Special Author – J.M. Coetzee – 2014/15 Module Description This module will explore the fiction and essays of the Nobel-Prize winning South African writer J.M. Coetzee. It will consider a range of his work, from the early Dusklands to the most recent The Childhood of Jesus, in relation to the particular socio-historical and cultural contexts in which it has been produced and consumed. As such, students will explore his writing by attending to the specific conditions of and discourses associated with Apartheid and post-Apartheid South Africa. In addition, we will discuss Coetzee's subsequent emigration to Australia and how this has may have affected his literary output. These speculations will resonate with longstanding debates concerning the 'ethics' of his writing and our reading of it. Whilst the module will foreground Coetzee's fiction, students will also engage with his non-fictional work, including essays which cover everything from the role of sport in contemporary South Africa to the particularities of literary censorship under Apartheid. Given the density and complexity of Coetzee's writing, this module will have a substantial theoretical component, drawing on some of the most pioneering work being conducted in contemporary South African literary studies, as well as postcolonial theory more broadly. This will enable us to address the significant because significantly problematic question of whether it is appropriate to define Coetzee as a postcolonial writer. Learning Outcomes Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of Coetzee's oeuvre, including his major works of fiction, essays and criticism. Show an ability to situate Coetzee's work within the particular socio-political, historical, cultural, ideological and intellectual contexts of its production and reception. Show an awareness of the significance and contribution of Coetzee's work within a national (South African) and international context, as well as the ways in which his reputation has been established and reproduced via these networks. Understand and critically analyse the formal and generic developments in Coetzee's work. Organise complex material in an extended piece of written work, illustrating independent research, the use of a bibliography et al. Indicative Reading List Week 1 - Introduction to Coetzee and debates within contemporary SA literature - selected essays from Coetzee and other critics Week 2 - Dusklands Week 3 - In the Heart of the Country Week 4 - Waiting for the Barbarians Week 5 - Life and Times of Michael K Week 6 - Foe Week 7 - Assessment Week Week 8 - Disgrace Week 9 - Scenes from Provincial Life (3 novels in one collection - Boyhood, Youth and Summertime) Week 10 - Elizabeth Costello Week 11 - Diary of a Bad Year Week 12 - The Childhood of Jesus Indicative Resource List Collections of Coetzee essays and interviews: White Writing Doubling the Point: Essays and Interviews Giving Offense Stranger Shores: Essays 1986-1999 Essential Critical Collections Derek Attridge, J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading: Literature in the Event (2005) David Attwell, J.M. Coetzee: South Africa and the Politics of Writing (1993) Elleke Boehmer, Katy Iddiols and Robert Eaglestone, J.M. Coetzee in Context and Theory (2011) Jarad Zimbler, J.M. Coetzee and the Politics of Style (2014) – ISNB-10: 1107046254 Katherine Hallemeir, J.M. Coetzee and the Limits of Cosmpolitanism (2013) – ISBN-10: 113735254X A Companion to the Works of J.M. Coetzee, ed. Tim Mehigan (2014) – ISBN-10: 1571139028 Carrol Clarkson, J.M. Coetzee: Countervoices (2013) – ISBN-10: 1137357339 Dominic Head, The Cambridge Introduction to J.M. Coetzee (2009) – ISBN-10: 0521687098 Rosemary Jolly, Colonization, Violation and Narration in White South African Writing: Andre Brink, Breyten Breytenbach and J.M. Coetzee (1996) – ISBN-10: 0821411314 Mike Marais, Secretary of the Invisible: The Idea of Hospitality in the Fiction of J.M. Coetzee (2009) – ISBN-10: 9042027126 Susan Gallagher, A Story of South Africa: J.M. Coetzee’s Fiction in Context (2013) – ISBN-10: 0674281454 Strong Opinions: J.M. Coetzee and the Authority of Contemporary Fiction, eds. Chris Danta, Sue Kossew and Julian Murphet (2013) – ISBN-10: 1623569583 Hania A.M. Nashef, The Politics of Humiliation in the Novels of J.M. Coetzee (2012) – ISBN-10: 041565260X Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any outstanding concerns or questions about this module. John Masterson j.e.masterson@sussex.ac.uk