HUMS 634
Major Authors of the Postcolonial World: Cesaire, Naipaul, Rushdie
Indira Karamcheti
Course Description | |
Literature is often seen, in the First World, as separate from the public sphere of politics and knowledge. In the Third, or Postcolonial, World, writers have a much more significant impact on public life. In this course, we will study three writers who hold celebrated status in the Third World, where they influence and even create public policy. Aime Cesaire (Martinique), V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad/England), and Salman Rushdie (Pakistan/India/Britain) are enormously well known and well read by the literati and the masses alike, to great praise and great blame. |
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Texts | |
For Purchase: 1. Aime Cesaire, Notebook of a Return to the Native Land 2. A Tempest 3. V.S. Naipaul, House for Mr Biswas 4. A Bend in the River 5. Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children 6. Satanic Verses Film (on Blackboard): 1. Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel, Un Chien Andalou Articles (on JSTOR unless otherwise indicated): CESAIRE: NOTEBOOK 1. Jean Bernabe, Patrick Chamoiseau, Raphael Confiant, “In Praise of Creoleness,” Callaloo, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 886-909, Fall 1990 (JSTOR) CESAIRE: TEMPEST 2. A. James Arnold, “Cesaire and Shakespeare: Two Tempests,” Comparative Literature, vol. 30, no, 3, pp. 236-248, Summer 1978 (JSTOR) NAIPAUL: BISWAS 3. Naipaul, “The Two Worlds,” the Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech, http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/ laureates/2001/naipaul-lecture-e.html 4. South Asian Review, vol. 26, no. 1, 2005. Access site and specific articles to be announced. NAIPAUL: RIVER 5. Lynda Prescott, “Past and Present Darkness: Sources for V.S. Naipaul’s A Bend in the River,” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 547-559, Fall 1984. Access site to be announced. 6. Ranu Samantrai, “Claiming the Burden: Naipaul’s Africa,” Research in African Literatures, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 50-62, Spring 2000 (JSTOR) RUSHDIE: CHILDREN 7. Jean M. Kane, “The Migrant Intellectual and the Body of History: Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children,” Contemporary Literature, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 94-118, Spring 1996 (JSTOR) RUSHDIE: VERSES 8. Wagas Khwaja, “What Upsets Muslims About the Satanic Verses,” South Asian Review, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 135-152, 2004. Access site to be announced. 9. Feroza Jussawalla, “Are Cultural Rights Bad for Multicultural Societies?” South Atlantic Quarterly, vol. 100, no. 4, pp. 967-980, Fall 2001. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/south atlantic quarterly/v100/100.4jussawalla.html. |
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Requirements | |
Two short essays (3-5 essays) and a final essay. Short responses (1-2 pages) as indicated in the syllabus. Topics for essays and responses will be posted on Blackboard. | |
Syllabus | |
Each class will meet from 9-12, 1-4, with an hour break for lunch, and mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks. | |
February 22 | Aime Cesaire, A Notebook of a Return to the Native Land A Tempest Film: Dali and Bunuel, Un Chien Andalou (on Blackboard) Articles: Jean Bernabe, Patrick Chamoiseau, and Raphael Confiant, “In Praise of Creoleness,” Callaloo, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 886-909, Fall 1990 (JSTOR) A. James Arnold, “Cesaire and Shakespeare: Two Tempests,” Comparative Literature, vol. 30, no, 3, pp. 236-248, Summer 1978 (JSTOR) ESSAY # 1 DUE, 3-5 PAGES |
February 23 | V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas (you may read the entire novel, if you like, but I will inform you which sections we will concentrate on in class, and you may read only those sections) Naipaul, “The Two Worlds,” the Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech, http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2001/naipaul-lecture-e.html South Asian Review, vol. 26, no. 1, 2005. Access site and specific articles to be announced. RESPONSE PAPER DUE(1-2 pages) |
February 24 | V. S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River (I will tell you which sections we will concentrate on in class; you are welcome to read only those) Lynda Prescott, “Past and Present Darkness: Sources for V.S. Naipaul’s A Bend in the River,” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 547-559, Fall 1984. Access site to be announced. Ranu Samantrai, “Claiming the Burden: Naipaul’s Africa,” Research in African Literatures, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 50-62, Spring 2000 (JSTOR) RESPONSE PAPER DUE (1-2 pages) |
March 29 | Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children (I will tell you which sections we will concentrate on in class; you are welcome to read only those) Jean M. Kane, “The Migrant Intellectual and the Body of History: Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children,” Contemporary Literature, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 94-118, Spring 1996 (JSTOR) ESSAY # 2 DUE (3-5 PAGES) |
March 30 | Salman Rushdie, Satanic Verses (I will tell you Which sections we will concentrate on in class; You are welcome to read only those) Wagas Khwaja, “What Upsets Muslims About the Satanic Verses,” South Asian Review, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 135-152, 2004. Access site to be announced. Feroza Jussawalla, “Are Cultural Rights Bad for Multicultural Societies?” South Atlantic Quarterly, vol. 100, no. 4, pp. 967-980, Fall 2001. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/south atlantic quarterly/v100/100.4jussawalla.html. |
FINAL PAPER (10-20 PAGES) DUE FRIDAY, APRIL 29, IN MY OFFICE |