PHR 2310 - AFTER EMPIRE: POSTCOLONIAL THEORYAND LITERATURE

credits: 3.0
Crosslisted/Same As: ENG 2310
ENG 2310-PHR 2310. One of the characteristic features of the modern period is the expropriation of wealth from poorer nations by wealthier ones. This process was undertaken by various North Atlantic powers such as Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Holland, the United States, and Great Britain during the 16th-20th centuries. The course surveys attempts in literature and theory to make sense of this process. Authors discussed may include Edward Said, Achille Mbembe, Frantz Fanon, Jamaica Kincaid, Edwidge Danticat, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Albert Camus, Joseph Conrad, Ngugi wa Thiongo, Shakespeare, and Aimé Césaire. The goal will be to use literature to illuminate the theory, and explore how postcolonial authors rewrite canonical texts such as Shakespeare’s Tempest, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and Camus’ The Stranger. Objectives: A) Explain the basic system of oppression known as Imperialism; B) Interpret the ways that this system was critiqued by various writers in the Global South; C) Evaluate the relationship between theoretical texts and literary texts as forms of critique through written papers and in-class discussions; D) Examine and critique imperialism as a global phenomenon in both its economic and repressive dimensions; E) Analyze the various forms of resistance throughout the world to this repressive economic system of European colonization. Method of Instruction: Lecture and discussion. Method of Evaluation: Three short papers (1,200 words) that interpret and explicate the various course texts, Final essay exam, and Reading quizzes. Meets *GLP Distribution Requirement.