Third World Literary and Artistic Production 1
Literary and Artistic Productions of the Third World:
Performing Nationalism and Sovereignty
FRSEM-UA 589-001
Spring 2016
Instructor: Eman S. Morsi
Office: 19 University Place, room B07
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00-3:00pm
Course Time: Thursdays 3:30pm-6:00pm
Course Location: 194 Mercer Street, Room 208
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The 1950s and 1960s saw the rise of national liberation movements in what came to be known as
the Third World. These movements fought for the sovereignty of “the people” – the masses
deprived of their freedom and dignity by imperialism, dictatorship or feudalism. But these
movements were not merely political; they also brought forth literary and artistic vanguards and
experiments. Thus, Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s novels gave voice to silenced Indonesian histories
during and after European colonialism; Pablo Neruda’s poetry helped construct not only a
Chilean identity but also a pan-Latin American one that stood against political and economic
oppression; and Alfred Faraj’s development of a politically committed theatre created a space for
the expression of daily struggles for social and political justice in Egypt and the Arab world.
The sociopolitical and economic upheavals of the mid-20th century thus went hand in hand with
the emergence of national theatres, folk dance troupes and the proliferation of patriotic songs.
As the interests of the common man were prioritized in the political arena, the cultural scene
produced an aesthetic of everyday life in new works and experimental movements— in Syria,
with the socialist realism of Sa’dallah Wannous’ plays; in Nigeria, with the folkloric recoding of
Chinua Achebe's novels, or in Cuba, with the advent of Julio Garcia Espinosa’s “imperfect
cinema” and documentary style. Ironically, since many of the decolonization movements were
led by militant authoritarian figures, the period also saw a rise in populist and propagandist arts
that helped establish and enforce different personality cults. These, too, had their aesthetic and
mass culture ambitions.
Who are “the people” and what does it mean to become a nation? How are nationalism and
sovereignty performed in the cultural sphere? What were the main literary and artistic trends that
emerged from such movements, and how did these works inform them in return? What kind of
utopian or dystopian worlds did the writers and artists of the time portray? Why did the quotidian
and the “everyman” become central to so much of the literature of the time? We will take up
these questions as we survey the main literary and cultural trends of a period of great
sociopolitical and aesthetic influence.
CLASS MATERIALS:
All articles, short stories, poetry, and short-length visual material will be made available through
NYU classes. Novels can be bought from any online or store outlets. They will also be available
at NYU’s library reserves. Feature films and long documentaries will be made available at
Bobst’s Avery Fischer Center for viewing.
Third World Literary and Artistic Production 2
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION:
Punctuality, regular attendance, and participation in class discussions are a must. If you have to
miss a class because of illness or religious observance, please notify me (preferably prior to your
absence). If a student misses more than two classes without explanation, their final grade will
drop by one half letter grade.
All required readings have to be completed in advance of the session. Students are expected to
contribute thoughtfully to the class discussion and to engage with the issues raised or arguments
made by their fellow students after they have listened respectfully and attentively to them.
ASSIGNMENTS:
 You will be required to write (a) three short papers (3 pages each); (b) one research paper
proposal and outline; and (c) one research paper (10 pages).
 Papers should be submitted through the “assignments” tab on NYU Classes.
 Please note that, barring sudden illness or death in the family, no late submissions will be
accepted.
LITERARY CRITIQUE: DUE FEB 25TH
Provide a close reading of one of the novels or two of the poems assigned linking the work(s)
to the larger themes and literary trends with which they engaged.
ANALYSIS OF A PERFORMANCE: DUE MAR 24TH
Choose a song or a folk dance performance from the assigned material to analyze with
special focus on its sociopolitical message and implications.
FILM REVIEW: DUE APR 14TH
Choose one of the films and review it by discussing the cinematic techniques used, the
historical moment within which it was produced, and its cultural significance (trend-setting,
reception etc).
PRESENTATION: A 10 minute presentation on any of the secondary sources (articles/book
chapters etc) assigned on a given week. A sign-up sheet with presentation slots will be
provided online after the first session.
RESEARCH PAPER:
 APRIL 21ST: Paper Proposal
 APRIL 28TH: Paper Outline
 MAY 12TH: Final paper due
STYLE SHEET SPECIFICATIONS:
 Font: 12-point Times New Roman
 Double Spaced
 One inch margins
 MLA, APA or Chicago style citations (whichever you choose, please be systematic).
