Fall 2002
ENGLISH
315.01 Postcolonial Literatures
At the completion of
this course, the student will be able to:
·
Demonstrate an understanding of the
interconnections among regions of the world in such aspects as colonial and
neocolonical relationships, human rights, discourses of justice, cultural and
aesthetic developments, technology, ecology, or epistemology
·
Locate, interpret, and evaluate information on
diverse global cultures
·
Demonstrate sensitivity to cultural
differences on a global scale
·
The “G” marker indicates broad global
perspectives on cultures, nations, or sub-nationalities in regions of the world
other than Great Britain or North America (with the exception of indigenous
peoples)
·
A specific course should focus on the social,
literary, cultural, historical, geographic, economic, religious, artistic, or
political conditions of peoples in regions other than Great Britain or North
America (with the exception of indigenous peoples)
·
Curricular issues include matters of cultural,
social, political, economic, or historical change, for example, human
diversity, identity, interpendence, human rights, justice religion, political
systems, ecology, technology, material culture, or post-colonial developments
·
The term “global” carries with it an emphasis
on the inter-connections between regions, whether conceived in terms of
colonial and neocolonial relationships, human rights, discourses of justice,
cultural and aesthetic developments, technology, ecology, or epistemology
Texts
Ordered at the Bookstore:
Chinua Achebe,
Anthills of the Savannah
J.M. Coetzee, Life
and Times Michael K.
Assia Djebar, Fantasia:
An Algerian Cavalcade
Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
Arundhati Roy,
The God of Small Things
Course
Description: This
course will introduce you to a growing body of writing that has come to be
called “postcolonial.” Broadly defined as the literature of peoples who have
experienced colonialism, this body of writing raises important questions about
representation, about the relation of literature to politics, about language,
and about gender, race and ethnicity. We will study five exemplary novels
(along with a few number of films) written by critically acclaimed authors who are
coming from a variety of social and cultural background. These works of
fiction—hopefully—will lead us to think about some of the following questions: How did the experience of colonization
affect those who were colonized while also influencing the colonizers? How were
colonial powers able to gain control over so large a portion of the non-Western
world? What traces have been left by colonial education, science and technology
in postcolonial societies? How do these traces affect decisions about development
and modernization in postcolonies?
Course
Syllabus:
Week 1
08/20 Introduction
08/22 Roy, The God of Small Things
Chapter 1: “Paradise Pickles &
Preserves”
08/28 Chapter 2:
“Pappachi’s Moth”
08/29 Chapter 3: “Big Man the Laltain, Small Man the Mombatti”
Chapter 4: “Abhilash Talkies”
09/03 Chapter 5: “God’s Own Country”
Chapter 6: “Cochin Kangoroos”
Chapter 7: “Wisdom Exercise
Books”
09/05 Chapter 8: “Welcome Home, Our Sophie Mol”
Chapter 9: “Mrs. Pillai, Mrs.
Eapen, Mrs. Rajagopalan”
Chapter 10: “The River in the
Boat”
09/10 Chapter 11: “The God of the Small Things”
Chapter 12: “Kochu Thomban”
Chapter 13: “The Pessimist
and the Optimist”
Chapter 14: “Work is
Struggle”
09/12 Chapter 15: “The Crossing”
Chapter 16: “A Few Hours
Later”
Chapter 17 “Cochin Harbor
Terminus”
Chapter 18: “The History House”
Chapter 19: “Saving Ammu”
Chapter 20: “The Madras Mail”
Chapter 21: “The Cost of Living”
09/17 Part
One: The Capture of the City
09/19 Part Two: The Cries of the Fantasia
Week 6 Djebar, Fantasia: An Algerian
Cavalcade
09/24 Part Three: Voices from the Past (pp. 111-169)
09/26 Part Three: Voices from the Past (pp. 169-227)
Week 7 Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah
10/01 Chapters 1-5: pp. 1-63
10/03 Chapters 6-8: pp. 64-109
Week 8 Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah
10/08 Chapters
9-13: pp. 110-163
10/10 Chapters 14-18: pp. 164-216
Week 9
10/15 Fall Break: No Class
10/17 MID-TERM EXAMINATION
Week 10 Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
10/22 Sections 1-3: pp. 1-60
10/24 Sections 4-6: pp. 61-123
Week 11 Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
10/29 Sections 7-9: pp. 124-185
10/31 Sections 10-12: pp. 186-249
Week 12 Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
11/05 Sections 13-14: pp. 250-297
11/07 Sections 15-16: pp. 298-338
11/12 Section 17: pp. 339-382
11/14 Section 18: pp. 382-422
Week 14 Coetzee, Life and Times Michael K.
11/19 Part One: pp. 1-68
11/21 Part One: 69-126
Week 16 Coetzee, Life and Times Michael K.
12/03 Part Two: pp. 127-167
12/05 Part Three: pp. 168-184
Wrap-up
12/16 FINAL EXAMINATION
*****
Requirements:
1.
Regular Attendance and Class Participation 15%
2.
Weekly Responses 15%
3.
Mid-Term Examination 30%
4.
Final Examination 40%
Course
Grade: 100%