Empire, Technoscience and Violence

Overview

This module explores the relations between imperial violence and technoscience. Science and technology are often understood as symbols of modernity and essential tools to build progressive, peaceful and equal societies. This module challenges this claim by foregrounding the central role of technoscience to practices and ideologies of empire, historically as well as today. It examines how ideas of scientific progress and technological dominance have long been politicised to frame some peoples, subjects and knowledges as inferior, and to justify violence against them. Students will have the opportunity to engage with interdisciplinary concepts and frameworks to analyse disparate configurations of science, technology, and imperial violence, both in historical settings – e.g. imperial wars, slavery, scientific racism – and contemporary issues – e.g. neo-colonial occupation, Indigenous knowledges and environmental justice, AI and predictive policing, science fiction and space colonisation. Overall, the module shows how the connections between science, technology and empire have shaped global politics and society, and asks how they are reproduced, transformed or challenged through new forms of war, security and violence today.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:



1. Understand and discuss the shifting relations between science, technology, and empire in world politics in connection to historical and contemporary issues.

2. Critically assess, synthesise, and apply key interdisciplinary frameworks and debates on the study of empire, technoscience, and violence.

3. Demonstrate how the nexus between technoscience and imperial violence has shaped global politics historically and continues to shape relations of power today (e.g. in connection to race, gender, sexuality, class).

4. Analyse how colonial logics inform technoscientific practices of war, security and violence, as well as shared imaginaries about the role of science and technology in society (e.g. in popular culture, arts, literature).

5. Engage relevant theoretical and empirical sources critically and creatively in order to discuss how the connections between technoscience and empire have been or can be resisted and challenged.

Skills

- Assess and synthesise complex theoretical arguments in relation to historical and contemporary global issues, both orally and in writing.

- Engage critically and creatively with debates and issues in the field, and develop one’s independent position in ways that cut across traditional disciplinary and thematic boundaries.

- Communicate complex ideas and original arguments clearly in written and oral form, both individually and in teams.

- Discuss sensitive political issues in ways that recognise and respect diverse perspectives, cultures, and lived experiences in the learning environment.

- Direct one’s own learning journey by reflecting on progress, identifying learning needs and addressing areas for improvement.

- Organise large amounts of information and negotiate diverse commitments to work efficiently to deadlines.

Assessment