English 3355 section 001
POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
FALL 2012
Instructor: Dr. Ana Savic
Office Hours: TTH 11-12:20 p.m.
Office: CARH 619
Email: asavic@uta.edu
Class: TTh 12:30:-1:50 a.m., TH 20.
Course Description
In this class, we will investigate literature, film, and theory from formerly colonized
countries, with particular emphasis on Anglophone texts from the Indian Sub-Continent, Africa,
the Caribbean, Australia and North America. We will study the relationship between the histories
of colonialism and post-colonialism and the creation of the modern world. Our discussions will
focus on the following topics: pre-colonial traditions and colonial legacy, the conflict between
tradition and modernity, hybrid identities, and diasporic experience. Our readings will include
novels, stories and poems by writers such as Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Chinua Achebe,
J.M. Coetzee, Derek Walcott, and others, as well as films by directors such as Ngozi Onwurah
and Mira Nair.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the students will be able to:
1. Define the major tenets of post-colonial theory and literature.
2. Demonstrate independent critical thinking in their analysis of literary texts.
3. Analyze the relationship between literary texts and the particular historical, social, and
cultural contexts that produced them.
4. Demonstrate an ability to structure ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing, in a
logical, sustained, and persuasive way, and to support them with precise and relevant
examples.
5. Employ correct MLA documentation of primary and secondary sources.
Enrollment requirements: 3 hours of 2000-level ENGL required.
Required Texts:
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1959. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
Coezee, J. M. Disgrace. 1999. New York: Penguin, 2000.
Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/Postcolonialism. New York: Routledge, 2007.
Rushdie, Salman. Midnight’s Children. 1981. 25th anniversary edition. New York:
Random House, 2006.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. 1966. New York: Perfection Learning, 2010.
Course pack available at the UTA Bookstore.
Mississippi Masala (dir. Mira Nair) – It is your responsibility to view this film before class on
12/4. The film is placed on reserve in the Central Library, and it is also available on Netflix and
in some local video stores.
Grading:
Your course grade will be based on the grades of your research papers, midterm exam,
final exam, quizzes, and class participation. The final grade breakdown will be as follows:
Participation
Quizzes , homework,
and in-class assignments
Midterm exam
Research paper 1
Research paper 2
Final exam
Total
10 % (100 points)
10 % (100 points)
20 % (200 points)
20 % (200 points)
20 % (200 points)
20 % (200 points)
100 % (1000 points)
A (900-1000 points)
B (800-899 points)
C (700-799 points)
D (600-699 points)
F (599 and below)
Daily quizzes – expect short quiz questions on all assigned readings. The quizzes will be given at
the beginning of each class period, and they cannot be made up. However, I will drop the two
lowest quiz scores at the end of the semester.
Research papers – research papers that investigate literary or cinematic articulations of a
specific issue in post-colonial theory.
Midterm and final exams – the exams will cover major terms in post-colonial theory, and they
will have an essay component.
Participation – reading and discussion are essential components of the course. You are expected
to have read the assigned readings before each class meeting. Failure to attend class on a regular
basis will lower your grade. Please come to class prepared with questions about the reading
material.
Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed to have 3 unexcused/excused absences. Missing 4
classes will result in a 10% reduction of the course grade.
Late papers will be deducted 5 points for every day they are late.
Plagiarism
It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a
completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons
involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations
and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University.
"Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the
submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another
person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a
student or the attempt to commit such acts" (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Series 50101,
Section 2.2). You may cite the words or ideas of another, but you must document your sources
properly using the MLA guidelines. See the UTA library tutorial on plagiarism:
http://libraries.uta.edu/infolit/plagiarism/plagiarism.htm, or talk to me, if you have any questions
about how to document a source appropriately or if you are unsure about what constitutes fair
usage of someone else’s words.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and the
letter of federal equal opportunity legislation. As a faculty member, I am required by law to
provide "reasonable accommodation" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the
basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty at the
beginning of the semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated
administrative channels.
Student Support Services
The University of Texas at Arlington supports a variety of student success programs to help you
connect with the University and achieve academic success. These programs include learning
assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and
federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially
should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and
appropriate referrals.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center, Room 411 in the Central Library, will assist you with any writing
assignment while you are a student at UT-Arlington. You may schedule appointments
online by following directions available at www.uta.edu/owl/appointments, by calling
817 272-2601, or by visiting the Writing Center. If you come to the Writing Center
without an appointment, you will be helped on a first-come, first-served basis as tutors
become available. The Writing Center is not an editing service; tutors will not correct
your grammar or rewrite your assignment for you, but they will help you learn to solve
your grammatical and organizational problems.
Electronics policy – turn off your cell phones or other electronic devices when in class. Texting
or checking email is absolutely forbidden during class. Electronic devices may be used to access
the course materials only. Any other use is considered a violation of the course and university
policies. If you are texting, listening to your iPod, or browsing the internet, you will be marked
absent for that day.
E-mail policy – students are responsible for checking their emails regularly for university
or class updates. You are required to use your UTA email account when you
communicate with your instructors. As instructors often need to communicate with
students after the last scheduled class day, students should continue to check their UTA
email accounts and visit the course website until final grades for the course are posted.
Please check the Undergraduate Catalogue for more detailed explanations of academic
regulations.
Drop Policy
October 31 is the last day to drop classes. For more information on the UTA’s Drop Policy visit
the Office of the Record’s website at: http://www.uta.edu/uac/studentsuccess/schedule-changesadddrop-policies.
