Develop and present a coherent argument with appropriate use of evidence and awareness of a range of alternative views

ILO: Personal and key skills

6. Evaluate, organise and present complex material
7. Demonstrate consistency and rigour in method and argument
8. Exercise substantial autonomy in the management of your own learning
9. Communicate clearly in written and oral forms

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction to postcolonial theory
Empire and the Christian Tradition
Postcolonialism and the Bible
Postcolonial theology, sex and gender
Postcolonial Christologies
Mission and decolonization

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
33	267	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	22	11 x 2 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	11	11 x 1 hour seminars
Guided Independent Study	267	Private study

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
In-class assessments e.g. 3-2-1 Countdown	Up to 1500 words total	1-9	Oral
ELE quizzes	2 x 10 questions	1-3	In-quiz feedback
Seminar leadership	Introduction to 1-hour seminar for small group	1-9	Oral and written

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
55	45	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	45	3500 words	1-9	Written feedback
Examination	45	2 hours	1-9	Written feedback
Participation/engagement	10	Continuous engagement with threshold tasks	1-5, 9	Oral
	0
	0
	0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay 3500 words	1-9	Referral/Deferral period
Examination	Examination 2 hours	1-9	Referral/Deferral period
Participation/engagement	Evidence of engagement with threshold tasks	1-5, 9	Referral/deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Beckford, Robert (2014), Documentary as Exorcism: Resisting the Bewitchment of Colonial Christianity, London: Bloomsbury
Brett, Mark (2008), Decolonizing God: The Bible in Tides of Empire, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press
Cuellar, Gregory L. (2019), Empire, the British Museum, and the Making of the Biblical Scholar in the Nineteenth Century, Cham: Springer
Chung, Paul S. (2016), Postcolonial Public Theology: Faith, Scientific Rationality, and Prophetic Dialogue, Eugene, OR: Cascade
Daggers, Jenny (2013), Postcolonial Theology of Religions: Particularity and Pluralism in World Christianity, New York, NY: Routledge
Darden, Lynne St Clair (2015), Scripturalizing Revelation: An African American Postcolonial Reading of Empire, Atlanta, GA: SBL Press
De Jong-Kumru, Wietske (2013), Postcolonial Feminist Theology, Zurich: LIT Verlag
Drexler-Dreis, Joseph (2019), Decolonial Love: Salvation in Colonial Modernity, New York, NY: Fordham University Press
Gossai, Hemchand and Alice Laffey (eds.) (2019), Postcolonial Commentary and the Old Testament, London: T&T Clark
Havea, Jione, Margaret Aymer and Steed Vernyl Davidson (eds.) (2015), Islands, Islanders and the Bible: Ruminations, Atlanta, GA: SBL Press
Keller, Catherine, Michael Nausner and Mayra Rivera (eds.) (2004), Postcolonial Theologies: Divinity and Empire, St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press
Kwok Pui-lan (2005), Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press
Kwok Pui-lan, Don H. Compier and Joerg Rieger (eds.) (2007), Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians, Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press
Kwok Pui-lan and Stephen Burns (eds.) (2016), Postcolonial Practice of Ministry: Leadership, Liturgy, and Interfaith Engagement, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books
Liew, Tat-siong Benny and Fernando F. Segovia (2018), Colonialism and the Bible: Contemporary Reflections from the Global South, Lanham, MD: Lexington Books
Moore, Stephen D. (2006), Empire and Apocalypse: Postcolonialism and the New Testament, Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press
Perdue, Leo G. and Warren Carter (2015), Israel and Empire: A Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism, Bloomsbury: T&T Clark
Reddie, Anthony G. (2019), Theologising Brexit: A Liberationist and Postcolonial Critique, Abingdon: Routledge
Rieger, Joerg (2007), Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times, Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press
Said, Edward (1978), Orientalism, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul
Segovia, Fernando F. and R.S. Sugirtharajah (eds.) (2009), A Postcolonial Commentary on the New Testament Writings, London: T&T Clark
Smith, Kay Higuera, Jayachitra Lalitha and L. Daniel Hawk (eds.) (2014), Evangelical Postcolonial Conversations: Global Awakenings in Theology and Praxis, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic
Stiebert, Johanna and Musa W. Dube (eds.) (2018), The Bible, Centres and Margins: Dialogues Between Postcolonial African and British Biblical Scholars, London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark
Sugirtharajah, R.S. (2002), Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Sugirtharajah, R.S. (2013), The Bible and Asia: From the Pre-Christian Era to the Postcolonial Age, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Sugirtharajah, R.S. (2016), Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World (25^th anniversary edition), Maryknoll, NY: Orbis
Sugirtharajah, R.S. (ed.) (2018), The Oxford Handbook of Postcolonial Biblical Criticism, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Module has an active ELE page?

Yes

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2150

Available as distance learning?

Origin date

01/03/2017

Last revision date

15/03/2021

Key words search

Colonialism; decolonialism; feminist theology; liberation theology