ENGL 3225: Advanced Readings in World Literature
Literature of the Caribbean
Dr. Stacy J. Lettman
Office: Irby 427
Contact: (501) 852-2263; slettman@uca.edu
Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 10:45 AM-12:10 PM and 1:45 PM-5:00 PM
Spring 2016
TR: 12:15-1:30 PM
CRN: 27456
Location: Irby 312
The words “order” and “disorder” have a chain of associated meanings. For instance, the expression “out of
order” refers to the absence of manners and respectability—in essence, that which is considered socially
improper. A more general understanding of the term signifies the lack of accordance with established rules
or procedures, the lack of sequence, or the lack of proper working conditions. While the word “order” can
be read broadly to denote proper synthesis or cohesion, the term “disorder” as its antithesis can be read as
a dialectical opposition to the notion of order. “Disorder,” for example, suggests the disturbance of peace,
an infraction of the law or accorded discipline, an uprising or tumult, and the disturbance of bodily or
mental function. We will examine the significance of these terms in various Caribbean plays, poems,
novels, and short stories—specifically in relation to narrative voice and structure as we explore topics
regarding the body and body politic, discipline and regulation, and manners and social sensibility. We will
explore a number of questions including the following: How is “disorderliness” reflective of the Caribbean
postcolonial experience and the ruptures created by slavery, colonialism, independence and the birth of
new national and social identities? Within this context, what is the locus of “home” (or yard) given the
transnational formations of forced and voluntary migrations? How is the sense of belonging punctuated by
the grammar of nationalism, tradition, and usable past? What are the tensions between the past and
present and visions of the future? Is there an over-determination in the “performance” of identity both at
“home” and abroad?
We will start with Martinican writer Aimé Césaire’s revisionist writing in A Tempest by calling attention to
the “disorder” of the colonial regime in the New World, particularly the impact on language and identity.
Then, we will continue with Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier’s magical realist exploration of revolutionary
upheavals in The Kingdom of this World, which opens up the conversation about the supposed “order” that
imperial domination fosters and the actual “disorder” Caribbean subjects experience. Writers such as V.S.
Naipaul, Jamaica Kincaid, Edwidge Danticat, and Andrea Levy explore the “disorderliness” of both the
center and periphery as their characters seek emancipation, even after slavery--during the colonial,
postcolonial, and neocolonial eras. We will read texts from this linguistically varied (English, Spanish, Dutch,
and French) and syncretic cultures (African, Asian, and European). All texts will be read in English and its
creole variants, as well as translations from other colonial languages of the Caribbean.
Required Texts
Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of this World (1957)
V.S. Naipaul, The Mimic Men (1967)
Aimé Césaire, A Tempest (1969)
Michelle Cliff, Abeng (1984)
Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak! (1995)
Andrea Levy, Small Island (2004)
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Course Learning Goals
 To teach critical practices and careful strategies of textual and contextual interpretation of Caribbean
literature.
 To provide knowledge of the Caribbean literary field, including historical research.
 To help students develop their writing skills, to sharpen their analytic competency, and to
communicate effectively in discussion and oral presentation.
Grading Criteria
Attendance: 10%
Participation: 10%
Weekly blogs: 10%
Essay #1 (3-4 pages): 20%
Essay # (4-5 pages): 25%
Essay #3 (5 pages): 25%
Point Distribution
Short Essay #1 (3-4 pages)
200 points = 20%
Short Essay #2 (4-5 pages)
250 points = 25%
Short Essay #3 (5-6 pages)
250 points = 25%
Weekly Response Blogs
100 points = 10%
Class Participation
100 points = 10%
Attendance
100 points = 10%
------------------------------------------------------------------Total:
1,000 points =100%
A= 90% - 100%
B= 80% - 89%
C= 70% - 79%
D= 60% - 69%
F= Below 60%
DETAILED COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance (10%): Attendance is mandatory for all class sessions. Three or more absences--excused or
otherwise--will decrease your grade. If you do miss a class, you are still responsible for the missed material.
Please arrive on time to class. Three tardies (over 10 minutes late) will count as one absence.
Participation (10%): Participation in class discussions will give you the opportunity to try out their ideas and
to gain feedback not only from me but also their peers. I will evaluate your participation based upon how
your comments reflect your thoughtful response to the readings and to the ideas presented in class, rather
than how often you speak. Given this mode of evaluation, I encourage you to prepare for these discussions
by reading the assigned material closely, underline important passages, and to make notes in the margins
of your books so that you engage with the text deeply and can return to key passages to defend your
claims.
Weekly response blogs (10%): You are required to write a weekly one-page blog that you can use as the
basis for your class discussions. These weekly responses may also serve as the foundation for longer critical
essays. Each assignment sheet will specify the prompt(s) and required page-length.
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Essays (70%): You are required to write three thesis-driven essays, and each assignment sheet will specify
the prompt(s) and required page-length.
UCA Core Requirement
This course is designated [D] which means it satisfies your Diversity component of the Upper Division Core.
Diversity courses promote the ability to analyze familiar cultural assumptions in the context of the world’s
