Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Master Programme

120 credits

We live at a time when questions of climate justice, global migration flows, and militarized landscapes daily remind us of colonial pasts, and how they shape our world today. The master’s programme in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies is tailored for you who seek to investigate and understand colonial practices of power and their manifestations in the past and the present.

Our world experiences the consequences of colonial conquests and discourses. This master’s programme in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies meets the need for critical analysis of the meanings, implications, and consequences of colonialism.

As a student, you are actively part of creating knowledge about the formation of the modern world under the impact of colonial power, orientalist discourses and knowledge networks. You are challenged to critically examine the manifestations of civilizational and Eurocentric discourses in political, economic, cultural, religious, and artistic representations.

The first semester lays the foundation with studies in the history of imperialism and central theories in postcolonial criticism. A broad choice of courses introduces you to, among other things, Nordic colonialism, environmental history, indigenous studies, and the scientific approach of the Enlightenment. The programme gives you training in field study, archival research, planning and leading seminars.

Join a global community at an international university!

The class takes you to all corners of the world through learning shared experiences, the students and the teachers, and the modules in the program. There is a close collaboration with the global research environment Concurrences.

Online and campus

The program is offered online (distance learning) and on campus simultaneously. The teaching and course-work are integrated according to the 'Glocal-classroom model', so that students who participate online and students on campus are taught together, and follow the same schedule. Make sure to apply for the version you prefer, campus or online. 

Career

The programme is particularly suited for you who seek to work in domestic and foreign administration, non-governmental organisations (NGO), schools, news media, museums and cultural institutions. The programme is preparatory to PhD research training.

Degree

Master of Arts (120 credits)

Main field of study: Colonial and Postcolonial Studies

International possibilities

At Linnaeus University, you have plenty of opportunity to broaden your international perspective. During the course of your programme, you can choose to study abroad through exchange studies to gain international experience. If you do, you will conduct part of your studies at one of our many partner universities around the world.

Also at home you can gain international experience. Many courses contain intercultural elements. For instance, in the form of course literature or guest lecturers from other countries. In your leisure time, you can get involved in associations together with students from a wide range of other programmes and countries, or meet international students through our buddy programme.

Learn more about international possibilities at Linnaeus University

A mini global community at an international university

Sharon

– I always say the S in Sweden stands for sustainability. Sweden has created and successfully maintains a sustainable society. I was awed by the fact that big industries neighbor nature. Rivers flow with clean water everywhere. Swedish society is very cosmopolitan, I settled in very fast. I found friendly people all the way from Copenhagen to Växjö when I arrived and they went out of their way to ensure that I fitted in very fast. To crown it all, Sweden through the Swedish Institute awarded me the Swedish Institute Scholarship for Global Professionals to enable me to study here in Växjö and contribute to achieving SDG 16. I am very grateful, says Sharon Muriuki.  

Exchanging experiences with people from other cultures is a valuable part of the programme

- I’ve always wanted to study history, to gain a better understanding of what is happening in the world and why. In my home country, in order to study history, you have to take a five-year programme, starting with the beginning of human history. I figured that this programme, even though it has the Middle Ages as its starting point, would make some connections also to contemporary history.

Filip’s goal is to become a doctoral student

Filip student på Linnéuniversitetet

Having studied film and comparative literature, Filip chose to specialise by studying the master’s programme Colonial and postcolonial studies. An international programme that has broadened his perspectives.

Selected to represent EUniwell in Strasbourg

Sharon Muriuki

Sharon Muriuki studying the master’s programme in Colonial and Postcolonial studies is one of three students that was selected to represent EUniWell at the European Student Assembly in Strasbourg the 10-12 April 2024. Most European University alliances were represented.

Abhilasha's Cross-Cultural Exchange in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies

Abhilasha in front of the main building on campus

During the spring, Abhilasha has been studying on the master's programme in colonial and postcolonial studies. A different experience compared to her studies in her home country. The exchange was madepossible thanks to a strategic collaboration between Linnaeus University and the well-reputed Ashoka University in India.

More information about the programme

Here is a preview of courses that will be taught in the programme. You will study together with all the students in your batch in six compulsory courses, and you will have many elective courses to choose between to tailor your curriculum to your interest.

Click on the courses for more information about the syllabus.

Meet our teachers

Meet Mahesh Rangarajan

Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Ashoka University in India.

You will meet Mahesh Rangarjan in the elective course Modern natures and postcolonial environments

Linnaeus University Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies

As a student in the programme you will benefit much from having close contacts with researchers and fellows at the Centre for Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies.  This is one of the Linnaeus University’s centres of excellence. It is a vibrant environment with seminars, workshops, and conferences to which students are invited. The centre hosts scholars from archaeology, comparative literature, English literature, French literature, history, religious studies, social work, and sociology. Visiting scholars also give occasional teaching in the courses.

 

Växjö – the student city with a living campus

Just south of Växjö’s city centre you will find Linnaeus University’s campus. In Växjö, many students choose to live on campus.

Here you will have five minutes’ walking distance to friends, restaurants, lecture rooms, gym, grocery store, the University Library, nature trails, and student pubs. If you live in another part of Växjö, you can quickly get to the university by bus or bicycle.

With its 90 000 inhabitants, Växjö is one of the fastest growing cities in Sweden. Here you will find the famous Småland entrepreneurship spirit and a lot of companies, for instance within the IT industry – perfect for when you are looking for an internship position or a job. Växjö is also a picturesque city where you are always close to forests and water.

Learn more about our student cities.

Students in house M