FS201 English: African Literature and Culture: Colonialism and Post- Colonialism Instructor: David C. Miller

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1 FS201 English: African Literature and Culture: Colonialism and Post- Colonialism Instructor: David C. Miller Hours: MW 11-12; 2-4; TTh by appointment Office: Oddfellows 209 Phone: x Texts: Conrad, Heart of Darkness (Bedford, 3 rd edition) Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Norton Critical Edition) Soyinka, Death and the King s Horseman (Norton Critical Edition) Salih, Season of Migration to the North (New York Review Books) Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions (Seal Press) Gordimer, July s People (Penguin) Course Packet Course Goals: describe literature in its historical contexts differentiate between at least two periods of literary history identify how literature and culture are interrelated continue to develop and refine skills as close readers of literary texts continue to develop interpretive arguments about literary texts Rationale: As primarily an introduction to the discipline of English, this course will focus on African literature, culture and history seen through the lenses of colonialism and post-colonialism. We will begin by looking at Joseph Conrad s extraordinary exploration of European colonialism, Heart of Darkness, one of the most famous short novels in the Western canon. Published at the very end of the 19 th century, Conrad s text will challenge us to probe the relation between racism and literary impressionism bringing stylistic innovation together with cultural commentary and psychological speculation. Most of the African novels we will subsequently read are at one level or another responses to Conrad s complex and powerful work. We will first of all compare and contrast it with Sudanese writer Tayeb Salih s direct inversion of Conrad s plot in Season of Migration to the North, giving us a chance to examine Conrad s Kurtz in relation to Salih s protagonist, Mustafa Sa eed. Pursuing our theme of the empire writes back, we will then pair two works that examine African life before colonial incursions and the impact of colonialism. Together, Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart and Tsitsi Dangarembga s Nervous Conditions illuminate the 1

2 changes wrought on traditional African cultures by colonialism and look forward to the psychopathologies of the post-colonial situation. Contemporary Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie s short story, The Headstrong Historian, combines both novels perspectives in retelling and extrapolating from her countryman Achebe s celebrated novel. Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka s play, Death and the King s Horseman, will provide an opportunity to look more deeply at the richness of African culture in crisis. Like Achebe s look at Igbo culture, Soyinka s examines the culture of the Yoruba as they confront not only the effects of colonization but the inner tensions and contradictions of culture in general. Soyinka s play explores the intricacies of the transition between this world and the next, dramatizing the rich possibilities of the mythical trickster figure and the state of in-betweeness or liminality (a key anthropological term) he represents as they play out in myth, ritual and language. The Yoruba, more than any other African tribal culture, influenced global culture and was a major force in African-American slave culture, the repercussions of which are strongly felt even today. Looking at these literary responses to Joseph Conrad s iconic novel about the dark continent will sharpen our sense of the dialectic of historical contexts and ideological viewpoints that constitutes what Edward Said calls worldliness, crucial to assuming intercultural tolerance through understanding the intercultural dynamics of our ongoing global situation. In a recent essay, Soyinka asks, What is Africa? We will find occasion to pose this question repeatedly throughout the semester as we struggle to comprehend the continent as both concept and myth in relation to its extraordinary social and cultural diversity, its myriad traditions and idioms, and its concrete histories. Considerably enriching insight into the primacy of culture and history in the interpretation of literature will be the availability of a range of theoretically-informed critical essays as well as historical and ethnographic accounts. These accounts probe cultural practices and unearth underlying assumptions strikingly different from our own. Accordingly, this material will continually prompt us to re-examine our own ways of seeing and interacting with the world. Schedule: Week 1 (8/29-31) Darkest Africa and the Western psyche Reading: Introduction to Bedford edition (Biographical and Historical Contexts, pp. 3-16) Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp focus on relation between novel s opening paragraphs and Marlow and the yarns of seamen, pp ; the emerging character of Marlow, p. 21- and his early impressions of Africa as well as his 2

3 comments on his colonialist mission: are there contradictions here? come to class on Thursday with a passage in mind for possible discussion, relating to the theme of colonialism and with a 1-2 page informal close reading of that passage to be turned in (diagnostic) Week 2 (9/5-7) Week 3 (9/12-14) Week 4 (9/19-21) Week 5 (9/26-28) Kurtz and Marlow: the dynamics of point of view Introduction to the Bedford edition of Heart of Darkness Conrad, Heart of Darkness, pp (end) focus on Kurtz s relation to the natives along with Marlow s relation to Kurtz, culminating in his interview with the Intended ; pay close attention to Conrad s imagery throughout the narrative (pick an image to discuss) Heart of Darkness in cultural context and contemporary criticism Review Part II of Bedford edition, pp Discuss Deconstruction and Heart of Darkness, pp and The New Historicism and Heart of Darkness, pp Africa writes back: Kurtz in reverse? Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North, pp Mustafa Sa eed liberates Africa with his penis Tayeb, Salih, Season of Migration to the North, pp Paper # 1 due, 9/26: a critical review of one of the essays in contemporary criticism in the Bedford edition of Heart of Darkness not discussed in class 4-5 pp (assignment sheet provided) Week 6 (10/3-5) Africa: tradition and change Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Part I choose a passage to discuss in class which you find culturally interesting and revealing; we will all begin with the story of Ikemefuna: what conflicting views of his murder are expressed?; how are we, as readers, affected? FALL BREAK Week 7 (10/12) Okonkwo and the dynamics of cultural change Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Part II 3

