Undergraduate Course: Postcolonial Writing (ENLI10217)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will introduce students to some of the key texts and critical debates within postcolonial literary studies, ranging from the colonial fiction of E.M. Forster and Rudyard Kipling to contemporary novels (from Africa, South Asia, and the U.S.); the dub poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson; and the British- Asian television comedy series Goodness Gracious Me. Primary texts will be explored with reference to a range of key terms and topics including (inter alia) orientalism, counter-discourse, mimicry, nationalism, ethnicity and subjectivity, diaspora, language, the body. We will also interrogate the significance of the term 'postcolonial' itself. What are the differences between imperialism and colonialism, or postcolonialism and post-colonialism, for instance? Or what are the limitations of the 'postcolonial' label? In debating the latter we will investigate points of intersection between postcolonial theory and other critical and political traditions such as feminism, Marxism and postmodernism. We will also explore the ways in which contemporary racial conflict (as evident, for example, in Islamophobia and the global 'war on terror') has its roots in stereotypes attached to the racial 'other' in colonial discourse (and here we will draw on the work of key postcolonial thinkers such as Edward Said, Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak). |
| Course description |
Primary texts will be explored with reference to a range of key terms and topics including (inter alia) orientalism, counter-discourse, mimicry, nationalism, ethnicity and subjectivity, diaspora, language, the body. We will also interrogate the significance of the term 'postcolonial' itself. What are the differences between imperialism and colonialism, or postcolonialism and post-colonialism, for instance? Or what are the limitations of the 'postcolonial' label? In debating the latter we will investigate points of intersection between postcolonial theory and other critical and political traditions such as feminism, Marxism and postmodernism. We will also explore the ways in which contemporary racial conflict (as evident, for example, in Islamophobia and the global 'war on terror') has its roots in stereotypes attached to the racial 'other' in colonial discourse (and here we will draw on the work of key postcolonial thinkers such as Edward Said, Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak).
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 24 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
2000 word coursework essay (30%) submitted mid-semester;
plus 3000 word final essay submitted during exam period (70%).
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will learn to analyse selected texts within both 'global' and 'local' cultural and theoretical frameworks, investigating ways in which colonial writing and criticism intersect with international postcolonial writing and theory.
- They will be able to evaluate how these texts are inflected by the unique cultural politics of the Pacific region.
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Reading List
Primary texts (compulsory purchase)
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, eds. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader, 2nd edn. (London: Routledge, 2005)
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions (Ayebia Clarke)
Forster, E.M. A Passage to India (Penguin)
Morrison, Toni. Beloved (Vintage)
Ngugi. A Grain of Wheat (Penguin)
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things (Harper Perennial)
Tutuola, Amos, The Palm-Wine Drinkard (Faber and Faber)
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Additional Information
| Course URL |
https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
Numbers are limited, with priority given to students taking degrees involving English or Scottish Literature and Visiting Students placed by the Admissions Office. Students not in these categories need the written approval of the Head of English Literature before enrolling. In the case of excess applications places will be decided by ballot. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Seminar: 2 hours per week for 10 week);
plus 1 hour per week attendance at Autonomous Learning Group - at time to be arranged |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Anouk Lang
Tel: (0131 6) 5 50 8936
Email: Anouk.Lang@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lina Gordyshevskaya
Tel:
Email: pgordysh@ed.ac.uk |
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