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Course, academic year 2023/2024
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Postcolonial Literatures in English - OINA4A031A
Title: Postcolonial Literatures in English
Guaranteed by: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury (41-KAJL)
Faculty: Faculty of Education
Actual: from 2022
Semester: winter
E-Credits: 4
Examination process: winter s.:
Hours per week, examination: winter s.:1/1, C+Ex [HT]
Extent per academic year: 0 [hours]
Capacity: 0 / 0 (unknown)
Min. number of students: unlimited
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: taught
Language: English
Teaching methods: full-time
Teaching methods: full-time
Guarantor: doc. PhDr. Petr Chalupský, Ph.D.
PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D.
Teacher(s): PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D.
Annotation -
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (23.08.2022)
The course will focus on a range of Anglophone literatures, recently referred to as postcolonial literatures (New Zealand, Indian, Nigerian, South African, Anglophone Caribbean, and Australian literatures). Both the lectures and seminars familiarise the students with key literary texts of these literatures as well as theoretical assumptions of postcolonial criticism informed by postmodern and poststructuralist strategies. The major focus of the seminars will be an interpretation of primary sources selected from a wide geographical spectrum of contemporary Anglophone literatures from the point of view of postcolonial thought as well as TEFL. Themes: 1. Postcolonial theory and the role of English 2. Anglophone Caribbean Literature 3. Indian Literature in English 4. South African Literature in English 5. Nigerian Literature in English 6. Australian Literature 7. New Zealand Literature in English
Aim of the course
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (23.08.2022)

•       to introduce students to the major issues of a wide range of postcolonial literatures

•       to enable students to identify dominant and distinct themes in individual literatures

•       to enable students to relate the selected texts to their (i.e., the countries’) cultural backgrounds

•       to introduce students to the notion of intercultural communicative competency and its implications as far as postcolonial texts and their employment in the classroom is concerned

Descriptors -
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (23.08.2022)

Self-study: 5 h

Reading: 40 h

Seminar work: 9 h

Credit: 10 h

Exam: 20 h 

Literature -
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (14.09.2022)

Moodle: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=6472, password: Achebe

regular screenings of film adaptations and selected works of given cinematographies

PRIMARY LITERATURE - OBLIGATORY:

INDIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH:

•       Anita Desai: “Studies in the Park” (1978)

•       Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: “Clothes” (1990)

•       Vikram Seth: “Voices” (1990)

ANGLOPHONE CARIBBEAN LITERATURE: 

•       Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) - extract

•       Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre (1847) - extract

•       Derek Walcott: “Love After Love” (1976) 

SOUTHAFRICAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

•     Trevor Noah: “Trevor Noah on Growing Up in South Africa Under Apartheid” (2016)

•     Nadine Gordimer: “The Ultimate Safari” (1989)

NIGERIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

•       Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “The Danger of a Single Story” (2009) – TED Talk

•       Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart (1958) 

•       Chinua Achebe: “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness” (1975)

AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

•       Banjo Paterson: “The Man from Snowy River” (1895)

•       Henry Lawson: “The Drover's Wife” (1896)

•       Russell Drysdale: “The Drover’s Wife” (1945) - painting

•       Murray Bail: “The Drover’s Wife” (1984)

NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

•            Roma Potiki: “Stolen Dreams” (1972)

•            Witi Ihimaera: “The Whale” (1998)

PRIMARY LITERATURE – ELECTIVE 

(students choose one of these novels for the essay - all the works are available in e-versions in Moodle)

•       Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, the Serial Killer (2018) – Nigerian Literature in English

•       Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) – Caribbean Literature in English

•       Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger (2008) – Indian Literature in English

•       Witi Ihimaera: The Whale Rider (1987) – New Zealand Literature in English

•       Alexis Wright: Carpentaria (2006) – Australian Literature in English

•       Kopano Matlwa: Period Pain (2017) – South African Literature in English

SECONDARY LITERATURE:

ASHCROFT, Bill. ed. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice on Post- Colonial Literature (New Accents). London: Routledge, 1994, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0415280204

BALDWIN, Dean, Patrick J. QUINN. An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0618318810.

BHABHA, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-0415336390.

CHOUDHURY, Bibhash. Reading Postcolonial Theory: Key Texts in Context. London: Routledge, 2017. ISBN 978-1-138-48861-8.

MCLEOD, John. Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester University Press, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0719078583.

MULLANEY, Julie. Postcolonial Literatures in Context. Continuum, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-1847063373.

PROCHÁZKA, Martin. Slovník spisovatelů. 2., opr. a dopl. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2003. ISBN 80-7277-131-0.

SAID, Edward. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. London: Penguin, 1978, 1995. ISBN-13: 978-0394740676.

