English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 1
Syllabus for English 449: Postcolonial Literature, Fall 2015
( Course Number 1960, Section 001)
By registering for the course, you agree to abide by all policies listed in this syllabus. Please consult this syllabus for answers to any general questions you may have regarding the course before you ask them of me.
COURSE INFORMATION: Meeting Days/Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00-11:15 a.m.
Meeting Place: Swenson 2016
Professor: Dr. Fezzey
Office: Swenson 3090
Office Phone: 394-8075
E-mail: hfezzey@uwsuper.edu
Office Hours: Mondays, 1:00-2:55 p.m.; Tuesdays, 2:20-2:55 p.m.; Wednesdays, 1:00-2:55 p.m.;
Thursdays, 2:20-2:55 p.m.; and by appointment
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS: Available at the University Bookstore
Achebe, Chinua. Man of the People . 1967. New York: Anchor, 1989. Print.
Castle, Gregory. Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology . 2001. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006. Print.
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions . 1998. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004. Print.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea . 1966. New York: Norton, 1982. Print.
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things . 1997. New York: Random House, 2008. Print.
Rushdie, Salman . East, West Stories . New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.
Smith, Zadie. White Teeth . New York: Vintage, 2000. Print.
Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King’s Horseman . 1975. New York: Norton, 2002. Print.
Walcott, Derek. Omeros . 1990. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992. Print.
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
College dictionary--print or online version of American Heritage (www.bartleby.com/61 ) or Merriam
Webster (www.m-w.com
) recommended
Blue or black ink pen
Paper for notes on class discussion
Stapler
Access to printer
Standard 8 1/2” x 11” paper for essay (all papers must be typed, printed, and stapled)
UW-Superior E-mail Account and D2L Account
Thumb drive, G-Drive, and/or D2L Locker to save your work
UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG DESCRIPTION OF COURSE
ENGL 449 Postcolonial Literature
Study of Anglophone postcolonial literature.
3.00
Prerequisites:
Prerequisite for taking this course is completion of 3 credits of ENGL courses.
ABOUT THE COURSE: Postcolonial Literature gives students the opportunity to explore how literary texts depict European colonization in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Afro-Caribbean and South Asian communities in Great Britain; the consequences of slavery and its abolition; as well as the struggles of individuals, groups, and nations for independence and self-identity. Theoretical concepts will include
Western representations of the colonies, and the corresponding works by writers from the former colonies, amid divisions like gender, tribes, castes, and emerging barriers like class, education, and income disparities.
As we engage with these texts, we will consider the productive tensions between their explicit commitment to ideas of emancipation and progress and the postmodernist concepts and paradigms which mainstream
Postcolonial Studies employs in analyzing them. We will also consider the ways in which the development of

English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 2 sovereign nation-states after decolonization in British-ruled Africa and South Asia shape postcolonial writings from these areas. We will discuss the basic definitions of terms and concepts, including the postcolonial and the postmodern, nations and nationalisms, imperialism and colonialism, (strategic) essentialism, subalternity and representation, Western versus Third World feminism, hybridity, historiography, and Orientalism.
The close reading, critical thinking, and writing skills that this course emphasizes are intended to help you in your other classes and in your future career. This course emphasizes the following liberal arts competencies, which are top skills that employers are seeking: reading, textual analysis, communication skills, organizational skills, writing, detail-oriented, problem solving, building effective relationships, multi-tasking, planning, research, file management, time management, typing, presentation skills, as well as the following software skills: Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, and using library search engines
(Source: Burning Glass Technologies, 2015). Additionally, this course aims to aid in the development of skills that will enrich your life as you enhance your appreciation of literature as an art and reap the benefits of reading literature that range from entertainment to self-discovery to social awareness.
ENGLISH PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING GOALS

Demonstrate knowledge and comprehension of major texts and traditions of language and literatures in


English, including cultural and historical contexts in English literature.
Analyze and interpret literary texts in a thoughtful manner.
Demonstrate the ability to express the present critical interpretations of literature in clear and effective manners.

Learn to read literary texts closely, with focused attention to language, content, and form.
ADDITIONAL COURSE LEARNING GOALS

Develop critical writing skills needed to analyze literature texts in order to develop and explain sound interpretations.

