Cultural Connections in Southern Africa: Literature and Film
| Module title | Cultural Connections in Southern Africa: Literature and Film |
|---|---|
| Module code | SML2002 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Tom Stennett (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 15 |
|---|
Module description
In this module, you will study a range of literary texts and films from Southern Africa. In lectures, you will analyse films and texts in the distinct historical contexts of colonial rule and post-independence national government. In seminars, we will discuss issues related to the study of African literatures and film: language, empire, colonialism, the relationship between culture and politics and the intersections of race, gender and class. Students of Portuguese may take this module to count towards their Portuguese credits by engaging with material in the foreign language.
Module aims - intentions of the module
In this module you will be introduced to a range of authors from Southern Africa. You will learn about the distinct colonial and post-colonial contexts in which these authors and filmmakers produced their art and how features of these contexts — censorship, political oppression, lack of filmmaking and publishing infrastructure — impacted their work. In seminars, you will reflect on broader issues related to the study of African literatures, film and history. We will draw links between these debates and the films and literary texts studied in the lectures.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Analyse Southern African literatures and film in context
- 2. Outline distinct Southern African colonial and post-colonial historical contexts of production
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Analyse primary sources (film and literary texts) in light of critical theory
- 4. Argue cogently in register-appropriate English, using supporting quotation from primary and secondary sources
- 5. Demonstrate close reading/interpretation skills through analysis of primary texts and critical theory
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Demonstrate independent critical thinking
- 7. Show sensitivity to the specificities of film and literature as modes of expression
Syllabus plan
While content may vary from year to year, it is expected that the module will cover some of the following topics:
- Shared Histories in Southern Africa: Colonial/Apartheid Rule and the Liberation Struggles
- Anthology of Poetry Published under Colonial/White-Minority Rule
- Mozambican Anticolonial Prose: Luís Bernardo Honwana, ‘We Killed Mangy Dog’ and Lília Momplé, ‘Nobody Killed Suhura’
- Angolan Anticolonial Film: Sambizanga (1972), Sara Maldoror
- Shared Histories in Southern Africa: Post-independence/apartheid National Governments
- Anthology of Post-Independence/Apartheid Poetry
- Nervous Conditions, Tsitsi Dangarembga (1988)
- The Restless Supermarket, Ivan Vladislavic (2014)
- District 9 (2009), Neil Blomkamp
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 134 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 10 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 6 | Seminars these will be led by the tutor. You will need to prepare for each seminar and, on occasion, you will give an individual oral presentation. |
| Guided Independent Study | 134 | Private viewing of films, private reading of books; reading, planning and writing essays and presentations; revising |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay plan | 500 words | 1-5 | Written |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 100 | 2500 words | 1-7 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay (2500 words) | Essay (2500 words) | 1-7 | Referral/Deferral period |
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 40%) 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 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Poetry anthologies will be provided by the module convenor on ELE.
- Birmingham, David, 2015. A Short History of Modern Angola. London: Hurst and Company.
- Blomkamp, Neil, District 9 (2009, film).
- Chabal, Patrick. 2002. A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa. London: Hurst and Company.
- Dangarembga, Tsitsi, Nervous Conditions (Seattle: Seal Press, 1988).
- Fanon, Frantz, Black Skin, White Masks, translated by Richard Philcox (London: Penguin, 2021).
- ——— The Wretched of the Earth, translated by Richard Philcox (New York: Grove, 2005).
- Helgesson, Stefan, Transnationalism in Southern African Literature: Modernists, Realists, and the Inequality of Print Culture (New York: Routledge, 2008).
- Honwana, Luís Bernardo, We Killed Mangy Dog and Other Stories
- Ipadema, Abosede Priscila, Women, Marginalization and African Political Theories (New York; London: Routledge, 2022).
- Maldoror, Sara, Sambizanga (1972, film)
- Mbembe, Achille, ‘Provisional Notes on the Postcolony’, Africa, 62:1 (1992), 3-37.
- McClintock, Anne. 1995. Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest. New York and London: Routledge.
- Momplé, Lília, ‘No One Killed Suhura’, in The Torn Veil and Other Women’s Short Stories from the Continent of Africa (Cape Town: Queillerie, 1998).
- Newitt, Malyn, A Short History of Mozambique (London: Hurst & Company, 2017).
- Rodney, Walter, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Cape Town; Oxford: Pambakuza, 2012).
- ——— Decolonial Marxism: Essays from the Pan-African Revolution (London: Verso Books, 2022).
- Thiong’o, NgÅ©gÄ© Wa, ‘The Language of African Literature’, New Left Review, 1:150 (1985).
- ——— Penpoints, Gunpoints and Dreams: Towards a Critical Theory of the Arts and the State in Africa (Oxford: Claredon Press, 1998).
- Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2014).
- Ivan Vladislavic, The Restless Supermarket (Sheffiled: And Other Stories, 2014).
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 13/02/2023 |
| Last revision date | 17/02/2023 |