Third World Literary and Artistic Production 3
GRADE DISTRIBUTION:
 Participation 15%
 Presentation 15%
 Literary critique (3 pages) 15%
 Analysis of a performance (3 pages) 15%
 Film review (3 pages) 15%
 Research paper proposal and outline 5%
 Research paper (10 pages) 20%
Required Books:
(Please note that these books will also be made available on reserve at Bobst Library)
 Geoffrey Chamberlain, Decolonization: The Fall of the European Empires
 Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Child of All Nations
 Chinua Achebe, A Man of the People
Third World Literary and Artistic Production 4
Course Schedule
Week One (Jan 28th): Introduction/Colonialism:
 Introduction: What is the Third World? History of the term
 Geoffrey Chamberlain, Decolonization: The Fall of the European Empires (pp 1-64)
Week Two (Feb 4th): Colonialism/Decolonization:
 Geoffrey Chamberlain, Decolonization: The Fall of the European Empires (pp 65-118)
Week Three (Feb 11th): Decolonization
 Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Child of All Nations (Novel)
Key Words: national consciousness, justice, equality, race, hierarchies
Week Four (Feb 18th): The postcolonial nation-state/The rise of national poets
 Pablo Neruda (poetry selections TBA)
 Benedict Anderson, “Cultural Roots” in Imagined Communities: Reflections on the
Origin and Spread of Nationalism (pp.9-37)
Key Words: national poets/Aesthetics of the everyday/ political commitment/socialist realism
Week Five (Feb 25th): The postcolonial nation-state
Literary Analysis due
 Chronicle of the Years of Embers (Film)
 Benedict Anderson, “Official Nationalism and Imperialism” in Imagined Communities:
Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (pp.83-113)
Key Words: Revisiting the past, national epics
Week Six (Mar 3rd): Performing the Nation: Song
 Selected songs TBA
 Krishna Sen, “Nation, ‘No-Nation’ and ‘Desh’: Post-Orientalism and the National
Allegory in Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown and Vassanji’s The Assassin’s Song” in
Writing India Anew (pp75-92)
 Fernando Rios, “Bolero Trios, Mestizo Panpipe Ensembles, and Bolivia’s 1952
Revolution: Urban La Paz Musicians and the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement” (pp.
281-317)
Key Words: National hymns, Marching band music, Civic religion
Week Seven (Mar 10th): Performing the Nation: Dance
 National Folk Dance Troupes (selected clips)
 Chang-Tai Hung, “Yangge: The Dance of Revolution” in Mao’s New World: Political
Culture in the Early People’s Republic (pp. 82-99)
 Paul Schauert, “Managing Culture: Discipline, Artistry and Alternative Education in
Ghana’s State Dance Ensembles” (Africa Today, Vol. 60, No. 3 (Spring 2014), pp. 3-33)
 Arzu Ozturkmen, “Politics of National Dance in Turkey: A Historical Reappraisal”
(Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 33 (2001), pp. 139-143)
Key Words: origin myths, expressions of difference, national identity
Third World Literary and Artistic Production 5
[Mar 17th: Spring Break/No Classes]
Week Eight (Mar 24th): Third Worldism
Performance Analysis due
 The Bandung Conference (select readings TBA)
 Algeria and the Tricontinental (readings TBA)
Week Nine (Mar 31st): The New Man and Utopia
 Che Guevara, “Socialism and Man in Cuba” (22 pages. available online:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/1965/03/man-socialism.htm )
 TBA (utopian novel)
Key Words: redemption, self-determination, moderation.
Week Ten (Apr 7th): A New Cinema
 Julio Garcia Espinosa, “For an Imperfect Cinema” in Jump Cut: A Review of
Contemporary Media (pp.24-26)
 Memories of Underdevelopment (Film)
Key Words: The Third Cinema, Audience Reception, Experimentalism
Week Eleven (Apr 14th): The Political Poster
Film Analysis due
 Selections from the OSPAAL collections
 Gary Yanker, “The Political Poster: A Worldwide Phenomenon” (World Affairs, Vol.
133, No. 3 (December 1970), pp. 215-223)
Key Words: Solidarity, Experimentation and commitment
Week Twelve (Apr 21st): The Popular/Populist Leader
 The iconography of the leader in photography and cartoons (selections)
 Chinua Achebe, A Man of the People
Key Words: populism, sovereign leader, the just tyrant, the will of the nation, icons
Week Thirteen (Apr 28th): Authoritarianism and Disillusionment
 Sonallah Ibrahim, “The Smell of it” (Short Story)
Key Words: Allegorical distancing/displacement
Week Fourteen (May 5th): Conclusion
 Mark T. Berger, “After the Third World? History, Destiny and the Fate of Third
Worldism” (Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1, (2004), pp. 9-39)
Final lecture/discussion:
 The Cold War paradigm and the polarization of the world
 Neoliberalism and the postcolonial nation: economic dependency and the paradigm of
development
 The end of solidarity?