English 2361E
Huron University College
2014-15
World Literature and Film in English:
Postcolonial Studies
Instructor:
Dr. Teresa Hubel
Phone - 438-7224, ext. 219
e-mail: tdhubel@huron.uwo.ca
Office Hours:
Tuesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. —
4:30 p.m., and by appointment (A306)
Classes:
Tuesdays from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to
3:30 p.m. in HC W106
Prerequisites
At least a “C” standing (60%) in English 1036E, 1035E, 1020E,
1022E, 1024E, 1027F/G, 1028F/G, and “C” standing in all
subsequent English courses, or permission of the English
Department
Antirequisite:
English 3884E
Course Description
This survey course is designed to introduce students to postcolonial literature and film.
We will study a selection of novels, short stories, films, and poetry by authors and
directors from various countries of the Caribbean and Africa, and from New Zealand,
India, Pakistan, Canada, and Australia. Students will be encouraged to analyze the
assumptions of all of these products of culture, assumptions concerning, for instance,
readerships and audiences, gender, narrative voice, race, class, and political
allegiances.
Course Learning Objectives
By the end of the this course, students should be able to
 engage in specifically political readings of literary and filmic texts through
discussions as well as written assignments;
 demonstrate, by means of such discussion and course work, a knowledge of
some basic postcolonial theory;
 develop historically and culturally contextual interpretations of literary and
filmic texts;
 articulate how these texts might question or sustain dominant views about the
value and status of ‘English’ literature and of standard English.
 construct a coherent argument (i.e. a thesis) about the texts they have read
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

write logically and persuasively in fluent, standard English using the appropriate
MLA conventions for scholarly-critical writing
demonstrate the ability to locate and engage with secondary critical readings and to
balance and integrate those readings with their own analysis of the primary texts.
Description of Class Methods
This is a lecture course in which class discussion is essential. For this reason, students
should read (and, whenever at all possible re-read) the assigned material prior to coming to
class. Students will be graded on their individual contributions to our discussions, on their
individual assignments as well as on work that they will do in a group.
Required Texts:
Ramraj, Victor J. Concert of Voices: An Anthology of World Writing in English. 2nd
Edition (Broadview)
Lovelace, Earl. The Wine of Astonishment. (Heinemann)
Mansfield, Katherine. Selected Stories. (Oxford World Classics)
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. (Heinemann)
Carey, Peter. Jack Maggs. (Vintage)
Emecheta, Buchi. The Joys of Motherhood. (Braziller)
Sidhwa, Bapsi. Cracking India. (Milkweed)
Some poems and essay excerpts are available on the course WebCT site: see class schedule for
titles.
FILMS – Gallipoli, director: Peter Weir
- Main Hoon Na, director: Farah Khan
- The Piano, director: Jane Campion
- A Walk in the Night, director: Mickey Madoda Dube
- Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises, director: Alanis Obomsawin
Method of Evaluation:
Review (also see below)..................................................................................................... 10%
Attendance and Participation .......................................................................................... 15%
Essay Proposal (see below) .............................................................................................. 15%
Essay (8-12 pages) (see below) ....................................................................................... 25%
Final Examination ................................................................................................................ 35%
Special Instructions
The English Department requires that students pass both the term as well as the final
examination in order to pass the course.
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Course Schedule and List of Readings
(The acronym “CV” refers to your anthology, Concert of Voices and OWL refers to the
course website.)
Dates
1
September 4
Topic
Assigned Readings
Thursday
Introduction
Tuesday and Thursday
Theorizing the Poscolonial
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September 9/11

Short film – Edwward Said on
Orientalism
 Salman Rushdie’s essay
“`Commonwealth Literature’ Does
Not Exist” in CV
 Olive Senior’s article “Literature is
political because we are political
animals” on OWL
 Hamid Dabashi’s “Can nonEuropean’s Think?” on OWL

The Caribbean
Tuesday
3
September 16/18
 Jamaica Kincaid’s “On Seeing
England for the First Time” in CV
 David Dabydeen’s “Catching
Crabs” and “The New Poetry” in
CV
Thursday

4
September 23/25
Tuesday and Thursday

September 30 and
October 2
Earl Lovelace’s The Wine of
Astonishment
excerpt from Ashis Nandy’s
Intimate Enemy on OWL
Lovelace’s novel
Tuesday
5
Derek Walcott’s “Ruins of a Great
House,” “A Letter from Brooklyn,”
and “Midsummer LII” in CV
Australia

