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Postcolonial Studies: Literature, Theory, Practice

Module description

This module engages with key aesthetic, critical and theoretical debates in postcolonial literary studies. From anti-colonial resistance struggles to the theoretical emergence of the field in the 1970s, to recent theoretical-conceptual iterations, this module will place postcolonial debates alongside a range of theories and literatures from the so-called ‘postcolonial’ world, including Africa, Britain, the Caribbean, and South Asia.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to trace the political, social and cultural history of postcolonial literary studies and intellectual practice. You will have the opportunity to extend your knowledge of the field of postcolonial studies through the study of foundational texts in postcolonial criticism in dialogue with a selection of postcolonial literatures. The module considers the role of writers and intellectuals in relation to these debates and the problems this role might engender. The module aims to expose and challenge paradigms of colonialism, highlight the forging and subsequent critique of the newly independent, ‘postcolonial’ state, engage with representations of marginality, expressions of literary commitment and critiques of national reconciliation and contestations of ‘globalisation’. The module also aims to establish the links between these key debates and literary form. The module will provide methodological training in working across disciplines, in a critical engagement with postcolonial studies and works of literature, and in using bibliographic and electronic resources.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Gain an advanced knowledge and awareness of the contexts (cultural, political, intellectual, historical, social, economic) that have informed postcolonial literary studies as well as the complex debates surrounding the politicisation of writing and intellectual practice as they have emerged in twentieth-century colonial and postcolonial literatures.
• 2. Develop an advanced understanding in the diverse field of postcolonial theory and be able to apply this to a range of literature.
• 3. Be able to analyse and critique at an advanced level the varied genres produced within the disparate field of postcolonial studies and to recognise the significance of these in terms of the ethics and politics of writing.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Be able to devise, research and execute a sustained independent research project.
• 5. Be able to identify the links between the contexts of works of literature and the mode in which these texts are presented.
• 6. Develop advanced skills in critical and theoretical thinking that apply beyond the subject, particularly to the fields of critical theory and intellectual history.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Develop communication skills through seminar discussion.
• 8. Develop advanced skills in academic writing as well as personal organisation and time-management through written assessment and assignments.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The module is structured around key theoretical debates and concerns in Postcolonial Studies     
• The syllabus plan consists of three thematic blocks: Beginnings, Theories, and New Debates. It covers anti-colonial writings, key theoretical paradigms, such as Orientalism, and Subalternity, and Postcolonial Studies in Practice. This will be complemented by discussions of literary texts drawn from Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean, which will act as case studies for these theoretical paradigms.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Literature:

• Assia Djebar, Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade
• Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Petals of Blood
• Earl Lovelace, Salt
• Note that the above primary reading list is an indicative list only, and that the list for the current year will be available on ELE.

Critical Conceptual works:

• Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
• Neil Lazarus, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Literary Studies
• Benita Parry, Postcolonial Studies: A Materialist Critique
• Edward Said, Orientalism
• Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism
• Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman, ed., Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11226
  

Key words search

Colonialism, postcolonialism, neo-colonialism, globalisation, postcolonial literatures, postcolonial and world literary theory