4 Week 8 (10/17-19) Week 9 (10/24-26) Igbo culture and colonialism Things Fall Apart, Part III materials in the Norton Critical Edition to be assigned, in particular Abdul JanMohamed, Sophisticated Primitivism, pp Colonialism in Rhodesia Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, pp Week 10 (10/31-11/2) Englishness will kill them all : The psychopathology of colonialism Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, pp Paper #2 due, 10/31: Discussion of Adichie s The Headstrong Historian in relation to Things Fall Apart and Nervous Conditions, 4-5 pp Week II (11/7-9) Yoruba culture and theater Wole Soyinka, Death and the King s Horseman Week 12 (11/13-16) Soyinka s world in context Materials relating to Death and the King s Horseman in the Norton Critical Edition, to be assigned Week 13 (11/21) Liminality as a cultural principle Materials relating to the Trickster figure, liminality and language in the Course Packet Week 14 (11/28-30) The personal politics of liberation: the case of South Africa Nadine Gordimer, July s People, pp Paper #3 due, 11/28 on the Trickster figure in Yoruba culture, 6-8 pp Week 15 (12/5-7) Institutional racism and the nuances of prejudice Nadine Gordimer, July s People, pp Week 16 (12/12) Conclusion Take-home final due, tba 4

5 REQUIREMENTS: This course will be run on the basis of discussion and student presentations. You will be expected to come to class on a regular basis, prepared to participate in discussion and to raise questions about the reading. Everyone will have an opportunity to summarize the previous class in presentations ( recaps ) of no more than 3 or 4 minutes (criteria to be discussed). During the semester each of you will take a turn at presenting an oral summary of an historical, anthropological or critical reading (article or book chapter) relevant to the literary works being discussed. You will be provided with a list of possibilities to choose from along with recommended dates for presentations. These presentations should run no more than 10 minutes and will take place throughout much of the first part of the semester. They constitute your required oral presentation for this final course of the FS sequence. Given the relatively open-ended nature of my approach to the complex subject at hand, it does not make sense for me to regularly test you in class. You may, however, expect a pop quiz if discussion lags and repeated failure to respond to questions in class, even when you are called on (which I reserve the right to do), will result in a lowering of your overall grade. As an introduction to the discipline of English, the course will focus on how to integrate criticism and other secondary sources providing contexts for understanding into your own close reading of the literature. You will be required to write three substantial papers during the course of the semester: 1) A paper (4-5 pages) summarizing and perhaps critiquing a critical essay on Conrad s Heart of Darkness from the 3 rd edition of the Bedford Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism 2) A close reading (4-5 pages) of Adichie s short story, The Headstrong Historian from the collection, The Thing Around Your Neck 3) A synthesis (5-7 pages) of a number of sources on the Trickster figure and the notions of liminality and language in Yoruba culture, with reference to Soyinka s play, Death and the King s Horseman (see materials in the Course Packet) You will also complete a take-home final exam of up to 8 pages (provided one week in advance of the due date). See the schedule for estimated due dates (subject to change) for all these assignments. Each of these written components counts for approximately 20% of your overall grade, with slightly more emphasis given to the final paper and the final exam. The remaining 20% of your grade will reflect your in-class work, including participation, oral presentations, attendance and general attitude as well as up to five 1-2 page freewrites or informal responses, including the one listed in the schedule for Week I. The others may be assigned by me at certain times or chosen by you during the course of the semester and submitted to SAKAI Drop-box. The following are guidelines for the grading of participation in class: 5

6 an A grade for class participation is awarded when students regularly initiate discussion. This means coming to class thoroughly familiar with the assigned reading and hence prepared to raise questions, open discussion, identify topics of interest in the reading and engage other students in discussion (but obviously not monopolizing discussion or shutting others out). a B grade for class participation is awarded to students who participate regularly and productively in class discussion, who are prepared, and who are willing to engage. B discussants differ from A students in that the latter are self-starters who don t rely on the instructor to set the agenda for discussion. a C grade for class participation is awarded to those who participate on a regular basis, though less frequently than the B student. C discussants will be typically be prepared for class, but their contributions will indicate that less thought has been given to assigned materials. a D grade for class participation is given to those who contribute only infrequently to class discussion and whose contributions do not appear to arise from thoughtful consideration of the assignments. POLICIES: 1. All written work must be handed in on time (or by negotiated deadlines) or you will not pass the course. 2. Regular attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences will affect your grade, lowering it by one notch (from, say, a B- to a C+) for every three unexcused absences. Excused absences include illness (a note from the Health Center is required), a death in your immediate family, and involvement in an athletic event (I expect to be supplied with a schedule of such events signed by your coach early on in the semester). 3. You will be penalized for repeatedly coming late to class (without good reason) as well for dozing off in class (after I give you a single warning) or frequently leaving class for extended periods. Above all, I am concerned with students leaving class to check their text messages. If you cannot make it through a 75-minute class without doing so, you are probably addicted and need serious professional help. 4. Unexcused late papers or exams (the same criteria apply to both) will be graded down by a third of a grade for each day of tardiness. A second instance of lateness will increase the penalty to a full grade per day. 5. Any instance of plagiarism or improper use of outside sources will result in a failing grade and will be turned over to the Honor Committee, as required by the College s Honor Code. 6

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Westminster College School of Music Fall, 2018

Course Information Westminster College School of Music Fall, 2018 Title: Men s Chorus- MUS 423, 423(V), 523. Instructor: Dr. Don Schade Semester Credit Hours: 1 Location: School of Music Rm 51 Meeting