Jack Davis’s “White Fantasy –
Black Fact” and “Pay Back” in CV

Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs
Thursday
Tuesday
Film – Weir’s Gallipoli
6
October 7/9
Thursday
Film Discussion
7
October 14/16
Tuesday and Thursday
3
Dates
Topic
Assigned Readings
Carey’s novel
Tuesday
8
October 21/23
Thursday
 Short film – The Story of English
Tuesday
9
October 28/30

Selected poems by Judith Wright
on OWL

Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India
Review due on Tuesday, October 28th
Thursday
Study Break
India
10
November 4/6
Tuesday and Thursday
 Short Film – Stories my country told
me with Eqbal Ahmad on the Grand
Truck Road
Sidhwa’s novel
Tuesday

Thursday
 Jayanta Mahapatra’s “The
Abandoned British Cemetery at
Balasore” in CV
Madhu Kishwar’s “Gandhi on
Women” on OWL
November 11/13
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Tuesday
Introduction to Bollywood
12
November 18/20
 Essay on Bollywood film on OWL
Thursday
 Short Film – India Reborn:
Manufacturing Dreams
Tuesday and Thursday
13
November 25/37
Film – Khan’s Main Hoon Na
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December 2
Tuesday
Film Discussion
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Dates
Topic
Assigned Readings
Nigeria
15
January 6/8
Tuesday and Thursday
 Short film – Chinua Achebe
Achebe’s novel
Tuesday
 Gabriel Okara’s “The Snowflakes
Sail Gently Down” in CV
16
January 13/15
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 Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
January 20/22
Thursday
 Short film – Africa on the Move: A
Woman’s World
 Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of
Motherhood
Tuesday and Thursday
New Zealand/Aotearoa
Tuesday and Thursday
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January 27/29
Essay Proposal due Thursday, January
29th
Mansfield’s stories
Tuesday
19
20
Thursday
 Witi Ihimaera’s “This Life is
Weary” in CV
 Witi Ihimaera’s “A Game of
Cards” on OWL
Tuesday
 Allan Curnow’s “Landfall in
Unknown Seas” on OWL
February 3/5
February 10/12
Curnow’s poem
Thursday
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February 16-20
READING WEEK – no classes
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February 24/26
Film – Campion’s The Piano
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March 3/5
 Katherine Mansfield’s “Prelude,”
“At the Bay,” and “The GardenParty” in Selected Stories
Tuesday and Thursday
Film Discussion
FIRST DEADLINE FOR ESSAY,
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
5
Dates
Topic
Assigned Readings
South Africa
Tuesday
Film – Mickey Madoda Dube’s A Walk in the
Night
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March 10/12
Thursday
Film Discussion
SECOND DEADLINE FOR ESSAY,
THURSDAY, MARCH 12
Tuesday
25
 Njabulo S. Ndebele’s “Guilt and
Atonement: Unmasking History for
the Future” in CV
 Nadine Gordimer’s “Is There
Nowhere Else Where We Can
Meet?” in CV
March 17/19
Is Canada Postcolonial?
Thursday
THIRD DEADLINE FOR ESSAY,
THURSDAY, MARCH 19
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March 24/26
 Thomas King’s “A Coyote
Columbus Story” in CV
 Buhkwujjenene’s “Nanaboozhoo
Creates the World” in CV
 Thomas King’s “Godzilla vs. the
Postcolonial” on OWL
 Chapter from Thomas King’s The
Truth About Stories on OWL
Tuesday
Film – Obomsawin’s Waban-Aki: People
from Where the Sun Rises
Thursday
Film Discussion
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March 31 and April
2
 Lee Maracle’s “Charlie” in CV
 Joseph Boyden’s “Men Don’t Ask”
on OWL
 Victoria Fraser’s essay “Resisting a
Colonialist Reading: Examining the
Strength and Superiority of Native
Women in Joseph Boyden's ‘Men
Don't Ask’ on OWL
Tuesday
Guest Speaker Maeghan Pirie
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Dates
Topic
Assigned Readings
 George Elliot Clarke’s “What was
Canada?” from Is Canada
Postcolonial? on OWL
Thursday
28
April 7
Tuesday
Review for Exam
April 11-30
Final examination period
REQUIREMENTS
1) Review -- You must choose one book of theory or two articles and review it or
them. Since the study of postcolonial literature and film is informed by a diversity of
theories (postcolonial, feminist, Marxist, new historicist or cultural materialist, queer
theory, etc.), your book or articles can explore or be indebted to any or all of these
various theories. Furthermore, you are free to choose a purely theoretical text (or
texts), which might contain few or no sustained interpretations of any piece of
literature or film, or, if you prefer, a work of scholarship that uses contemporary
theories in order to provide readings of specific literary writing or of films. There is a
very good chance that the text(s) you choose will be influential in terms of the essay
proposal and the essay you eventually write for this course, so do try to choose wisely.
I advise you to check with me regarding your choice of text(s).
In your review you should attempt to explain one of the fundamental theoretical
positions or arguments in the text(s). You should also consider whether or not you
believe that the author(s) is able to effectively establish her or his argument. If so, how
is that argument effective? If not, why is it not effective? You should also spend at least
a paragraph elaborating how you think your book or your articles are relevant to the
study of postcolonial literature and film.
This assignment should be submitted in typewritten form. It should be
approximately 5 pages in length, double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides,
and you should include a Works Cited page at the end (which will not count as one of
your 5 pages). The due date for this book review is Tuesday, October 28 th.
2) Attendance and Participation — Much of what you learn in this course will come
from the classroom; furthermore, the knowledge you gain from the lectures and the
discussions will help you to read any other texts you might encounter outside the
classroom. For these reasons, your attendance and participation in the class is
required and counts for 15% of your overall grade. If you miss more than six hours of
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class meetings (the equivalent of two weeks of class meetings) in the first term or second
term, your attendance & participation grade will automatically be cut by 5%. If you miss
