Royal Holloway, U of London

The end of the various colonial empires in the middle of the twentieth century saw an explosion of literatures from the newly emergent postcolonial societies. Rather than provide a survey of the field of postcolonial studies, this course aims at engaging the recent debates in postcolonial writing, theory and criticism. We will critically examine a range of postcolonial literature from Britain’s erstwhile empire, paying attention to issues such as the boons and contradictions of writing in the language of the colonial powers, the postcolonial reclamation of the Western canon etc. and focussing on genres such as postcolonial realism, modernism, magic realism, and science fiction. Close attention will be paid to the historical legacies of colonialism and resistance. The course aims also to highlight the literary dynamism and lively debate that characterise the field. Learning Outcomes: Students will engage critically with a range of postcolonial texts Students will develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of the histories, politics and theoretical concepts engaged by the term Students will work with different postcolonial theoretical approaches and critical strategies and relate them to literary texts Students will develop a clear understanding of the evolution of postcolonial literature Students will find different approaches to what is meant by such terms as ‘other’, ‘diaspora’, ‘terror’, ‘representation’, ‘difference’
Required Materials: Click here for the reading list system
Technical Requirements: The total number of notional learning hours associated with this module are150. These will normally be broken down as follows: 20 hours of Seminars 130 hours of Guided Independent Study Summative Assessment: Oral presentations (10 mins) - 30% Final Essay (3000 words) - 70%