COURSE NUMBER: |
ENGL 358 |
COURSE TITLE: |
The Sun Never Sets: Introduction to
Postcolonial Literature
|
NAME OF
INSTRUCTOR: |
Dr. Philip
Mingay |
CREDIT WEIGHT
AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: |
credits 3 (hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0) |
COURSE
DESCRIPTION: |
Although
the field of postcolonial studies is relatively new, it has already
produced an impressive body of literature and criticism for examining
how British colonialism and imperialism have shaped the modern world.
This course is intended to introduce the student to the key English
literary texts and theoretical concerns in this ongoing discourse,
including questions about race, nation, gender, and cultural identity.
We will also address the historical role Christian theology played in
colonialism, as well as its place in recuperative strategies of
nationhood and equality. We will study novels, films, and other media,
from sources as varied as Canada, India, the Caribbean, Africa, and
Great Britain.
Prerequisites: ENGL 215 |
REQUIRED TEXTS: |
- Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart
(Anchor-Random House)
- Ashcroft, et al. Postcolonial Studies: The
Key Concepts (Routledge)
- Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness (
Broadview, 2nd ed)
- Griffiths, Gareth and Helen Tiffin. The
Empire Writes Back (Taylor and Francis)
- Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place (
Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
- Levy, Andrea. The Long Song
(Hamish Hamilton)
- Narayan, RK. The Man-eater of Malgudi
(Penguin)
- King, Thomas. The Back of the Turtle (HarperCollins0
|
MARK
DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT: |
|
Essay One |
15% |
Essay Two (Research) |
35% |
Library Assignment |
10% |
Participation |
10% |
Final Exam |
30% |
|
|
|
|
100% |
|
COURSE
OBJECTIVES: |
The classes will incorporate both lecture and discussion formats. I
will introduce each text and its critical background, and then as a
class we will examine the text in detail, as well as any supplementary
texts. This means that you must attend class, keep up with the
readings, and be prepared to contribute to class discussions. It would
be useful for you to note what you believe are significant sections
from the texts, and how they may contribute to our understanding of the
course as a whole. |
|
- Introduction/Syllabus
- Introduction to Postcolonialism
- The Canon and Its Legacy
- Conrad, Heart
of Darkness
- The Empire Writes Back (Chapt 1)
- cannibal, centre/margin, colonial discourse,
commonwealth literature, imperialism, Other, postcolonial
- Achebe's "An Image of Africa"
- Said on Conrad (see Other Resources)
- Colonial Responses to Christianity
- Achebe, Things
Fall Apart
- Virtual Visit to Umuofia
- The Caribbean Experience
- mimicry, caribbean, creole, creolization
- Braithwaite, Lamming, Walcott (handouts)
- Walcott, The Caribbean; Culture or Mimicry?
- Smith, "Mi Cyaan Believe It" (translated version)
- Jewel in the Crown
- Said, Orientalism
- Key Concepts: Orientalism, subaltern
- Ashcroft, Edward Said (chapt 4)
- Narayan, The
Man-eater of Malgudi
- Tradition and Gender
- Key Concepts: gender, tradition
- Whale
Rider (film): viewing TBA
- Commonwealth, Postcolonial, or Transnational/Transcultural
- Key Concepts: agency, nation, transcultural, transnationalism
- Topics:
- First nation issues
- King, The Back of the Turtle
- What is a Nation?
- Media and Multiculturalism
- Bend
it Like Beckham (film)
- Review
|