LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature University of Houston-Clear Lake

a. k. a. CRCL 5734: Cross-Cultural Texts in Dialogue

Spring 2008 Thurs  4-6:50 pm; B1219 Instructor: Craig White   Office: B2529-8

Phone: 281 283 3380  email: whitec@uhcl.edu Office Hours: Thurs 1-3; T 7-9

Course webpage: http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5734

Caveat: All materials on this syllabus are subject to change with minimal notice.

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

Classical texts of European colonialism

are read in dialogue with

postcolonial texts from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

*********

 

AFRICA

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1902)

in dialogue with

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958)

*******

 

INDIA

E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India (1924)

in dialogue with

Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan (1956)

 

*******

 

The CARIBBEAN / The "New World"

Daniel Defoe’s Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719)

in dialogue with

Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy (1990)

+

Handouts of selected poetry, primarily by

Derek Walcott of St. Lucia, winner of 1992 Nobel Prize

 

Grades and Assignments: Percentages are only approximate, indicating relative weight in considering final grades, which are not computed mathematically but decided subjectively by comparing the quality of a student's thought and writing with that of classmates’ and with wider academic standards.

 

·        Class presentations, responses, & postings for webpage (10-20%)

 

·        Two research postings (20%)

 

·        Take-home midterm (due within 72 hrs of class on 20-30%)

 

·        Final Exam (1 May; 30-40%)

Course objectives: (1-3 = Primary Objectives—themes and outcomes

throughout seminar discussions and exams)

 

1.  To bring classic literature of European colonialism and emerging literature from the postcolonial world into dialogue.

  • Such textual dialogues may be conscious debates between contemporaneous authors or exchanges suggested by readers.

  • Central theoretical terms for such readings are “Historicism” and "Intertextuality."

 

1a. Intertextuality: To read literary texts as political, economic, and demographic products and agents that provoke responses from other voices and traditions—not exclusively as timeless, autonomous, universal masterpieces.

 

1b. Historicism: To counter challenges to global knowledge and planetary identity by enhancing knowledge and identifying persistent oppositional themes or identities in cross-cultural dialogues:

  • modernity vs. tradition.

  • first world vs. third world

  • national or ethnic “purity” vs. “hybridity”

 

1c. To model and mediate the “culture wars” between the “old canon” of Western classics and the “new canon” of multicultural literature by studying these traditions together rather than separately.

 

1d. To extend this dialogue to a contemporary “third wave” after colonialism and postcolonialism: Can a “post-national” identity be imagined and articulated?

 

2. To theorize the novel as the defining genre of modernity, both for early-modern imperial culture and for late-modern postcolonial culture.

2a. By definition, the genre of the novel combines fundamental representational modes of narrative and dialogue. These modes respectively control and decenter storytelling.

  • Alternately, narrative and dialogue respectively foreground literate and spoken voices. Especially in postcolonial literature the narrator may be a “literate” voice, while characters’ voices represent unwritten, spoken, or oral traditions—another intertextuality.

  • How may literary fiction instruct or deepen students’ knowledge of world history and international relations compared to history, political science, anthropology, etc.?

2b. To extend the intertextuality of the novel or fiction to poetry and film by colonial, imperial, or post-colonial sources, especially Derek Walcott of St. Lucia, West Indies (b. 1930; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1992).

3.  To witness Americans’ difficulties with colonial and postcolonial discourse—and learn from this perspective.

3a. Is America (USA) an imperial, colonial, or neo-imperial nation, or an “empire in denial?” (Niall Ferguson)

  • Compare and contrast history of America as last or only “superpower” with history of previous empires like Rome and England.

  • Issues of American ignorance of larger world and alternative worldviews

  • What are the colonial-postcolonial experiences and literatures of the Middle East?

3b. Compare or contrast the United States’ colonial status and independence from England with other countries’ colonial and postcolonial states.

  • The United States is comparable to Australia, South Africa, and Israel in that “settlers” displaced or exterminated native populations.