YOUNG, Robert J. Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Very short introductions. ISBN 978-0-19-280182-1.

Requirements to the exam -
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (29.08.2022)

1. Preparation for and participation in weekly seminars (max. 2 absences)

2. Submission of an argumentative essay (requirements – see below): You can re-submit your essay once (after the teacher has corrected it). 

3. Successful completion of an oral exam, max. 3 sittings 

Exam description: 

•       1st question (literary-historical): major themes, representatives and distinctive features of a selected literature, see the list below (app. 10-15 minutes)

•       2nd question (interpretation/analysis): the student chooses a poem, a short story or a novel (from the list of the works related to the topic of the question) from the point of view of a postcolonial studies/literary history/TEFL. The complete list of the works is available in SIS and Moodle.  (app. 5-10 minutes)

•       Essay feedback: (app. 5 minutes)

•       Language skills are part of the overall assessment. 

EXAM TOPICS: 

1. Postcolonial theory and the role of English

2. Anglophone Caribbean Literature 

3. Indian Literature in English

4. South African Literature in English 

5. Nigerian Literature in English

6. Australian Literature

7. New Zealand Literature in English

  

Essay requirements:

The students will choose one of the following novels, read it and write an argumentative essay based on its analysis based on the content of this course. 

Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, the Serial Killer (2018) – Nigerian Literature in English

Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) – Caribbean Literature in English

Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger (2008) – Indian Literature in English

Witi Ihimaera: The Whale Rider (1987) – New Zealand Literature in English

Alexis Wright: Carpentaria (2006) – Australian Literature in English

Kopano Matlwa: Period Pain (2017) – South African Literature in English

•       It is possible to choose a different novel from a postcolonial English-writing author. In this case, it is necessary to discuss/consult your choice with the teacher by the 15 December 2022

•       It is possible to approach it from the perspective of postcolonial theory/socio-historical/personal/didactic angle and all possible combinations of the afore mentioned points of view. 

•       The essay needs to be min. 1000 and max. 1500 words long (including the citations) and adhere to MLA—style of writing (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html) and clearly indicate its sources. 

•       ZERO PLAGIARISM POLICY

•       The deadline for essay submission is 8th January 2023. It should be uploaded in .doc, .docx in Moodle. The student may re-submit the essay once. 

Syllabus -
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (23.08.2022)

1. Postcolonial theory and the role of English

2. Anglophone Caribbean Literature 

3. Indian Literature in English

4. South African Literature in English 

5. Nigerian Literature in English

6. Australian Literature

7. New Zealand Literature in English

Course completion requirements -
Last update: PhDr. Tereza Topolovská, Ph.D. (29.08.2022)

1. Preparation for and participation in weekly seminars (max. 2 absences)

2. Submission of an argumentative essay (requirements – see below): You can re-submit your essay once (after the teacher has corrected it). 

3. Successful completion of an oral exam, max. 3 sittings 

Exam description: 

•       1st question (literary-historical): major themes, representatives and distinctive features of a selected literature, see the list below (app. 10-15 minutes)

•       2nd question (interpretation/analysis): the student chooses a poem, a short story or a novel (from the list of the works related to the topic of the question) from the point of view of a postcolonial studies/literary history/TEFL. The complete list of the works is available in SIS and Moodle.  (app. 5-10 minutes)

•       Essay feedback: (app. 5 minutes)

•       Language skills are part of the overall assessment. 

EXAM TOPICS: 

1. Postcolonial theory and the role of English

2. Anglophone Caribbean Literature 

3. Indian Literature in English

4. South African Literature in English 

5. Nigerian Literature in English

6. Australian Literature

7. New Zealand Literature in English

 

 

Essay requirements:

The students will choose one of the following novels, read it and write an argumentative essay based on its analysis based on the content of this course. 

Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, the Serial Killer (2018) – Nigerian Literature in English

Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) – Caribbean Literature in English

Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger (2008) – Indian Literature in English

Witi Ihimaera: The Whale Rider (1987) – New Zealand Literature in English

Alexis Wright: Carpentaria (2006) – Australian Literature in English

Kopano Matlwa: Period Pain (2017) – South African Literature in English

 

•       It is possible to choose a different novel from a postcolonial English-writing author. In this case, it is necessary to discuss/consult your choice with the teacher by 15 December 2022

•       It is possible to approach it from the perspective of postcolonial theory/socio-historical/personal/didactic angle and all possible combinations of the afore mentioned points of view. 

•       The essay needs to be min. 1000 and max. 1500 words long (including the citations) and adhere to MLA—style of writing (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html) and clearly indicate its sources. 

•       ZERO PLAGIARISM POLICY

•       The deadline for essay submission is 8th January 2023. It should be uploaded in .doc, .docx in Moodle. The student may re-submit the essay once. 

 
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