BLUEGRASS COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE
HUM 150 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
COURSE SYLLABUS-SPRING 2007
Instructor: Iddah Otieno
Office: OB 339
Office Phone: 859 246 6341
E-mail Address: Iddah.Otieno@kctcs.edu
Office Hours: MWF 9-10, TR 9-10
Division Office Manager: Nancy Dixon
Division Phone: 2466367
Area Coordinator: Andrew Ball, 2466369
Division Office: AT 102
Asst. Dean: Eileen Abel, 2466345
Presents a cross-cultural and historical approach to the oral and written works by major Black
writers of Africa. Focuses on the role of African literature in developing a national identity in the
former colonies of Africa and presents African perspectives on European images of Africa through
class lectures, readings, and discussions. This course fulfills the Cross-Cultural or the Humanities
requirement for the AA/AS at BCTC.
HUM 150 will address the following general education learning outcomes and course objectives:
COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY


Learning outcome: Students will read and listen with comprehension.
 Course objective: Improve students' ability to read African literary texts whether in English or in
translation.
 Instructional Objective: Students will analyze, summarize and interpret a variety of reading
materials. In written responses on a designated web site, class discussions, and short papers,
students will formulate responses and interpretations using varied strategies and resources.
 Course objective: Apply class lectures and group discussions about African identity and African
perspectives to reading materials.
 Instructional objective: Students will listen to lectures, stories, articles, and group discussions
related to the reading assignments. Quizzes and exams will test listening skills.
Learning outcome: Students will speak and write clearly using standard English.
 Course objective: Express concepts in clear, organized Standard English in papers and on essay
exams.
 Instructional objective: Students will write short papers and essay responses, using relevant wellselected evidence from African texts and their cultural contexts to support their points. They will
use MLA documentation style. They will hold group and whole-class discussions.
THINK CRITICALLY
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
Learning outcome: Students will make connections in learning across the disciplines and draw logical
conclusions.
 Course objective: Compare and contrast ideas and themes across a range of contexts, cultures, and
areas of knowledge on the continent of Africa.
 Instructional objective: Students will write short papers and essay exam responses that require
close examination, comparisons, and evaluation of ideas and themes from different geographical
regions and cultures in Africa.
Learning outcome: Students will demonstrate problem solving through interpreting, analyzing,
summarizing, and/or integrating a variety of materials.
 Course objective: Students will analyze and interpret literature and supplemental reading
resources.
 Instructional objective: Students will participate in class/group discussions, and write short papers
and/or essay exam questions of analysis and interpretation. Students will use literary terminology
in their analyses.
 Implementation activity: Students will participate in class/group discussions, and write short papers
and/or essay exam questions of analysis and interpretation. Students will use literary terminology in
their analyses.
LEARN INDEPENDENTLY
 Learning outcome: Students will make choices based upon awareness of ethics and differing
perspectives/ideas.
 Course objective: Explain how the literature expresses cultural values, concepts, and aesthetics of
the people of Africa.
 Instructional objective: Students will understand the values, beliefs, and aesthetics of different
African cultures through literary readings, Internet research, films, and documentaries; they will
make connections with their own culture through discussions and reflective writings.
 Instructional objective: In exams and class discussions, students will identify distinctive
characteristics, genres, periods, themes of traditional and modern African oratory, literature, and
film (e.g., proverb wisdom, call-and-response, praise-poetry, African griot traditions, colonial and
post-colonial African "response" literature).
 Learning outcome: Students will apply learning in academic, personal, and public situations.
 Course objective: Examine one’s attitudes, values, and assumptions about Africa, and consider
their consequences in academic, personal, and public contexts.
 Instructional objective: Students will write short reflective papers and hold group discussions in
which they examine their own and their society’s Eurocentric attitudes, values, and assumptions
and consider the consequences. Through reflective papers and journal entries, students will
identify and analyze significant cross cultural differences and similarities between African culture
and other cultures of the world.
EXAMINE RELATIONSHIPS IN DIVERSE AND COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS
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Learning outcome: Students will recognize the relationship of the individual to human heritage and
culture.
 Course objective: Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between African literature and
the cultural/historical context from which it springs.