diverse values, traditions, and belief systems as well as to analyze the major ideas, techniques and processes
that inform creative works within different cultural and historical contexts. For more information, go to
http://uca.edu/core.
Academic Integrity
The University of Central Arkansas affirms its commitment to academic integrity and expects all members of
the university community to accept shared responsibility for maintaining academic integrity. Students in this
course are subject to the provisions of the university’s Academic Integrity Policy, approved by the Board of
Trustees as Board Policy No. 709 on February 10, 2010, and published in the Student Handbook. Penalties
for academic misconduct such as plagiarism in this course may include a failing grade on an assignment, a
failing grade in the course, or any other course-related sanction that the instructor determines to be
appropriate. Continued enrollment in this course affirms a student’s acceptance of this university policy.
Critical Thinking, Critical Reading, and Critical Writing
As English majors, this class will encourage three essential skills: critical thinking, critical reading, and
critical writing.
Critical Thinking – questioning everything you read, hear, and experience, not only for plot, but for tone,
intention, consequence, relationships, process, and technique. While many read only for entertainment
or for information, in this course we will practice our skills at reading for what is in front of us as well as
adjacent, above, below, and even figure out how whatever we’re reading got there in the first place. As
active critical thinkers, we will move away from taking anything at face value.
Critical Reading – is asking questions of a text while engaging with it, questions such as: who is the
intended audience, whose cultural values are reflected, what is the tone, what is the intention, what are
the consequences of reading the text, what truths are revealed in this text in regards to economics,
politics, sociology, gender, or race and which truths are concealed, how does this text respond to its time
period, what kind of philosophies does this text espouse or depend upon, which does it challenge? To
practice and further develop our critical reading skills in this course, we will be actively taking notes as
we read and underlining, highlighting, looking up words we don’t know and keeping a list of their
definitions in our notebooks.
Critical Writing –engages the reader in a lively, well-researched, well-thought-out, and focused
conversation. Rather than offering descriptive writing that takes no responsibility for entering a global
conversation about its topic, we will focus on critical writing throughout the semester. Distinct from
descriptive writing, which also assumes that all information presented is unequivocally true and takes the
world at face value without any consideration of alternative truths, critical writing demonstrates a clear,
confident refusal to accept others’ conclusions without evidence and independent evaluation. Critical
writing offers a clear presentation of one’s own evidence, argumentation, and conclusions while
recognizing their limitations.
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The Writing Center
The Center will help you work on your writing at any stage of development. To make an appointment,
submit a paper for online tutoring, or to find out about drop-in hours, visit
http://www.uca.edu/writingcenter/appointment.php. They also offer useful online resources at
http://www.uca.edu/writingcenter/online_resources.php. The Academic Success Center is also available to
help you with all aspects of college work. Check them out at http://www.uca.edu/ucollege/asc.php.
University Policies
If you have questions about the university’s academic policies or any other matters, please consult the
relevant sections of the UCA Student Handbook. UCA adheres to the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities. If you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, contact the UCA Office of
Disability Services at (501) 450-3135.
Emergency Procedures Summary
An Emergency Procedures Summary (EPS) for the building in which this class is held will be discussed
during the first week of this course. EPS documents for most buildings on campus are available at
http://uca.edu/mysafety/bep/. Every student should be familiar with emergency procedures for any campus
building in which he/she spends time for classes or other purposes.
Title IX Disclosure
If a student discloses an act of sexual harassment, discrimination, assault, or other sexual misconduct to a
faculty member (as it relates to “student-on-student” or “employee-on-student”), the faculty member cannot
maintain complete confidentiality and is required to report the act and may be required to reveal the names of
the parties involved. Any allegations made by a student may or may not trigger an investigation. Each
situation differs and the obligation to conduct an investigation will depend on those specific sets of
circumstances. The determination to conduct an investigation will be made by the Title IX Coordinator. For
further information, please visit: https://uca.edu/titleix. *Disclosure of sexual misconduct by a third party
who is not a student and/or employee is also required of the misconduct occurs when the third party is a
participant in a university-sponsored program, event, or activity.
Americans with Disabilities Act Statement
The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If
you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, please contact the UCA Disability Resource
Center, 501-450-3613.
Evaluations
Student evaluations of a course and its professors are a crucial element in helping faculty achieve excellence
in the classroom and the institution in demonstrating that students are gaining knowledge. Students may
evaluate courses they are taking on the Monday of the thirteenth week of instruction through the end of finals
weeks by logging in to myUCA and clicking on the Evals button on the top right.
OVERVIEW OF IMPORTANT POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

