Introduction to Postcolonial Literature
Times
Tuesday 10 am - 12 pm, Thursday 10 am - 11 am
Instructor Information
G. MacDonald
E-mail: gs.macdonald@utoronto.ca
Course Description
In this course, we analyze the aesthetic and political modes of resisting colonial power around the world. We study anglophone African, Caribbean, and South Asian literature in relation to race, gender, sexuality, and capital accumulation. Because these literatures comprise an immense and diverse expanse of cultures, voices, styles, geographical locations, and kinds of writing, no single course can possibly represent the fullness of their literary expression. Together, we work on a representative selection of poems, novels, and a play by examining key ideas and modes of expression that have been crucial to the development of rich literary cultures. Literary texts are placed in conversation with key concepts such as resistance literature, decolonization, feminism, economic justice, sexual diversity, identity, globalization, nationalism, diaspora, and intersectionality.
Required Readings
- Shivanee Ramlochan, Everyone Knows I am A Haunting;
- Moniza Alvi, Europa
- Flora Nwapa, Efuru
- Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Devil on the Cross
- Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
- Earl Lovelace, The Dragon Can't Dance
First Three Authors/Texts
- Ramlochan
- Alvi
- Nwapa
Methods of Evaluation
- Presentation Question: 5%
- Participation: 10%
- Critical Response Essay: 15%
- Close Reading Essay: 20%
- Comparative Proposal and Essay: 30%
- Take-Home Test: 20%