  • In contrast, indigenous populations in Africa, Asia, and some Pacific areas have colonized by a layer of foreign administrators or capitalists.

3c. Does American resistance to or ignorance of postcolonial criticism react to this discourse’s development from outposts of the former British Empire and French / Francophone traditions?

  • Hot-bloodedness, symbolic quarrels rather than cool analysis and real wars

  • Extravagance playfulness of vocabulary, terminology, occasional indifference to nuances in favor of spectacular or dramatic effects

  • Cosmopolitan leftist defense of exploited over provincial bourgeois indifference

  • Issues of American ignorance of larger world and alternative worldviews

 

(Secondary Objectives)

4. To observe representations or repressions of gender in the traditionally male-dominant fields of cross-cultural contact and literature.

 

5. To relate postcolonialism and postmodernism.  (These movements emerge together in the later twentieth century and share some stylistic traits.)

 

6. To develop environmental thinking. Discussions of demographics, population dynamics, immigration, climate change, and other global environmental issues often take place in terms of developed and undeveloped nations, modernization, and “space and place.” (Compared to traditional cultures of the “Third World,” modern cultures of the “First World” or “global culture” usually have little attachment to particular places. Sense of “place” or “rootedness” gives way to abstract space: modern airports, hotels, or malls.)

 

7. To register and evaluate the persistence of millennial or apocalyptic narratives, images, and themes as a means of comprehending or symbolizing the colonial-postcolonial encounter.

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance policy: You are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting.  You may take one free cut.  Attendance may not be taken systematically, but if you miss more than one meeting, you start jeopardizing your status in the course. If you miss more than two classes (especially early), you are encouraged to drop.

Partial absences also count negatively.

Even with medical or other emergency excuses, a high number of absences (full or partial) will result in a lower or failing grade.

            If shockingly absent, return and make contact (281 283 3380) or leave message ASAP. More than one absence affects final grades.  You are always welcome to discuss your standing in the course.

 

Academic Honesty Policy: Please refer to the current UHCL catalog for the Academic Honesty Policy. Plagiarism—that is, using research without citations or copying someone else’s work as your own—will result in a grade penalty or failure of the course. Refer to the UHCL catalogue for further details regarding expectations and potential penalties.

 

Disabilities: If you have a disability and need a special accommodation, first consult with the Health Center and then discuss the accommodation with me.

Incompletes: A grade of "I" is given only in cases of documented emergency late in the semester.  An Incomplete Grade Contract must be completed.

Make-up exam policy: Ask way in advance for times before the regular exam.  Professor has the right to refuse accommodations requested on short notice.

 

Email / webpage contributions & references

Every student is expected to contribute and refer to the course webpage on several occasions. Each student will make at contributions to the webpage through the instructor via email or other electronic media.

The web address is http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5734. If convenient, install it as a “favorite” on your web browser.

 

Required email contributions:

1. posting for presentation (either poetry or discussion leader)

2. copy of take-home midterm exam (final exam in-class or email)

 

Required references to course webpage:

·        Poetry & Dialogue Presentations must refer to at least one similar posting from a previous class.

·        Midterms and final exams must make at least one reference to previously-posted exams or research projects on webpage.

  

Options for transmitting your contributions electronically:

·        All materials for the course webpage should be sent directly to the instructor at whitec@uhcl.edu. Try both of the following

·        Attach word processing file(s) to an email for whitec@uhcl.edu. (The only word processing programs my computer appears unable to translate are Microsoft Works and Macintosh, though Microsoft Word is fine, as are most others. If in doubt, save your word processing file in “Rich Text Format” or a “text only” or “read” format and then attach it.)

·        Copy and paste the contents of your word processing file into an email message to whitec@uhcl.edu

·        If you have trouble with email, save your file to a 3 & ½ “ floppy disk and give it to me.  If you put your name on the disk, I’ll eventually return it to you.

I may lightly edit submissions for presentation and readability, but most are posted as received. You are always welcome to send a revised copy.