more than 24 hours of class meetings (the equivalent of six weeks of class meetings) in the
entire course, you will forfeit the grade entirely.
If students miss class, they are not entitled to Academic Accommodation regarding the
Attendance and Participation mark. This particular mark registers only students’ presence in
class and their participation. If you are absent from class, for whatever reason, your
attendance and participation mark will decline.
Participation means having completed the readings and being prepared to discuss
them in class. You will be assessed not only on how many classes you attend, but also on
the quality of your contribution to our discussions.
Please obtain notes from a classmate if you miss one or more classes, and notify me
as soon as possible if a serious illness or other concern is affecting your ability to keep up
with the course.
3) Essay Proposal — An essay proposal is the first step in preparing your research
essay; it is simply a brief synopsis of the essay that you propose to write. (It’s good,
therefore, to use such verbs as “propose,” “intend,” “will,” etc.) Your essay proposal
should be not less than 4 double-spaced typed pages and not more than 7, and it should
be accompanied by a brief bibliography. In the proposal you should present your thesis
statement, choose a working title for your essay, describe the subject (you must choose
one or two of the literary or film texts on this course) about which you intend to write,
speculate on the arguments that you expect to be making about your subject, prepare a
set of questions you wish to answer, and provide a justification of your choices. Your
bibliography should list the principal texts you intend to consult. A good essay
proposal is one that has been backed up by a significant amount of research. However,
in the course of writing the actual essay, you may change your mind about an argument
you said you’d make in the proposal, in which case you may choose to eliminate the
argument entirely or alter it to suit your newfound wisdom. In other words, although I
do expect you to write the essay you said you were going to write in your proposal, I
won’t insist that you keep every single one of your proposed arguments in tact. The
deadline for your essay proposal is Thursday, January 29 th.
4) Essay — A single 8 - 12 page (typed) essay is required for this course. You should
use standard MLA documentation style in your essay, and you should endeavour to get
this style right. In marking your essay, I will take into consideration the calibre of you
arguments and analysis as well as the correctness of your grammar and the aptness of
your writing. You will lose marks if your use of MLA documentation style is sloppy.
The deadline for the final research essay is a flexible one; you can choose to
submit your essay to me either on Thursday, March 5 th, or on Thursday, March 12th, or
on Thursday, March 19 th. If you meet any of these three deadlines, you will not be
penalized. Your essay due date will depend upon the kind of feedback you wish to
receive. Essays received by March 5th will receive detailed, typed comments
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addressing both the form and the content of the essay; in addition, the first few pages
of the essay will be closely corrected for matters of style, punctuation, mechanics, and
so on. Essays received by March 12th will receive written comments addressing the
essay’s argument; any problems with grammar, style, &c. will be circled or otherwise
indicated on the first few pages of the essay. Essays received by March 19th will
receive an explanation of the grade but not necessarily as much written commenta ry as
essays submitted earlier. It is, of course, in your interest to submit your paper early
enough to allow me time to respond to it in as detailed manner as possible.
Concerning Essays and Other Assignments
Essays should conform to current MLA format; this documentation style is described in
detail in The MLA Handbook, which is available both in the library as well as on the
Internet (see the website for this course). Essays and assignments not submitted to
me in class should be left in the essay drop box across from the Info Desk. Always
keep a copy of any work you submit, and PLEASE DO NOT SLIDE ESSAYS UNDER
MY OFFICE DOOR.
Extensions will be granted for medical or compassionate reasons only. Essays may
not be accepted after the last class in April unless provision has been made through the
Dean's office for a grade of “Incomplete.”
The English Department’s policy is that late assignments will be penalized at the
rate of 2 marks per calendar day to a maximum of seven days. After seven days the
assignment will not be accepted and a mark of 0% will be awarded. Essays will be
marked and returned to you usually within three weeks of my receiving them;
however, any essays or other assignments submitted after the final deadline will in
most cases be returned late with no detailed commentary – so it is in your interest to
get your work in on time.
Appendix to Course Outlines
Prerequisite Information
Students are responsible for ensuring that they have successfully completed all course prerequisites.
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol
in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not
be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course
for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
Conduct of Students in Classes, Lectures, and Seminars
Membership in the community of Huron University College and the University of Western Ontario implies
acceptance by every student of the principle of respect for the rights, responsibilities, dignity and well9
being of others and a readiness to support an environment conducive to the intellectual and personal
growth of all who study, work and live within it. Upon registration, students assume the responsibilities
that such registration entails. The academic and social privileges granted to each student are conditional
upon the fulfillment of these responsibilities.
In the classroom, students are expected to behave in a manner that supports the learning environment of
others. Students can avoid any unnecessary disruption of the class by arriving in sufficient time to be
seated and ready for the start of the class, by remaining silent while the professor is speaking or another
