ENH2800

In other worlds: postcolonial literature

M Ackland

8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton

Objectives To introduce students to the literature of empire and the former colonies, to trace how writing is being adapted to deal with changing perceptions of race, gender and nation, and to show modern critiques of imperial structures.

Synopsis This subject is intended to introduce students to postcolonialism as a historical phenomenon and as a dynamic field of contemporary writing and theory. The set texts deal with the Americas, Africa and the Carribean, and Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. They promote discussion of processes of inscription, cultural interaction and strategies for dominion, and of how racial and gender stereotypes can be effectively challenged. Recent attempts to protect indigenous or minority groups and the influence of successive waves of imperialism will also be examined, The intersection of postmodernist and postcolonial dilemmas will be a further topic for discussion.

Assessment Seminar presentation (1500 words) and participation: 30%
* Essay (2500 words): 40%
* Class test (2000 words): 30%

Prescribed texts

Achebe C Things fall apart Heinemann
Conrad J The heart of darkness Penguin
De Groen A The rivers of China Currency
Forster E M Passage to India Penguin
Kincaid J Lucy New American Library
Llosa M The storyteller Faber
Malouf D The great world Picador
Narayan R K The guide Penguin
Pynchon T The crying of lot 49 Picador
Rhys J Wide Sargasso Sea Penguin

Recommended texts

Ashcroft B The empire writes back Allen and Unwin
Ashcroft B (ed.) The postcolonial studies reader Routledge