Develop an understanding of some of the cultural, historical, and social factors which have contributed to the shaping of postcolonial literature. In particular, students will identify, analyze, and make connections between questions of class, gender, nation, race, religion, and sexuality.

Develop effective library research strategies for discovering scholarly secondary source material in the field of English.
COURSE WORK
Course Design/Teaching Philosophy: My approach to teaching is student-centered, meaning I design my courses based on course learning goals that I have designed in order to foster critical thinking. My teaching is also informed by the growth mindset, as research shows that intelligence grows over time, and all students can learn through hard work and dedication. I view my role as an inter-actor or coach who designs a classroom environment and activities that give all students the opportunity to produce knowledge through hands-on practice or active learning. These classroom activities emphasize collaborative learning and inclusive excellence or success in learning for all students. Research shows that collaborative learning is the most effective pedagogy for courses with interdisciplinary content, because it enables instructors and students to interrogate boundaries and to integrate new vocabularies and frames by drawing and building on each other’s experiences and knowledge bases.
In-Class Activities: Most classroom sessions will involve whole-class discussion and group inquiry. Your full participation is required in these activities. You will be assigned to an in-class group early in the semester. Proper classroom etiquette should be practiced in the classroom. Thus, you should not be doing activities, such as talking out of turn, texting, sleeping, or doing homework during class time. If you are doing any of the aforementioned activities during the class period, you will be marked absent. Please put

English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 3 your phone away during class. To be ready to participate in each class meeting, you will have to complete reading and writing assignments.
Daily Assignments about the Readings: As you are expected to come to each class period prepared and ready to participate in class discussion, you will complete assignments for every class period and be ready to share your perspectives with the class. The daily assignments will help you collect your thoughts for class discussion, will serve as practice for writing the papers and essay exams, and will function as a record of your reading for the semester, serving as a way for you and me to keep track of your progress in the course.
Due to the length of the assigned readings, most of the daily assignments about the readings will consist of in-class writing assignments . At the start of class, you will compose a written response to an assigned question or topic. You don’t need to worry about formal organization in your answers; instead, show me you have read the material and given it some thought and brainstorm ideas for class discussion. You will also list and define any vocabulary words with which you are unfamiliar as you read. For each novel , you will compose one reading response outside of class in preparation for an in-class activity called a Literature
Circle . On days designated for a Literature Circle, each student will be assigned a role (discussion director, content connector, focus facilitator, literary luminary, vocabulary enricher), and each student will type a response for his or her role before coming to class. Using his or her response, each student will then contribute to the class discussion of the novel.
Course Projects
For your midterm course project, you will write a 4-5 page paper on a topic related to one or more of the works we read that is of interest and import to you. Then you will revise and expand this paper into a research paper proposal (1-2 pages) and carefully select, read, and cite 6 scholarly library sources on this topic in an annotated bibliography . Over the course of the semester, you will revise your first paper into an
8-10 page research paper . In preparing your paper, I encourage you to write at least 4 drafts of your essay : an outline as well as workshop drafts to be critiqued by your classmates, the Writing Center, and/or me and an evaluation draft which I will grade. We will have two in-class workshops of the paper. You will present your research paper to the class in the form of a professional poster created in PowerPoint. Because this poster project asks you to work within a genre other than the academic research paper, you will have to attend to different aspects of language use and presentation. For your presentation, you will have to consider oral delivery and you will have to master concision, rather than elaboration/ development, and will need to consider as well matters of document design, color, layout, etc. You will have future opportunities to present this poster at one of the undergraduate research events on our campus, other UW-System campuses, or at other universities. Additionally, you will read one of the selected essays from our textbook, Postcolonial
Discourses: An Anthology , and make a 7-10 minute presentation to the class that consists of a summary of the scholarly source and your response to it to the class on the day we’re discussing that work. For your final course project, you will submit a course portfolio that consists of a revised reading response on one literary work from each of the four geographical units that we have studied (Afro-Caribbean and South Asian
Diasporas, Caribbean, Africa, India).
COURSE GRADE (Scale: 94-100% A; 90-93% A-; 88-89% B+; 84-87% B; 80-83% B-, etc.)
Reading Responses (and quizzes if applicable) 150 points
Participation (attendance, in-class activities, workshop drafts, outline, etc.)
Presentation on Scholarly Essay
100 points
100 points
Paper 1
Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography
Research Paper
Course Portfolio
Poster and presentation
Total
150 points
100 points
200 points
100 points
100 points
1000 points

