FF:AJL16051 Introduction to Postcolonial L - Course Information

AJL16051 Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures and Cultures

The course is not taught in Autumn 2023

Extent and Intensity

0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.

Teacher(s)

Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts

Prerequisites (in Czech)

AJL01002 Practical English II || AJ01002 Practical English II

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 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/25

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 13 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

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.

Learning outcomes

Objectives:
1. To gain knowledge of the ways in which colonialism and imperialism have shaped cultures in former British 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 parallels, 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

mini-lectures, close-reading and detailed analyses of presented study materials, group and class discussions.

Assessment methods

Assessment:
Students will write regular short response papers AND/OR present in class; write a final research paper.
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

The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2023/AJL16051