AJ16051 (Post)Colonialism in Literature and Culture

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Thu 11:40–13:15 G31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Course description: Using a cross-disciplinary but literature-centred approach this course examines the intricate ways in which colonialism and postcolonialism have shaped various cultural contexts in both Western and non-Western English-speaking countries. We will look at how some of the key concepts in postcolonial studies – displacement and exile, language and writing, place and belonging, resistance and complicity, etc. – are represented in a number of textual and visual cultural products. Individual units will be dedicated to settler cultures such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, and to Caribbean, African and Indian (post)colonial experience. Assessment: Students will be required to read assigned texts, watch films, participate in class discussions, write regular response papers, offer oral presentation and write a final essay. Objectives: 1. To gain knowledge of the ways in which colonialism and imperialism have shaped cultures in British former colonies; 2. To be able to recognize some of the major tropes, rhetoric devices and stereotypes embedded in the colonial discourse; 3. To appreciate some of the global similarities, as well as differences among the various geographical and cultural areas; 4. To get acquainted with basic theoretical concepts of postcolonial theory; 5. To refine critical thinking;
Syllabus
  • Week 1: Introduction to course policies and requirements
  • Week 2: Settler colonies I: Mapping New Territories. Christopher Columbus, “The Letter of Christopher Columbus on the Discovery of America”, Bennelong, “Letter to Mr. Phillips, Lord Sydney’s Steward,” Edward Said, Introduction to Culture and Imperialism
  • Week 3: Indigenous peoples I: Colonial Representations. James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans and/or the Last of the Mohicans, dir. Michael Mann, Terry Goldie, “Fear and Temptation”
  • Week 4: British India I: Colonial Adventures. E. M. Forster, A Passage to India, Brian Lapping, “India,” from End of Empire
  • Week 5: Africa I: Traveling to the “Heart of Darkness”. Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness
  • Week 6: The Caribbean I: Responses to Colonialism. Derek Walcott, Pantomime
  • Week 7: Settler colonies II: Postcolonial Ambivalences. David Malouf, Remembering Babylon, Stephen Slemon, “Unsetling the Empire: Resistance Theory for the Second World,” Alan Lawson, “Comparative Studies and Post-colonial “Settler” Cultures”
  • Week 8: reading week, no class
  • Week 9: Africa II: Modern African Literature. guest lecture: Dr. Juergen Martini (University of Magdeburg, Germany)
  • Week 10: Indigenous peoples II: Contemporary Encounters. Extracts from Thomas King, Joy Harjo, Jackie Huggins, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, “Imperialism, History, Writing, and Theory"
  • Week 11: India II: Post-Independence Resonances. Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children
  • Week 12: The Caribbean II: A Literary Survey of Contemporary Caribbean Literature, guest lecture: PhDr. Věra Pálenská
Literature
  • ASHCROFT, Bill, Gareth GRIFFITHS and Helen TIFFIN. The empire writes back : theory and practice in post-colonial literatures. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2002, x, 283. ISBN 9780415280204. info
  • BOEHMER, Elleke. Colonial and postcolonial literature : migrant metaphors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995, 304 s. ISBN 0192892320. info
  • Postcolonialisms : an anthology of cultural theory and criticism. Edited by Gaurav Gajanan Desai - Supriya Nair. 1st pub. Oxford: Berg, 2005, xii, 656. ISBN 1845203321. info
  • SAID, Edward W. (Edward Willia. Culture and imperialism : Culture & imperialism (Přid.). London: Vintage, 1994, xxxii, 444. ISBN 0-09-996750-289. info
Teaching methods
seminars: mini-lectures; film extracts; text analysis; group and class discussions; student presentations;
Assessment methods
Assessment: Students will write regular short response papers; prepare team presentations (no more than 15 minutes); write a final essay; Evaluation: response papers 20% oral presentations 20% class discussion 20% final essay 40% Evaluation Scale: A 100-85 B 84-80 C 79-75 D 74-70 E 69-60 F 59-0 pass/fail line is 60%
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 1999.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2009/AJ16051