Undergraduate - UnitAZA1294 - Reading Africa - An introduction

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	South Africa Second semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Joseph Minga

Synopsis

The unit introduces students to the study of a variety literary and cultural texts from Africa and the genres to which they belong (e.g., poetry, prose fiction, drama and film). Students will also be asked to engage with the different ideas that critics have used to interpret African literature and culture.

Outcomes

On successfully completing this unit students should be able to:

Develop a sense of the variety of what is possible in literary and cultural studies, and a general understanding of the diversity of modern African literature and culture
handle the critical concepts and language appropriate to the discussion of different narrative genres, devices and techniques
recognise some of the theoretical perspectives that inform contemporary literary and cultural studies
demonstrate the basic skill of analytic and critical discussion, including the technical conventions proper to English
appreciate the historical perspectives and conventions within which literature and other cultural texts are produced.

Assessment

Tutorial attendance and participation: 10%
Short essay (750 words): 10%
Long essay (1500 words): 30%
Examination: 50%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Pier Frassinelli

Workload requirements

One 2-hours lecture and two 1-hour tutorial per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Literary and cultural studies
African studies

Prohibitions

ATS1294