Department of English

In this class we explore the different forms of dislocation produced as a result of European domination in Africa and Asia. The texts we study reveal the many possibilities for cultural expression opened up (and closed off) by colonial rule. We examine the relationship that such stories bear to their institutional and historical settings. To get to some of these knotty issues. Focusing chiefly on stories that depict individuals and subject peoples who are transported to or are born in places that are alien or unfamiliar, we study the formal aspects of how such stories get told and how they depict their relations to the dominant culture. We also consider how such stories offer insights into modernity. Readings include Tayib Salih, Nadine Gordimer, Jean Rhys, V. S. Naipaul, Rudyard Kipling, Roberto Enrique Retamar, Ashis Nandy. Course requirements: periodic short writing assignments, two in-class presentations, and two 8-10 page essays.