A late paper drops one-third of a letter grade for each class meeting that it is late (e.g., from B- to C+
or C+ to C).

Essays more than one week late will not be accepted.

Please adhere to university’s academic code. The university takes a very strict stance on matters of
academic integrity, especially in cases involving plagiarism and illegitimate assistance.

You must bring the texts that are required for each class session.
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
Please turn off cellular phones, pagers, laptops, or any other noisy/distracting device. Anything that
might happen during class will be waiting for you when class is over.

You must check your e-mail on a daily basis, since I will often make class announcements (e.g.,
changes, cancellations) via e-mail.

All essays must be typed (12-pt font, Times New Roman) and double-spaced. Use one-inch margins
all around and do not insert extra spaces between paragraphs. Always include your name, my
name, the assignment number, the date, and page numbers. You must staple your papers.

I will accept only hard copies of papers. Therefore, please do not send me your papers by e-mail.
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Weekly Reading Schedule And Assignment Due Dates
Order and Disorder: Slavery, Colonialism, and Rebellion in the Brave New World
INTRODUCTIONS
Thurs: Jan 7
 Overview of the course
WEEK 1
Tues: Jan 12

Aimé Césaire, A Tempest (vii-p. 24)
Thurs: Jan 14

Aimé Césaire, A Tempest (pp. 25-66)
WEEK 2
Tues: Jan 19


Aimé Césaire, A Tempest (Recap: Caliban and Language)
Frantz Fanon, “The Negro and Language” from Black Skin, White Masks (Available on Blackboard)
Thurs: Jan 21

Frantz Fanon, “The Negro and Language” from Black Skin, White Masks (Available on Blackboard)
WEEK 3
Tues: Jan 26


Marlene Nourbese Philip, “Discourse on the Logic of Language” (Available on Blackboard)
Handout assignment sheet for Essay #1
Thurs: Jan 28


Jamaica Kincaid, “My Mother” (Available on Blackboard)
“Magical Realism” from Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community (Available on Blackboard)
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WEEK 4
Tues: Feb 2

Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of this World (“Introduction” and pp. 3-47)
Thurs: Feb 4

Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of this World (pp. 49-98)
WEEK 5
Tues: Feb 9

Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of this World (pp. 101-150)
Thurs: Feb 11



Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of this World (pp. 153-180)
Frantz Fanon, “On Violence” from The Wretched of the Earth (Available on Blackboard)
Writing Workshop #1 (Bring a thesis statement)
UNIT II: Order and Disorder at Home and Abroad
WEEK 6
Tues: Feb 16


Clyde Hosein, “Man at the Gate of the House of Refuge” (Available on Blackboard)
Essay #1 is due
Thurs: Feb 18


V.S. Naipaul, The Mimic Men (pp. 1-96)
Handout assignment sheet for Essay #2
WEEK 7
Tues: Feb 23

V.S. Naipaul, The Mimic Men (pp. 97-170)
Thurs: Feb 25

V.S. Naipaul, The Mimic Men (pp. 171-238)
WEEK 8
Tues: March 1

V.S. Naipaul, The Mimic Men (pp. 239-301
Thurs: March 3

Thea Doelwijt, “In Foreign Parts” (Available on Blackboard)
UNIT III: Gendered Disruptions: Historical Memory, Trauma, and the Feminine Voice
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WEEK 9
Tues: March 8

Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak! – “Children of the Sea” and “Nineteen Thirty-seven” (pp. 1-49)
Thurs: March 10

Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak! –“A Wall of Fire Rising” and “Night Women” (pp. 52-88)
WEEK 10
Tues: March 15

Writing Workshop #2
Thurs: March 17


Class is canceled [Dr. Lettman will be attending a conference in Massachusetts]
Essay #2 is Due
WEEK 11

SPRING BREAK
WEEK 12
Tues: March 29

Michelle Cliff, Abeng (pp. 3-66)
Thurs: March 31


Michelle Cliff, Abeng (pp. 66-116)
Handout assignment sheet for Essay #3
WEEK 13
Tues: April 5

Michelle Cliff, Abeng (pp. 116-166)
Thurs: April 7

Andrea Levy, Small Island (pp. 1-66)
WEEK 14
Tues: April 12

Andrea Levy, Small Island (pp. 67-143)
Thurs: April 14

Andrea Levy, Small Island (pp. 144-267)
WEEK 15
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Tues: April 19


Andrea Levy, Small Island (pp. 268-363)
In-class viewing of the BBC TV drama Small Island (2009)
Thurs: April 21


Andrea Levy, Small Island (pp. 364-439)
Writing Workshop #3
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