Waiting for the Barbarians Lesson Plan

Waiting for the Barbarians is an anti-colonial novel that explores themes including cyclical history, sexuality, power, colonialism, and xenophobia. The novel is written from the perspective of an unnamed man called the magistrate who lives on an outpost of a fictional Empire. As the Empire begins a more militaristic and hostile approach to dealing with the so-called "barbarians" (a catch-all term used for people who live outside the Empire), the magistrate begins to doubt and ultimately push back against the mission of the Empire while constantly questioning his own motives and the efficacy of his actions.