EN2C4-30 Studies in Postcolonial Literature
Introductory description
EN2C4-30 Studies in Postcolonial Literature
Module aims
Writers from the Anglophone 'postcolonial' world today confront a (prospectively) global audience. This module aims to introduce students to the contemporary body of literature being produced by writers (and film-makers) from, e.g., Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia, and to situate it in terms of the historical circumstances that have engendered it and to which it constitutes a response. The module will examine the various ways in which different writers negotiate and represent social conditions -- local and global -- in their work, and the ways in which they incorporate and work with domestic and foreign literary forms and conventions. The works will be read comparatively, in relation to one another, and as contributions to particular literary and cultural traditions. Social issues under review will range very widely: for example, race, violence, religion and communalism, land, ‘development’ and the environment, sex and gendered identity, nation and state, memory, trauma and prolepsis, and cultural/linguistic imperialism.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Syllabus for Term 1:
Week One: Introduction to the Module
Week Two: Olive Senior, Gardening in the Tropics
Week Three: Erna Brodber, Myal
Week Four: Dionne Brand, Inventory
Week Five: Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads
Week Six: No class. Reading Week
Week Seven: Nicole Dennis-Benn, Here Comes the Sun
Week Eight: Raquel Salas Rivera, Before Island is Volcano
Week Nine: Xavier Navarro Aquino, Velorio
Week Ten: Reclaim, Restore, Return: Futurist Tales from the Caribbean
Syllabus for Term 2: Sub-Saharan Africa
Week One: J M Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)
Week Two: Ayi Kwei Armah, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968)
Week Three: Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions (1988)
Week Four: Nadine Gordimer, The House Gun (1998)
Week Five: Film: Tsotsi (dir. Gavin Hood, 2005)
THE FILM WILL BE SCREENED ON WEDNESDAY, FEB 7 AT 7 PM IN H545.
Week Six: No class. Reading Week
Week Seven: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006)
Week Eight: Mia Couto, Confession of the Lioness (2012)
Week Nine: Film (screening to be arranged): Moolaadé (dir. Ousmane Sembene, 2004)
Week Ten: Ngugi wa Thiong’o, A Grain of Wheat (1967)
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Familiarity with a wide range of Anglophone writing that has emerged after decolonization.
- Familiarity with basic concepts and methods of post-colonial studies.
- Acquire knowledge of key theoretical, literary, cultural and critical contexts within which to situate the set texts.
- Develop analytical and critical skills through close reading/viewing of the set texts.
- Adjust to scholarly standards and protocols of academic presentation.
Subject specific skills
No subject specific skills defined for this module.
Transferable skills
No transferable skills defined for this module.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 18 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 18 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Private study | 264 hours (88%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Research & reading
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | |
|---|---|---|
| Assessed Essay 1 | 50% | |
|
Topics based on Term 1 readings |
||
| Assessed essay 2 | 50% | |
|
Topics based on Term 2 |
||
Feedback on assessment
Written comments; opportunity for further oral feedback in office hours.
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UCXA-QQ37 Undergraduate Classics and English
-
UPDA-Y304 Undergraduate English & Cultural Studies
- Year 3 of Y304 English & Cultural Studies
- Year 3 of Y304 English & Cultural Studies
- Year 3 of Y304 English & Cultural Studies
- Year 3 of Y304 English & Cultural Studies
- Year 2 of UENA-Q300 Undergraduate English Literature
- Year 2 of UENA-QP36 Undergraduate English Literature and Creative Writing
-
UFRA-QR3A Undergraduate English and French
- Year 2 of QR3A English and French
- Year 3 of QR3A English and French
-
ULNA-QR37 Undergraduate English and German
- Year 2 of QR37 English and German
- Year 3 of QR37 English and German
-
UHPA-QR34 Undergraduate English and Hispanic Studies
- Year 2 of QR34 English and Hispanic Studies
- Year 3 of QR34 English and Hispanic Studies
- Year 2 of UENA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History
- Year 2 of UHIA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History
-
ULNA-QR38 Undergraduate English and Italian
- Year 2 of QR38 English and Italian
- Year 3 of QR38 English and Italian
- Year 2 of UTHA-QW34 Undergraduate English and Theatre Studies
- Year 2 of UFIA-QW25 Undergraduate Film and Literature
-
UPDA-Y305 Undergraduate Humanities
- Year 3 of Y305 Humanities
- Year 3 of Y305 Humanities
- Year 2 of UVCA-LA99 Undergraduate Liberal Arts
- Year 2 of UPHA-VQ72 Undergraduate Philosophy and Literature
- Year 2 of UPHA-VQ52 Undergraduate Philosophy, Literature and Classics
- Available to all intermediate students on non-English Literature degree programmes – subject to availability and must have A level English Literature or equivalent qualification.
- MV21 Law with Humanities