English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 4
COURSE POLICIES : The following policies reflect a course design that relies on students’ full participation in class discussion and activities.
Late Work: An assignment is considered late if it is not turned in by the end of the class period. No coursework will be accepted after Tuesday, December 15.
Missed in-class reading responses cannot be made-up unless the absence is due to a university-sponsored activity. Coursework missed as a result of a university-sponsored activity must be turned in or made up on or before the day you return to class. Missed exams can only be made up due to extenuating circumstances and must be scheduled to be taken at my office as close to the date of the original exam as possible.
Late papers and posters will be lowered by 5% if they are not turned in the day they are due. They will continue to be lowered by 10% for each week beyond the week of the original due date. I do not accept essays or posters through e-mail. Essays must be submitted typed, printed, and stapled. If you do not turn in a paper during class, put it in an envelope or folder and slide it under my office door. Posters must be submitted to the D2L dropbox.
Attendance: I will distribute a sign-in sheet each class period. Missing classes will significantly and adversely affect your course grade. Specifically, you may miss four class meetings for any reason. Each absence beyond the fourth, regardless of the reason, will result in a 5% lowering of your grade for the course. I do not distinguish between “excused” and “unexcused” absences, so SAVE your absences for un-anticipated illnesses or emergencies.
If you know in advance that you will have to miss more than two weeks of class, you should drop the course. Arriving significantly late to or leaving early from class more than once is recorded as an absence. In short, you are expected to be here. Points lost from attendance may be made up at my discretion but some grade deduction will still be taken.
Writing Center: The University of Wisconsin-Superior Writing Center, located in Swenson 1030, offers support to student writers in one-on-one sessions with peer consultants. The Center's philosophy is that all writers can benefit from receiving feedback on their work and from revising their work. With this in mind, consultations are available free of charge to any UW-Superior student at any skill level from any class in any discipline. Writing Center consultants help writers brainstorm, find topics, incorporate and document sources, organize drafts, develop revision strategies, and more. Both in-person and online consultations are available. When you visit the Center, take a copy of your assignment, any drafting or notes you may have, as well as any sources you’re working with. Have these items on hand for online consultations, too. To make appointments and learn more about the Center's hours and services, visit the Writing Center webpage:
<http://www.uwsuper.edu/writingcenter>. Students receive 10 points of extra credit for each Writing Center visit and Writing Center workshop (Extra credit is capped at 50 points).
Tutoring: The Academic Support Center is a content area tutoring lab that offers students the opportunity to work with talented traditional and non-traditional aged students who know what it takes to succeed in the classroom. Trained peer advisors offer day and evening assistance in a host of student-to-student services including: one-on-one tutoring, small group tutoring, navigating campus computer software, advisement with class schedules or other issues, 14 computers for student use, quiet study area for students who want to get away from it all. We can find a tutor in almost any subject. Just ask us! ALL services are FREE!! The
Academic Support Center is located in Swenson Hall 1025. It is open Monday through Thursday 8AM to
6PM and Fridays 8AM to 4PM. Tutor.com is a FREE online tutoring. Tutors are available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. Tutors are available in a wide variety of subjects. You and the tutor work together in the online classroom. The entire session happens on screen in real time, and students can review a transcript of the session at any time. You chat with the tutor, draw on the interactive whiteboard, and use drag-and-drop shapes and formulas to explain your problem. You can get help with research. Go to
<http://www.uwsuper.edu/support/onlinetutoring.cfm> to learn how to login to Tutor.com.
Success Net: Success Net, a program sponsored by the Veteran and Nontraditional Student Center (VNSC), is a peer-to-peer leadership program for veteran and nontraditional students and their families. Success Net