 Instructional objective: Students will learn cultural and historical background through lectures and
readings. On exams, students will demonstrate an understanding of the role of African literature in
developing a national identity in African Nations.
 Instructional objective: In class, students will read and discuss African perspectives on European
images of Africa.
 Instructional objective: Students will recognize the controversial stance of African discourse as a
deconstruction of the Western image of the native, the black, the African, the Other. They will
write reflective papers and hold reflective class discussion.
 Instructional objective: Students will study the development of feminism in African literature.
They will write reflective papers and hold reflective class discussions.
Learning outcome: Students will develop an awareness of self as an individual member of a
multicultural global community.
 Course objective: Articulate new knowledge of the cultures represented in Africa.
 Instructional objective: From readings and lectures, students will broaden their understanding of
human experience in Africa and demonstrate new knowledge in discussions and reflective
writings.
 Instructional objective: Students will recognize the controversial stance of African discourse as a
deconstruction of the Western image of the native, the black, the African, the Other. They will
write reflective papers and hold reflective class discussion.
Required texts/materials:
1. Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Doubleday, 1959.
2. Bâ, Mariama. So Long a Letter. Johannesburg: Heinemann, 1989.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Kibera, Valerie, ed. An Anthology of East African Short Stories. Essex:
Longman, 1988.
Ngugi, wa Thiongo. Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African
Literature. Nairobi: Heinemann, 1986.
Okot, p’ Bitek. Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol. Oxford: Heinemann, 1984.
3.5 Floppy Disk/Notebook
E-mail address (kctcs account)
Recommended reading:
Miruka, Okumba. Encounter with Oral Literature. Nairobi: East African
Educational
Pub., 1994.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Robert Kimbrough, 3rd ed. New York:
Norton & Company, 1988.
Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.”
Joseph Conrad. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Robert Kimbrough, 3 rd ed. New York: Norton &
Company, 1988:251-262.
Achebe, Chinua. A Novelist and Portrait of His Society. New York: Vantage Press, 1994.
Achebe, Chinua. Hopes and Impediments. New York: Doubleday, 1989.
Booth, James. Writers and Politics in Nigeria. New York: African Publishing Co., 1981.
Wren, Robert. Achebe’s World: The Historical and Cultural Context of the Novels. Washington, DC:
A Three Continents Press, 1978.
Finnegan, R. Oral Literature in Africa (1970).
Smith, R. (ed). Exile and Tradition: Studies in African and Caribbean Literature (1976).
Soyinka, W. Myth, Literature and the African World (1976).
Irele, A. The African Experience in Literature and Ideology (1981).
Andrzejewski, B.W et al., Literature in African Languages (1985).
Gikandi, S. Reading the African Novel (1987).
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all classes. If you accumulate more than 6 unexcused absences for a MWF
class or 4 unexcused absences for MW/TR class, or 2 unexcused absences for a class that meets only once per
week, you may be asked to drop the course. If a student has excused absences in excess of one-fifth of the
class contact hours, the faculty member may require the student to withdraw from the course. Failure to
withdraw will result in an "E" grade for the course.
Please refer to the KCTCS Community College Code of Student Conduct available online at:
http://www.kctcs.edu/student/studentcodeofconduct.pdf.
.
Withdrawal Policy
Withdrawing from the course before midterm does not require the instructor's permission. After midterm, the
instructor's permission is required and is given at instructor’s discretion. To obtain the necessary signature, a
student should take the official form to the instructor before the last day of that class. Generally, the best time
to contact an instructor is just before or just after the scheduled class meets. In all cases, the responsibility for
withdrawing from the course is the student's. The instructor is not allowed to assign a "W" grade unless you
officially request it. Students who simply stop attending the class will receive an "E" grade (failing).
Late Work policy
Students are expected to turn in all work on time. If you anticipate a problem, make arrangements with
your instructor before the work is due. Any work submitted late will be marked down 5 points. I reserve
the right to refuse late work
GRADING CRITERIA: Your final grade in ENG 230 will be determined by the following major
assignments:
1.
2.
Exam #1
Exam #2
100
100
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Exam #3
Book Project /Oral Presentation
Literary Analysis Paper
Reader Response on Angel
Letter of Reflection
Total Points
100
100
100
100
100
700 (divide by 7)
Grading Scale: 100-90 = A; 89-80=B; 79-70=C; 69-60=D; Below 60=E.5.