Tentative Schedule of Assignments
(Subject to change – if you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact me or a classmate
to check if I made any changes in the reading schedule)
Th 8/23 – Introduction to the class. Discussion of the syllabus. Introduction to postcolonial
literature and theory.
Week 1
T 8/28 – Stuart Hall: Modernity (CP – course pack). Ella Shohat: “Post-Colonial” (CP); Dipesh
Chakrabarty: “Postcoloniality and the Artifice of History” (CP); Ania Loomba:
Colonialism/Postcolonialism - Defining the Terms (pp. 7-22), Colonial Discourse (42-53), and
Constructing Racial and Cultural Difference (91-107).
Th 8/30 – Benedict Anderson: Introduction from Imagined Communities (CP). Ernest Renan:
“What Is a Nation?” (CP); Amitav Ghosh: “The Imam and the Indian” (CP); Ania Loomba:
Colonialism/Postcolonialims – “Challenging Colonialism” (pp. 154-180).
Week 2
T 9/4 – Salman Rushdie: “Imaginary Homelands,” “’Errata’: Or, Unrealiable Narration in
Midnight’s Children,” and “The Riddle of Midnight: India, August 1987” (CP). Salman Rushdie:
Midnight’s Children – Book I (pp. 1-68).
Th 9/6 – Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book I cont. (pp. 69-133). Thomas Babington
Macauley “Minute on Indian Education.” Homi Bhabha “Of Mimicry and Man.” View and
discuss in class the video “Mera Joota hia Japani/My Shoes Are Japanese” from the film Shree
420/Mr. 420.
Week 3
T 9/11 – Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book II (pp. 137-205). Ania Loomba:
Colonialism/Postcolonialism – “Feminism, Nationalism and Postcolonialism” (pp. 180-192).
Th 9/13 –Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book II cont. (pp. 206-271).
Week 4
T 9/18 – Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book II cont. (pp. 272-336).
Th 9/20 – Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book II cont. (pp. 337-393).
Week 5
T 9/25 – Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book III (pp. 397-464).
Th 9/27 – Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children – Book III cont. (pp. 465-533). Ania Loomba:
Colonialism/Postcolonialism – “Hybridity” (pp. 145-153).
Week 6
T 10/2 – Chinua Achebe: “The Novelist as Teacher,” and “The Writer and His Community” (CP);
W. B. Yeats “The Second Coming” (CP); Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart Chapters 1-6 (pp. 151).
Th 10/4 – Kwame Anthony Appiah: “Facts on the Ground” (CP) and Chinua Achebe: Things Fall
Apart Chapters 7-12 (pp. 52-125).
Week 7
T 10/9 – Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart Chapters 14-25 (pp. 129-209).
Th 10/11 – Rough draft workship – bring a typed copy of your draft.
Week 8
T 10/16 – Research paper 1 due. Monday’s Girls (dir. Ngozi Onwurah) (view in class; DVD
placed on reserve in the Central Library) – meet in room B16 in the Central Library.
Th 10/18 – Midterm exam.
Week 9
T 10/23 – J. M. Coetzee: Disgrace (1-58).
Th 10/25 – J. M. Coetzee: Disgrace (59-112).
Week 10
T 10/30 – J. M. Coetzee: Disgrace (113-174).
October 31 – the last day to drop classes.
Th 11/1 – J. M. Coetzee: Disgrace (175-224).
Week 11
T 11/6 – Ania Loomba: “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (231-245). Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea
(15-86).
Th 11/8 –Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (86-171).
Week 12
T 11/13 – Edward Kamau Brathwaite: “Creaolization in Jamaica”; Robert Young: “The Cultural
Politics of Hybridity”; Jahan Ramazani: Introduction to The Hybrid Muse; E. K. Brathwaite:
“Ancestors” and “Ogun”; Derek Walcott: “The Ruins of a Great House,” and “Midsummer: VII”;
Martin Carter: “University of Hunger” – all in course pack.
Th 11/15 – Neil Besner: “What Resides in the Question, ‘Is Canada Postcolonial?’” Thomas
King: “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial”; John Kelly: “We Are All in the Ojibway Circle”; Peter Blue
Cloud: “Weaver Spider’s Web”; Thomas King: “The One About Coyote Going West”; Jeanette
C. Armstrong: “This Is a Story.” Alistair MacLeod: “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun”; Margaret
Atwood: “The Man from Mars” – all in course pack.
Week 13
T 11/20 – James Clifford: “Indigenous Articulations.” Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal Tribe:
Assimilation – No!” “Integration – Yes!” “Reed Flute Cave,” “We Are Going,” and “The Past”;
Bill Neidjie: “I was thinking…”; Alice Nannup: exerpt from When the Pelican Laughed;
Oodgeroo Noonuccal: “Carpet Snake”; David Malouf: “The Only Speaker of His Tongue” – all in
course pack.
Th 11/22 – Thanksgiving holiday – no class!
Week 14
T 11/27 – Stuart Hall: “Cultural Identity and Diaspora” and “New Ethnicities.” Salman Rushdie:
“Chekov and Zulu,” and Bharati Mukherjee: “The Management of Grief” – all in course pack.
Th 11/29 – Draft workshop – bring a typed copy of your draft.
Week 15
T 12/4 – Research paper 2 due. Mississippi Masala (dir. Mira Nair) – view before class (a copy
of the DVD is place on reserve in the Central Library).
Final exam: Location – TH 20; Date and Time – Tuesday, 12/11 – 11-1:30 p.m. Bring the blue
book.