 

Student computer access: Every enrolled student at UHCL is assigned an email account on the university server, which you may acquire at any university computer lab. Most students use personal email accounts.

 

Reassurances: You are not graded on your expertise in electronic media but on your intelligence in reading, discussing, and writing about literature. I’ve tried similar email exercises for several semesters; a few students encounter a few problems, but if we don’t give up, these problems work out. Your course grade will not suffer for mistakes with email and related issues as long as I see you making a fair effort.

 

 

Course Assignments

Take-home / email midterm:

Due: Due by email by the end of the weekend after 21 February class

Weight: 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.

Please give your midterm essay a title.

Organization requirement: Complete, unified essay, but welcome to include personal references to the course and your experience with it and others.

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 featured in class before midterm

  • At least one reference to student postings on course webpage (usu. midterm)

  • Refer to at least one objective, and perhaps more

One way to imagine the assignment is to describe your learning curve in 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? How can colonial and postcolonial texts “talk to each other?”

Alternative approaches to midterm essay, separately or in combination:

  • "Self-other" dialogue between yourself and the course. How has (and hasn't) the course spoken to your profile or identity as a reader or student of Literature? How are you responding in terms of joining or contributing to our subject or method?

  • Two-step progression: broadly review the course's subject, then focus on an aspect or application that meets your interests in research, teaching, or writing.

  • Another two-step progression: Describe course and appeals > what you want more of, how you may cultivate it in readings and research postings.

Work in textual references as examples throughout.

If you've had other courses relevant to this one, welcome to mention them with any details that further your point(s). 

Audience: not only of the instructor but present and future members of the seminar.

Welcome to email questions or topics to me

Review previous midterms on Model Assignments (required--see above).

 

Research Postings (2 installments + review in final exam)

Due dates:

·        First Research Posting Due before or during Spring Break

·        Second Research Posting Due before or with Final Exam

Weight: 20% of final grade

Describe and email to the instructor (for posting) two (or more) “adventures or experiments in research.” These exercises should be relevant to our course’s subject matter, but they may reflect your personal and professional interests in multicultural subjects. Try to relate your interests to Literature, but not absolutely required. Your final exam will summarize and assess these research experiments as part of your overall learning experience.

Range of topics: World history relevant to colonialism, imperialism, or postcolonialism; theoretical terms or movements relevant to postcolonial literature; literary figures or theoretical leaders associated with colonial / postcolonial discourse. The primary orientation is to choose a topic relevant to your interests and those of the course.

Grading: Depending on the pace of the semester, grades for research postings may not be returned until the Final Grade Report. This grade will be based on readability, interest, and quality of research. (By interest, I don’t mean whether I would have chosen the topic, but how well the report generates and sustains interest.)

Length: 4 paragraphs, plus or minus bibliographic information

Bibliographic requirements and information: At least 4 sources, at least some of which should be from reputable scholarship and not just stray internet postings. MLA style is expected. Information may be included in text or more completely in listings at end of posting.

Posting to webpage: Email contents to instructor at whitec@uhcl.edu. Instructor will post to webpage and email notification of posting. This may be all the feedback the student will receive until final grade report, but students may always confer for review.

 

Organization, Content, etc.:

Provide a title for your entry that will serve as a web heading or link. This title should indicate the content. The title may take the form of a question.

 

1st paragraph: Introduce and frame a question you want to answer or a topic you want to know more about. Explain the source or background of your interest; what you already knew on the subject, how or where you learned it or were alerted to it, etc. These backgrounds can be personal as well as educational or professional. At some point in this introductory paragraph, a statement of the question you’re trying to answer should appear.

 

2nd and 3rd paragraphs: describe your search for answers to your question or topic of interest. Locate, describe, and evaluate at least three sources. Your sources may be print, Web, or personal (as in an interview, lecture, conversation, or anecdote). If Web, provide links. If print, provide bibliographic information. (MLA style is preferred, but the main point of all documentation is to enable your reader to find the source.) If “personal,” provide as much contextual information as possible; welcome to protect privacy.

 

4th paragraph: What is the answer to your question? Your “answer” may take a variety of forms, as long as you demonstrate learning. For instance, you may find a definite answer to your specific question. Or you may learn that you’ve asked the wrong question, in which case you could conclude by revising your question. In any case, summarize and evaluate what you have learned, and consider what your next step might be if you continued your research along this line.

 

You may write more than 4 paragraphs, but beyond 6 or 7 paragraphs may push the assignment too far.

 

Your two postings may be on different subjects or may continue a single subject. Remain aware that you will need to discuss your research journal as part of your final exam question on your overall learning curve.

 

No web models exist for this new assignment for LITR 5734, but you may see student models of a similar assignment for LITR 5731 Seminar in American Multicultural Literature (Minority) at

http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/Whitec/LITR/4333/models/20065731/rschpost

 

Class Presentations

Each student will make at least one formal class presentation and may be assigned “informal” presentation responsibilities. Formal presentations include a web-posting before or after the presentation.

 

As part of the continuing effort to balance student and instructor leadership of our seminar, this semester will feature only two student presentations per class. The options below offer many more presentation options, but these remain only so students can choose if inclined.

 

Formal Presentations (posting required for course webpage)

·        Poetry reading-discussion from Walcott’s Collected Poems or handouts

·        Textual Dialogue review & presentation

·        Film highlight

 

Informal Presentations

·        “reading highlight”

·        web-highlight of previous student work

 

Purposes of student presentations: The purposes of these presentations are to develop the class’s seminar style and to give students practice in managing high-level presentations and discussions. The purpose is not to relieve the professor of his assigned duties. (The easiest class to prepare is one in which I just show up and talk for three hours.)

 

Presentation assignments will be decided partly by student choice and partly by chance; student preferences are not guaranteed. On the opening class day (17 January), students may indicate preferences for presentations on an ID card. Before 24 January I will prepare a draft of the presentation schedule and email it to the class for review. On 24 January everyone will receive a printed-out class schedule assigning students to presentation assignments for the rest of the session.

 

“Silent Grade” for presentation, responses, web postings, etc.

            You are graded for the quality of your work in presentations, responses, general class participation, and helpfulness in web postings, but this grade is not announced until the end of the semester, when it is recorded in your “Final Grade Report” (see below).  The reason for this “silent grade” is to avoid unproductive behavior from students in relation to the presentations, such as second-guessing, comparing grades, competing to each other’s detriment, or performing to the teacher.  Altogether the presentations are a cooperative exercise on the part of the class, so it’s better to keep grading out of sight; however, since some students would work less otherwise, the leverage of a grade is necessary.

 

General Rules for All Student Presentations:

1.     10-15 minute time limit. Beyond 10 minutes, you’re mostly talking to yourself. The major purpose of your presentation is not to lecture but to share a reading and lead a discussion. Make your major points as quickly and forcefully as possible. To conclude, reinforce your major points and lead into discussion.

 

Formal Presentations

 

·        Poetry reading-discussion

Reader: The chief purpose of this presentation is for the class to share the aesthetic experience of the poem and then to discuss its themes and techniques. The “reader” is responsible primarily for reading the poem in a clear and appropriate style and secondarily for interpreting the poem and leading a discussion of it.

 

Web posting and webpage use: The reader must use the web projector at least for the review of previous semesters’ discussion of the poem. The reader may also use the web project to show major points of interpretation and questions. These parts may be provided in the week following the class, or they may be mailed to the instructor for posting before the class meeting. In any case, a web posting of your presentation is required around the time of the presentation.

 

Steps in poetry presentation:

·        Make sure everyone has a copy of the poem. (Instructor will help.).

·        Briefly announce the major themes you will highlight.

·        Read the poem aloud or, if the poem is long, some essential passages.  Look up and practice pronunciations of unusual or foreign words before reading aloud. Avoid stumbling over words and asking professor if you got it right. If you are reading passages rather than the whole poem, provide some context for your selections.

·        Briefly comment on the thematic elements you observed in the poem and the meanings you gathered.  Relate the poem to ideas from the course or other texts. But don’t interpret for more than 3 or 4 minutes—the class is usually ready to begin discussing as soon as the poem’s reading is finished, so don’t lose that energy.

·        Begin discussion by asking a question regarding your interpretation.

·        Lead and respond to discussion.

·        At the end of discussion, presenter may be asked to summarize highlights.

 

End Presentation & begin discussion with a question. The primary purpose of your presentation is to stimulate a seminar discussion, which the presenter leads. The best way to begin a discussion is by asking a question.

·        Sometimes the students will just sit there, so you might have an extra question ready. Sometimes they’ll want to discuss something besides what you asked, which is okay. Sometimes you have to keep asking and trying different angles until you get a response. Sometimes you simply have to wait a little.

·        If you don’t ask a question to conclude your discussion, I will ask you a question, to wit: “What’s your question?” or “Why didn’t you ask a question?”

·        Your question should not be something feeble and formulaic like, “What do you think?” or “Do you see what I’m trying to say?” Base your question on your presentation, identifying a problem you faced in developing your point or highlighting a sensitive issue your presentation raises and how that issue may be addressed. Ask for help!

·        Student comments should be directed to the presenter, not the instructor, though some variance is natural.

 

 

 

·        Textual Dialogue review & presentation

This is an exercise in intertextuality— “making the texts talk to each other.” In our course, texts from different cultures meet in the context of colonialism. On days with these presentations, all students should bring both texts.

Presenter: The presenter chooses one or two scenes or passages in both texts that are worth reading together for any relevant reason. The scenes may involve similar situations seen from different perspectives, or they may show contact, conflict, or change (for good or bad) in the cultures involved. Or the scenes may simply involve a similar theme or motif, such as religion, exchange, gender, place, etc.

Format:

·        The presenter announces the basic subject of the dialogue—the reason or pretext for reading the scenes or passages together.

·        The presenter directs the class to the pages on which the scenes occur, sets the context, reads some essential passages aloud while highlighting language or motifs, then repeats the process in the second text, making comparisons and contrasts between the two texts.

·        The presenter summarizes the point or insight that emerges from the dialogue.

·        If a previous course webpage posting on the same dialogue exists, the presenter reviews some element of it during the presentation or discussion.

·        The presenter starts discussion by asking a question based on the presentation and texts, then leads the discussion.

·        At the end of discussion, presenter may be asked to summarize highlights.

 

·        Film highlight

The assigned student will introduce and show a scene or two from a film relevant to the course’s readings or subject. In some cases the instructor will provide a copy of the film; in others the student may rent a copy.

 

In introduction, follow-up, and/or discussion, connect the film’s subject, treatment, character or action to our course’s texts and objectives. How does the film fit or extend the categories of colonial and postcolonial literature?

 

Presenter leads discussion following presentation. Given that other students may not know the film otherwise, an extended discussion may not be possible, so a formal discussion-starting question is not required. However, presenter should encourage discussion at least through broad questions; e. g., “How many people have seen this movie?” or “What else did you see in the clip?”

 

Web postings required for formal presentations

The web summaries should including a 3-4 paragraph synopsis of the presentation, including references to previous web summaries and the discussion question(s), followed by the respondent’s comments and the discussion notes.

Informal Presentations

These presentations do not require a formal posting, though the “web” presentations will require some use of the webpage.

 

Reading Highlight

This assignment is a briefer version of the “discussion-starter” assignment in previous classes.

Procedure:

·        Choose a passage (or two brief, related passages) from the day’s reading assignments.

·        Direct class to page(s)—help with different editions by citing chapters, paragraph numbers or ledes.

·        Briefly preview reading with context, why you chose it, what to look for, etc.

·        Read passage aloud.

·        Briefly comment and invite further comments or ask discussion question based on passage.

·        No posting required.

 

web-highlighter

The student takes the class to the “Model Assignments” subpage  and reviews one or more passages from previous student contributions.

 

If your assignment is for midterm or final samples, choose passages relevant to the day’s reading assignment or the course’s continuing concerns. Ideally, show passages referring to the day’s readings in pursuit of a larger point.

 

This informal presentation usually leads to a discussion, but a question is not required. The student is required only to find passages before the class meeting, to use the class computer to find and highlight the passage, read it over with the class, and to comment about why s/he chose the passage and either what s/he learned from it or how s/he differs from it. The student presenter should lead discussion for a few minutes, but the instructor takes over eventually.

 

How to prepare for or present these materials:

·        Copy and paste the highlighted materials and sent them before class to the instructor, who adds them to the day’s webpage.

·        Simply navigate the webpage to the “Model Assignments” sub-page, find the passages, and use the cursor or block to highlight them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Exam

Conditions: The conditions under which you take your final exam are variable. All options are open-book and open-notebook.

  • You may write your exam in-class during the final exam period (4-6:50, 1 May 2008).
  • You may write your exam out-of-class and send it by email, using a time span of up to four hours, with the exam due by noon on Friday, 2 May.
  • Since the assignments are known, you may prepare your answers. In writing your submission, however, please observe time allotments.

Content: 2 essays of approximately 1.5 hours each.

Essay 1: Describe and evaluate your learning curve in this course. Your essay can’t cover everything in the course, so focus on a central comprehensive theme that can integrate several aspects or dimensions of your learning experience.

  • What aspects of the course (content and/or methods) have you found most challenging or rewarding. What outcomes does it provide your career as a reader, teacher, or researcher?
  • Refer to your research postings as part of your learning process. Ideally you’ll refer to both, but if one works better, OK. Also welcome to refer to and reprise parts of your midterm.
  • Refer to at least one objective, or as many as may be helpful. For objective 3, for instance, how have you resolved or balanced “American ways of thinking,” which tend to be nationalistic and isolationist (despite our international presence) with the internationalist mediations developed by Colonial and Postcolonial Studies? (The purpose is not to berate the USA, especially given its multicultural population and status as an immigration-magnet, but to develop the American perspective relative to the rest of the world.)
  • Refer to at least one previous student submission and at least one subject reviewed in the web reviews or Research Links this semester.
  • This question is less text-intensive than Essay 2, but refer at least briefly to two or more texts from our course.

Essay 2: Compose a dialogue between 4 or more texts, including at least 2 novels since the midterm. You are welcome and encouraged to refer to one or more student presentations or Research Links from this semester or before.

  • Novels since midterm: A Passage to India, Train to Pakistan, Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Lucy

·        The theme or subject of this dialogue is your choice. Your essay should at least acknowledge some course objectives, but you are welcome to emphasize an idea you saw emerging in class that needs your attention.

See examples from previous students in final exam samples on Model Assignments. 

 

Final Grade Report: Final grades will be submitted to the registrar according to the usual procedures. I will also email each student a tally of their grades that should be accurate but will be “unofficial” in that none of its information aside from the final grade will be recorded or supported by the university registrar. The message will appear thus:

 

LITR 5734 2008: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

STUDENT NAME

Contact information (email & US Mail addresses, phones, etc.)

Absences:

Presentation(s) / participation grade:

Midterm grade:

Final exam grade:

Research postings:

Course grade:

 

Reading & Presentation Schedule

Thursday, 24 January: Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp. 3-54 (up to part III); Chinua Achebe, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Norton Critical Edition of Heart of Darkness.

·        Reading highlight relating Achebe article to Heart of Darkness

film highlight: Apocalypse Now

 

Thursday, 31 January: Conclude Heart of Darkness (54-76; complete); begin Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1-51; through chapter 6).