**For this assignment, you are required to read an African novel of your choice and do a formal
presentation on it in class. Your choice of books may also include a critique of any book by non-African
(Western Writers) on the topic of Africa (details to be given in class). Joseph Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness is an example of such a book.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS LISTED ABOVE MUST BE COMPLETED IN
ORDER TO PASS THIS CLASS.
6. PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and will be dealt with according to the policies set forth in The
KCTCS Code of Student Conduct. Students will review the full policy set forth there. Please take note of
the following:
Section 2.3.1 reads, in part: Plagiarism is the act of presenting ideas, words, or organization of a source,
published or not, as if they were one's own. All quoted material must be in quotation marks, and all
paraphrases, quotations, significant ideas, and organization must be acknowledged by some form of
documentation acceptable to the instructor for the course.
Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work
that a student submits as the student's own. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an
instructor or tutor, but when the actual material is completed, it must be done by the student and the student
alone. The use of the term material refers to work in any form including written, oral, and electronic.
Section 2.3.2 reads, in part: For instances of academic dishonesty related to earning grades the instructor
may implement any of three sanctions: A) a failing grade for the specific assignment; and/or B) a reduced
grade for the course; and/or C) a failing grade for the course.
STUDENTS RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
All rules and regulations set forth in the current edition of the KCTCS Community College Code of Student
Conduct will be followed in this course. The Code of Conduct is available online at:
http://www.kctcs.edu/student/studentcodeofconduct.pdf.
REASONABLE ACCOMODATION
If you have a special need that may require an accommodation or assistance, please inform the instructor of
that fact as soon as possible and no later than the end of the second class meeting.
Addendum
1. Respect yourself and others during class discussions.
2. Constructive dialogue strongly encouraged.
3. Destructive dialogue strongly discouraged.
4. Disruptive/distracting behavior of any kind will not be tolerated (e.g. cell phone use, popping gum,
passing notes, chewing tobacco, performing tasks unrelated to lesson, chronic tardiness, rude noises,
walking around in class, profanity, etc).
5. Take ownership of your learning.
6. Rules can be revised at any time depending on the needs of the class.
HUM 150 COURSE OUTLINE
Weeks 1
Week 2
Weeks 3
Weeks 4
Weeks 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12Week 13-16
Introduction to the course
Images of Africa Powerpoint: Reader Response # 1
Introduction to African Literature
Situating African Literature within Cultural & Historical Context
European Imperialism: The Scramble for and Partition of Africa
The Language of African Literature (Read Ngugi, wa Thiongo. Decolonizing the Mind:
The Politics of Language in African Literature (Reader Response #2)
Video: Chinua Achebe: Africa’s Voice
Reader Response #3
The African Novel
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Part I
Reader Response #4
Things Fall Apart, Part II
Reader Response #5
Things Fall Apart, Part III
Reader Response #6
Exam #1: Things Fall Apart
Choose Book Project (African Writers)
Introduction to African Oral Literature
Why study African Oral Literature?
A Sampling of African Oral Literature
Reader Response #6
African Poetry
Okot, p’ Bitek’s Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol.
Reader Response #7
Okot, p’ Bitek’s Song of Lawino & Song of Ocol Continued
Excerpts from Cook and Rubadiri’s Poems from East Africa & Kariara
and Kitonga’s An Introduction to East African Poetry
Exam #2: African Poetry and Oral Literature
Book Project Proposal Due (1 paged description of Project)
African Women Voices
Feminism/Third-World/African Feminism
Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter
Bâ, Mariama. So Long a Letter Continued
Class Project Proposal Due (One page double-spaced)
Reader Response #8
Finish So Long a Letter
African Short Stories: An Overview
Reader Response #9
Begin Work on Book Project
In-Class Project Workshop
In-Class Project Preparation & Workshop
Oral Presentations
Reader Response #10: Reflections
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Note: The instructor reserves the right to alter this outline to suit the needs of the class
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I have read and understood this syllabus. I agree to comply with the requirements therein
for the smooth running of this class. I also understand that all assignments must be
completed in order to pass this course.
Name:
Date:
Signature: