Writing Africa: The Colonial Past to Colonial Present

Overview

This module provides an overview of Anglophone prose fiction from and about the African continent, from the late 19th century to the present. Beginning with texts written at the height of British imperial power, the course charts imperial decline and decolonisation through literary eyes. Coming to focus on the African novel in English, students will study major concepts and debates in colonial and postcolonial studies and, by interrogating globalisation and the ‘colonial present’, will reflect critically on postcolonial theory itself. This course is structured around five themes: 1) Adventure, Exploration, Empire 2) Imperial Decline 3) Decolonisation: The Rise of the African Novel 4) Gender, Trauma, Conflict 5) Postcolonialism or Neo-imperialism

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, students will have analysed a range of colonial and postcolonial fiction set in sub-Saharan Africa, from the Victorian period to the present. They will have engaged critically with key debates in colonial and postcolonial studies concerning language, identity and representation, and applied these to course texts. Students will have extended their knowledge and understanding of module themes (including colonialism, decolonisation, postcolonialism, globalisation and neo-imperialism), and developed an informed critical vocabulary for the examination of colonial and postcolonial literatures.

Skills

On completing this module students will be able to:
• articulate their knowledge and understanding of colonialism, decolonisation, postcolonialism, globalisation and neo-imperialism
• analyse and evaluate key critical terms, and deploy an informed vocabulary for the examination of colonial and postcolonial literature
• demonstrate an ability to work with secondary materials
• identify independent research questions (having selected their own essay and presentation topics)
• display transferable skills in group discussion, written communication and oral presentation
• demonstrate skills in using online research and learning resources effectively (having participated in a digital resources workshop)

Assessment

None