LITR 5734 2003 Take-home / email midterm:

Due: Within 24 hours of class on Monday, 9 June

Weight: approximately 20-30% of final grade

Length: 5-10 typed, double-spaced page equivalent

Submission format: The midterm must be submitted in electronic form, either by email or on a disk, so that it can be uploaded to the course webpage.

Organization requirement: Your midterm must take the form of a complete, unified essay, but it may include personal references to the course and your experience with it.

Topic assignment: Introduce, define, and explain the concepts of colonial and postcolonial literature in relation to the following course texts:

·        Conrad, Heart of Darkness

·        Achebe, Things Fall Apart

·        Achebe, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness,"

·        A poem by Walcott

·        At least one reference to Literary Theory handout

·        At least one reference to student postings on course webpage

One way to imagine the assignment is as a description of your learning curve in the opening weeks of this course. What knowledge did you come in with of the course’s subject matter, and how have you learned to receive or process its perspectives? What uses may the course and its organization serve in the study of literature and culture?