·        Dialogue between Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart:

leader: Corrie Manigold

·        Poetry reading: W. B. Yeats, “The Second Coming”

reader: Danielle Lynch

·        Web review: Intertextuality

 

Thursday, 7 February: Things Fall Apart (52-161; through chapter 18)

·        Poetry reading from Walcott: “A Far Cry from Africa” (17-18)

reader: Cynthia Stone

·        Dialogue between Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart:

leader: Erica Shillings

·        Web review: Chinua Achebe, Amos Tutuola, Ngugi wa Thiong’o

 

Thursday, 14 February: Conclude discussion of Things Fall Apart (through p. 209; complete); Kirsten Holst Petersen, "Problems of a Feminist Approach to African Literature" (handout);

·        Dialogue between Things Fall Apart & Petersen, "Problems of a Feminist Approach to African Literature":

leader: Tanya Stanley

·        Web review: article on wife-beating in Africa (under “Miscellaneous”)

·        Web highlight (previous midterms)

Highlighter: Karen Daniel

 

Thursday, 21 February: Take-home midterm due within 72 hours of class meeting.  Walt Whitman, "Passage to India" (handout); begin Forster’s Passage to India, section I (“Mosque”), chapters 1-3, pp. 3-34.

·        Poetry reading from Whitman's "Passage to India"

Reader: Talli Ortiz

·        Web review: E. M. Forster sites

·        film highlight: Passage to India (d. David Lean, 1984)

 

Thursday, 28 February: Continue E. M. Forster, A Passage to India (pp. 35-212; through II, "Caves," chapter xx); Edward W. Said, "Orientalism" (handout)

·        Dialogue between A Passage to India & "Orientalism":

leader: Dawlat Yassin

·        Poetry reading from Walcott: “The Season of Phantasmal Peace” (464-65)

reader: C. Vanessa Olivier

·        Web review: novel of manners; karma

 

Thursday, 6 March: complete Forster, A Passage to India (through part III, "Temple"; 212-362)

·        Reading highlight for Passage to India: Cory Owen

·        Poetry reading from Walcott: "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (91)

reader: Matt Richards

·        Web review: Partition of India

 

Thursday, 13 March: Begin Train to Pakistan. through page 116 (through Kalyug chapter, up to Mano Majra chapter)

·                    Web review: Punjab and the Sikhs; Khushwant Singh

·                    Dialogue between Passage to India & Train to Pakistan

leader: corey porter!

·        film highlight: White Teeth (part 1)
presenter: Stephanie Wilcox

 

First Research Posting Due before or during Spring Break

 

Thursday, 20 March: No meeting—Spring Holidays

 

Thursday, 27 March:  complete Train to Pakistan (through p. 181)

·        Dialogue between Passage to India & Train to Pakistan

leader: Larry Stanley

book highlights: Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine

presenter: Cory Owen

 

Thursday, 3 April: begin Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (25-86; up to "The Journal"); Ian Watt, "Robinson Crusoe, Individualism, and the Novel" (handout)

·        Dialogue with Robinson Crusoe / Poetry reading from Walcott: “Crusoe’s Island” (68-72)

reader:

Web review: Defoe sites on webpage

·                    film highlight: White Teeth (part 2)

presenter: Allison Coyle

Thursday, 10 April: Robinson Crusoe (complete, but especially 160 ("You are to understand that now I had . . . two plantations . . . ") through page 233 ("There was another tree . . . )

·        Reading highlight for Robinson Crusoe: Dawlat Yassin

·        Dialogue with Robinson Crusoe / Poetry reading from Walcott: “Crusoe’s Journal” (92-4)

reader: Brouke M. Rose-Carpenter

·        Web highlight (final exams)

Highlighter: Danielle Lynch

 

Thursday, 17 April: Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy (1-83; up to chapter titled "Cold Hearts")

·        Dialogue between Robinson Crusoe & Lucy:

leader: Jim Steinhilber

·        Poetry reading from Walcott: “The Gulf” (104-108)

reader: Tanya Stanley

 

Thursday, 24 April: Lucy (through 164; complete)

·        Dialogue between Robinson Crusoe & Lucy:

leader: Karen Daniel

·        Web highlight (final exams)

Highlighter: Corrie Manigold

 

Thursday, 1 May: final exam (timing depends on whether you take it in-class or by email; see above)