Indian Literature in English (VS1) (U03281)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LLC-4-U03271

This course, which will be taught by Michelle Keown, will explore a variety of Indian literature in English, ranging from the late nineteenth-century to the present day. We will begin the course by considering the writing of the British Raj, focusing on a selection of poetry and prose pieces written by British colonial officials, followed by Rudyard Kipling’s Plain Tales from the Hills (1888), a short story collection written out of his experiences as a journalist in India. We will also discuss Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s Heat and Dust (1975), which details the experiences of two British women, one living in India in the 1920s, and one travelling to post-independence India in the 1970s. (The Merchant/Ivory 1983 film version of Heat and Dust will also be viewed and discussed at this point.) For the remainder of the course we will look at a variety of pre- and post-independence texts by native Indian writers, beginning with Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable (1935) and concluding with a range of Indian poetry and prose published since 2000.

Entry Requirements

? This course is only available to part year visiting students.

? This course is a variant of the following course : U03271

? Special Arrangements for Entry : Students require the approval of EITHER the Visiting Undergraduate Admissions Office OR the head of English Literature before enrolling.

? Costs : Essential course texts.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 1 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The broadly chronological arrangement of course texts will allow students to evaluate course material with specific reference to cultural and political developments in India’s colonial and post-colonial history. Further, in order to provide a theoretical foundation for the study of course texts, we will examine some key aspects of postcolonial theory, including the work of Indian theorists such as Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha. By the end of the course, students will be able to evaluate course texts both in terms of their place within the cultural and political history of the Indian subcontinent, and also within a wider global context.