English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 5 connects a current student with a "Success Net Coach" who is trained to assist our students navigate the ropes—the campus, the community, student support services, how to get connected and more. Coaches tap their own student experience, and as leaders, meet our new and current students where they are in their transition with a "tool box" of resources. For more information or to contact a Success Net Coach:
<http://www.uwsuper.edu/vnsc/success-net-peer-to-peer-mentoring.cfm>; (715) 394-8406; vnsc@uwsuper.edu
Extra Credit: You may earn up to 50 points of extra credit. You will earn 10 points for each Writing Center visit. You may also receive 10 points of extra credit by attending one or more of the following and typing a
250-word response detailing what you learned: Writing Center workshop; Diversity event on campus or in the community (such as those held by Gender Equity Resource Center, Gender Studies Program, Global
Perspective Series, Multicultural Affairs, World Student Association, etc.); Literary event on campus or in the community (such as those held by English Club, Sigma Tau Delta (international English Honor Society),
English Program, Writing Program, Theater Program, Lake Superior Writers, Spirit Lake Poetry Series, etc.).
University Policies: The University of Wisconsin-Superior is dedicated to a safe, supportive and nondiscriminatory learning environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize themselves with University policies regarding special accommodations, academic misconduct, religious beliefs accommodation, discrimination and absence for University-sponsored events.
For details refer to the appropriate sections in the UW-Superior Class Schedule or the UW-Superior General
Catalog and the ”Student Disciplinary Procedure” (UWS Chapter 14) and the “Student Nonacademic
Disciplinary Procedures (UWS Chapter 17).” The link to the student conduct page is:
<www.uwsuper.edu/studentconduct>. The link to Chapter 14 and the Academic Misconduct Process is:
<http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/uws/14.pdf>.
Accommodation of Religious Beliefs: Students’ sincerely held religious beliefs shall be reasonably accommodated with respect to scheduling all examinations and other academic requirements. Students should inform their instructors at the start of the semester of these needs.
Class Cancellations: When weather conditions are dangerous, students will be informed via the media about class cancellations. Students should not call Campus Safety. Phone lines need to be open for emergencies.
Please consider signing up for SAFE alert: <https://www.uwsuper.edu/safety/alerts/index.cfm>.
Disabilities Accommodation: Adaptations of methods, materials, or testing must be made to accommodate educational participation. Students should inform instructors at the start of the semester of these needs.
Discrimination/Sexual Harassment Policy: “The University of Wisconsin-Superior will not tolerate discriminatory conduct or sexual harassment by university employees, including administrators, faculty, staff, or by students. [...]"Discriminatory Conduct" means intentional conduct by university employees or students, including physical conduct or expressive behavior, that explicitly demeans the race, sex, religion, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age or other legally protected characteristic of an individual or individuals [...]”
I have completed training through the Superior Allies Program, which is dedicated to diversity and social justice on the UW-Superior campus. I have also completed Veteran Ally training through the Veteran and
Nontraditional Student Center, which is dedicated to supporting military veterans and families, as well as students who are older, have spouses or have children, throughout their educational journey at UW-
Superior.
Please also see the Student Information Sheet and Syllabus Attachment for a full statement of these and other important university policies, including those concerning academic misconduct at the following link: <https://www.uwsuper.edu/deanfaculties/forms/upload/Syllabus-Attachment-for-2015-
2016_20150811151023_96486.pdf>
Tentative Course Calendar for English 460: Postcolonial Literature, Fall 2015
The reading assignments are listed below on the day that they will be covered in class. Hence, you will be expected to have each day’s readings done prior to that day’s class meeting.
Always bring the text or texts assigned for that day with you to class. This schedule is subject to change as circumstances dictate. You