student has the floor, and by taking care of personal needs prior to the start of class. If a student is late, or
knows that he/she will have to leave class early, be courteous: sit in an aisle seat and enter and leave
quietly.
Please see the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities at:
http://www.huronuc.ca/CurrentStudents/StudentLifeandSupportServices/StudentDiscipline
Technology
It is not appropriate to use technology (such as, but not limited to, laptops, PDAs, cell phones) in the
classroom for non-classroom activities. Such activity is disruptive and is distracting to other students and
to the instructor, and can inhibit learning. Students are expected to respect the classroom environment
and to refrain from inappropriate use of technology and other electronic devices in class.
Academic Accommodation for Medical/Non-Medical Grounds
For UWO Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness and a downloadable SMC see:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/accommodation_medical.pdf
[downloadable Student Medical Certificate (SMC): https://studentservices.uwo.ca under the Medical
Documentation heading]
Students seeking academic accommodation on medical grounds for any missed tests, exams, participation
components and/or assignments worth 10% or more of their final grade must apply to the Academic
Counselling office of their home Faculty and provide documentation. Academic accommodation will be
determined by the Dean’s Office in consultation with the instructor.
For non-medical grounds or for medical grounds when work represents less than 10% of the overall grade
for the course, the student must submit a request to the instructor in writing
prior to the due date of an assignment, and immediately in the case of a test. (Or as soon as possible
following a medical emergency) Students are protected under the Official Student Record Information
Privacy Policy and so written requests need only include a broad and general explanation of the situation,
and the approximate length of time required. At the discretion of the instructor, the granting of extensions
and re-scheduled tests may require the student to submit supporting either
medical or non-medical documentation to the Academic Counsellor, who will then make the
determination as to whether accommodation is warranted.
Statement on Academic Offences
Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy,
specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf .
Statement on Academic Integrity
The International Centre for Academic Integrity defines academic integrity as "a commitment, even in the
face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From
these values flow principles of behaviour that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action."
(CAI Fundamental Values Project, 1999).
A lack of academic integrity is indicated by such behaviours as the following:
Cheating on tests;
Fraudulent submissions online;
Plagiarism in papers submitted (including failure to cite and piecing
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together unattributed sources);
Unauthorized resubmission of course work to a different course;
Helping someone else cheat;
Unauthorized collaboration;
Fabrication of results or sources;
Purchasing work and representing it as one’s own.
Academic Integrity: Importance and Impact
Being at university means engaging with a variety of communities in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge
and understanding in ways that are clear, respectful, efficient, and productive. University communities
have established norms of academic integrity to ensure responsible, honest, and ethical behavior in the
academic work of the university, which is best done when sources of ideas are properly and fully
acknowledged and when responsibility for ideas is fully and accurately represented.
In the academic sphere, unacknowledged use of another’s work or ideas is not only an offence against the
community of scholars and an obstacle to academic productivity. It may also be understood as fraud and
may constitute an infringement of legal copyright.
A university is a place for fulfilling one's potential and challenging oneself, and this means rising to
challenges rather than finding ways around them. The achievements in an individual’s university studies
can only be fairly evaluated quantitatively through true and honest representation of the actual learning
done by the student. Equity in assessment for all students is ensured through fair representation of the
efforts by each.
Acting with integrity at university constitutes a good set of practices for maintaining integrity in later life.
Offences against academic integrity are therefore taken very seriously as part of the university’s work in
preparing students to serve, lead, and innovate in the world at large.
A university degree is a significant investment of an individual’s, and the public’s, time, energies, and
resources in the future, and habits of academic integrity protect that investment by preserving the
university’s reputation and ensuring public confidence in higher education.
Students found guilty of plagiarism will suffer consequences ranging from a grade
reduction to failure in the course to expulsion from the university. In addition, a formal
letter documenting the offence will be filed in the Dean’s Office, and this record of the
offence will be retained in the Dean’s Office for the duration of the student’s academic
career at Huron University College.
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial
plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers
submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the
purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is
subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and
Turnitin.com.
Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review
by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.
Personal Response Systems (“clickers”) may be used in some classes. If clickers are to be used in a class, it
is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the device is activated and functional. Students must see
their instructor if they have any concerns about whether the clicker is malfunctioning. Students must use
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only their own clicker. If clicker records are used to compute a portion of the course grade:

the use of somebody else’s clicker in class constitutes a scholastic offence,

the possession of a clicker belonging to another student will be interpreted as an attempt to
commit a scholastic offence.
Policy on Special Needs
Students who require special accommodation for tests and/or other course components must make the
appropriate arrangements with the Student Development Centre (SDC). Further details concerning
policies and procedures may be found at:
http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/ssd/?requesting_acc
Attendance Regulations for Examinations
A student is entitled to be examined in courses in which registration is maintained, subject to the
following limitations:
1) A student may be debarred from writing the final examination for failure to maintain satisfactory
academic standing throughout the year.
2) Any student who, in the opinion of the instructor, is absent too frequently from class or laboratory
periods in any course will be reported to the Dean of the Faculty offering the course (after due warning has
been given). On the recommendation of the Department concerned, and with the permission of the Dean
of that Faculty, the student will be debarred from taking the regular examination in the course. The Dean
of the Faculty offering the course will communicate that decision to the Dean of the Faculty of registration.
Class Cancellations
In the event of a cancellation of class, every effort will be made to post that information on the Huron
website, http://www.huronuc.ca/AccessibilityInfo (“Class Cancellations”).
Accessibility
Huron University College strives at all times to provide its goods and services in a way that respects the
dignity and independence of people with disabilities. We are also committed to giving people with
disabilities the same opportunity to access our goods and services and allowing them to benefit from the
same services, in the same place as, and in a similar way to, other customers. We welcome your feedback
about accessibility at Huron. Information about how to provide feedback is available at:
http://www.huronuc.ca/AccessibilityInfo
Mental Health @ Western
Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health @ Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Program and Academic Counselling
English students registered at Huron who require advice about modules and courses in English should
contact Dr. T. Hubel, Chair – tdhubel@huron.uwo.ca Students should contact Academic Counselling on
other academic matters. See the Academic Counselling website for information on services offered.
http://huronuc.ca/CurrentStudents/StudentLifeandSupportServices/CounselorsCounsellingServices
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