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 key texts and critical debates in postcolonial literary studies. Texts will span the period from the age of high imperialism in the late nineteenth century to the present day, and will be read alongside important works of postcolonial theory and criticism. |
| Course description |
Primary texts, selected from a range of global literary contexts, will be explored with reference to a range of key terms and topics including (inter alia) orientalism, counter-discourse, gender and sexuality; mimicry, nationalism, ethnicity and subjectivity, diaspora, language, the body. We will also consider key formal and aesthetic dimensions of primary texts, and engage with critical debates on the relationship between politics and style in postcolonial literature.
We will also interrogate the significance of the term 'postcolonial' itself. What are the differences between imperialism and colonialism, or postcolonial and neocolonial, for instance? Or what are the limitations of the 'postcolonial' label in comparison to 'decolonial', a term that is now widely used as an alternative?
Indicative reading list for 2025/26
Ashcroft, Bill; Griffiths, Gareth; Tiffin, Helen (eds). The Postcolonial Studies Reader (3rd edition). London and New York: Routledge, 2024.
Ashcroft, Bill; Griffiths, Gareth; Tiffin, Helen. Postcolonial Studies: The Key Concepts. London and New York: Routledge, 2013.
Boehmer, Elleke. Stories of Women: Gender and Narrative in the Postcolonial Nation. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013.
Chew, Shirley and Richards, David. A Concise Companion to Postcolonial Literature. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Chrisman, Laura; Williams, Patrick (eds). Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory: a Reader. London and New York: Routledge, 2013.
Gandhi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019.
Huggan, Graham (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Postcolonial Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Lazarus, Neil (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Literary Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Lewis, Reina and Mills, Sara (eds). Feminist Postcolonial Theory: A Reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2003.
Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/Postcolonialism. London and New York: Routledge, 215.
McLeod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism (2nd edition). Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010.
Talib, Ismail. The Language of Postcolonial Literatures: An Introduction. London and New York: Routledge, 2002.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| 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) |
1x 10-12 minute group presentation, delivered in ALGs, for which each student in the group gets an individual mark, worth 30% [meets LOs 2 & 3]
1x 3,000-word written essay, worth 20% [meets LOs 2 & 4]
1x Essay Discussion (10-15 min discussion with student), worth 50% [meets LOs 1 & 4] |
| Feedback |
The marking criteria for both are based on the "Department of English & Scottish Literature: Criteria for assessment" document available on all English Literature Learn pages. The written essay will be assessed against all three headings (Knowledge, Argument & Analysis and Presentation). The essay discussion will be assessed against the first two headings (Knowledge and Argument & Analysis), as there is no presentation involved when speaking. Neither of the two parts can stand alone, so a student who completes one and not the other cannot receive a mark. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Construct original, clear and coherent arguments about the ways in which primary texts across the whole course engage with imperialism and its legacies.
- Analyse literary texts using recognised methods of literary criticism to substantiate and illustrate those arguments.
- Evaluate ideas from key thinkers within postcolonial theory, and articulate the relationship between postcolonial theory and other critical movements.
- Analyse formal dimensions of postcolonial literary texts (such as language/style; structure; literary devices) and illustrate findings with reference to primary and secondary texts across the whole course.
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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 Madeline Potter
Tel:
Email: mpotter3@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lina Gordyshevskaya
Tel:
Email: pgordysh@ed.ac.uk |
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