English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 6 will be notified in advance of any changes. In the case of any major changes, you will be given an updated version.
Week 1
Thurs., 9/3: Introduction to course, syllabus, and course calendar; Ice breakers; Introduction to the Afro-
Caribbean and South Asian Diasporas: Begin watching White Teeth (PBS, 2003)
Week 2
Tues., 9/8: Read Zadie Smith, White Teeth , “Archie 1974, 1945,” pp. 3-102; Continue watching White Teeth
Thurs., 9/10: Read Smith, White Teeth
, “Samad 1984, 1857,” pp. 103-217; Finish watching
White Teeth
Week 3
Tues., 9/15: Read Smith, White Teeth
, “Irie 1990, 1907,” pp. 219-339
Thurs., 9/17: Read Smith, White Teeth
, “Magid, Millat, and Marcus,” pp. 341-448
Week 4
Tues., 9/22: Introduction to Postcolonial Discourses: Read Stephen Slemon, “Post-colonial Critical
Theories,” pp. 99-116; Introduction to “Caribbean Encounters: Revolution, Hybridity, Diaspora”: Read
Kwame Anthony Appiah, “African Identities,” pp. 221-231, and Stuart Hall, “Negotiating Caribbean
Identities,” pp. 280-292, in Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology
Thurs., 9/24: Read Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea , Part One, pp. 1-56
Week 5
Tues., 9/29: Read Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea , Part Two, pp. 59-156
Thurs., 10/1: Read Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea , Part Three, pp. 159-171; Read George Lamming,
“Colonialism and the Caribbean Novel,” pp. 271-279, Peter Hulme, “Survival and Invention: Indigeneity in the Caribbean,” pp. 293-308, and Moira Ferguson, “Sending the Younger Son across the Wide Sargasso Sea :
The New Colonizer Arrives,” pp. 309-327, in Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology
Week 6
Tues., 10/6: Workshop of paper due; In-class workshop of paper
Thurs., 10/8: Paper due; Read Derek Walcott, Omeros , Book One, Chapters I-VI, pp. 3-37
Week 7
Tues., 10/13: Read Walcott, Omeros , Book One, Chapters VII-XIII, pp. 37-76
Thurs., 10/15: Read Walcott, Omeros , Book Three, Chapter XXV-XXVIII, pp. 133-152; Read Frantz
Fanon, “Spontaneity: Its Strength and Weakness,” pp. 2-25, in Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology
Week 8
Tues., 10/20: Introduction to “African Identities: Resistance and Race”: Read Homi K. Bhabha,
“Unsatisfied: Notes on Vernacular Cosmopolitanism,” pp. 38-52, and Chinua Achebe, “An Image in Africa:
Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness ,” pp. 209-220, in Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology
Thurs., 10/22: Read Chinua Achebe, Man of the People , Chapters 1-7, pp. 1-75
Week 9
Tues., 10/27: Read Achebe, Man of the People , Chapters 8-13, pp. 76-150
Thurs., 10/29: Read Wole Soyinka,
Death and the King’s Horseman
, p. 5-77
Week 10
Tues., 11/3: Read Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions , Introduction and Chapters 1-5, pp. vii-104
Thurs., 11/5: Read Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions , Chapters 6-10, pp. 105-208
Week 11
Tues., 11/10: Read Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “The Burden of English,” pp. 53-72, and Amina Mama,
“‘Sheroes and Villains: Conceptualizing Colonial and Contemporary Violence against Women in Africa,” pp. 251-268, in Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology
Thurs., 11/12: Research paper proposal and annotated bibliography due ;
Introduction to “Indian
Nations: Conundrums of Difference”:
Read Partha Chatterje, “The Nationalist Resolution of the Women’s
Question, pp. 151-166, and R. Radhakrishnan, “Nationalism, Gender, and the Narrative of Identity,” pp. 190-
205, in Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology
Week 12
Tues., 11/17: Read Arundhati Roy, God of Small Things , pp. 3-83 (Chapters 1-2)
Thurs., 11/19: Read Roy, God of Small Things , pp. 84-156 (Chapters 3-7)

English 460 Syllabus, Fezzey 7
Week 13
Tues., 11/24: Outline of research paper due
Thurs., 11/26: Thanksgiving Break—No Classes
Week 14
Tues., 12/1: Read Roy, God of Small Things , pp. 157-225 (Chapters 8-12)
Thurs., 12/3: Read Roy, God of Small Things , pp. 226-321 (Chapters 13-21)
Week 15
Tues., 12/8: Workshop draft of research paper due; In-class workshop of research paper
Thurs., 12/10: Read Salman Rushdie, East, West Stories , pp. 3-58 (“East”: “Good Advice Is Rarer than
Rubies,” “The Free Radio,” and “The Prophet’s Hair”)
Week 16:
Tues., 12/15: Research paper due; Read Rushdie, East, West Stories , pp. 123-211 (“East, West”: “The
Harmony of the Spheres,” “Chekov and Zulu,” and “The Courter”)
Week 17: Final Exam: Thurs., 12/17, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Swen 2016 ; Professional poster and course portfolio of revised reading responses due; In-class presentations of posters