ENGL 285 M - Postcolonial Lit in English

Campus: Urbana-Champaign

Description:

Examination of selected postcolonial literature, theory, and film as texts that "write back" to dominant European representations of power, identity, gender and the Other. Postcolonial writers, critics and filmmakers studied may include Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Aime Cesaire, Ousmane Sembene, Chinua Achebe, Michelle Cliff, Mahesweta Devi, Buchi Emecheta, Derek Walcott and Marlene Nourbese-Philip. Course Information: Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.

Special Instructions:

Postcolonial Literature in English - European colonialism was much more than a global system of domination. It demands to be understood as a relationship, however unequal, between European colonizers and non-European colonized peoples. In this course we will investigate how power and resistance are configured within colonial relations and their aftermaths. How does power get produced and contested- By whom is it held- What are its effects- We will focus these questions through the potentials and pitfalls of language and literature. How does English, the language of former colonizers, come to represent diverse forms of non-European experience- How is it taken up, changed, and appropriated to -write back- to empire- Relatedly we will ask how postcolonial writers deploy unique narrative forms, genres, and styles to represent colonized experience. Our inquiries into language and power will lead us to consider ongoing political, cultural, and economic inequalities as well as how nation,

Option 1

Course Level: Undergraduate

Credit: 3

Term(s): Spring