ENG 206: post colonial african literature

Professor: Dr. Susan N. Kiguli Makerere University Lecturers
Days and Times: Tuesday and Thursdays

Course Description:

This course aims to engage you in a dialogue on the intercultural encounters inevitable in the reading and analysis of African Literature. The course will prove an exciting journey to and through the thinking and life of the African people as you hear and read the novels, plays, poems and the orature of post colonial Sub Saharan Africa. It seeks to show that African Literature is not a homogenous whole; it exists where national and ethnic cultures are in reality enormously varied. You should take into consideration the idea that African Literature includes a host of forms for example story telling, dance, music and mime. It also actively connects with issues that are intimately influenced by the socio-cultural and political conditions of Africa. The course will also develop as consistently as possible a discussion on the question of language in African Literature. You may at times find your own world view challenged or even questioned. It will help greatly if you come with an open mind, ready to give and take.

Literature Course Objectives:

Understand problems relating to the term "Postcolonial Literature."
Identify the role of literature in developing a national identity in African nations.
Encounter African perspectives on European images of Africa.
Identify and analyze underlying Western assumptions and disposition about itself and of its vision of the world.
Identify primary themes in African literature.
Identify the presence of African oral tradition in the language of characters.
Identify differences in the African writer's use of characterization, time, and plot.
Identify what is different about African literature from the position of cultural specificity.
Be able to situate African writing within three contexts: racial reference, emerging discourses of the third world, and its relevance to certain currents of thought in the West on modernity.
Recognize the polemical stance of African discourse as a deconstruction of the Western image of the native, the black, the African as well as a construct informed by major trends of thinking by major African writers.
Evaluate and examine one's own Eurocentric visions of Africa.
Develop humility with a new awareness of the radical change in Black Africa's views of itself and the West.
Develop a keener sensitivity and desire to engage in global issues of justice and liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression.

Policies and Expectations:

Attendance:
Class will depend heavily on discussion of reading assignments. It is essential that you attend class regularly, read actively (annotate), listen, and discuss to earn class participation points. Only one absence will be excused without question.
Class Preparation:
Reading assignments must be completed BEFORE class on the day they are scheduled. Active reading requires annotating the text for class participation and to be prepared for open book quizzes. Preparation for class and active participation in class discussion is a requirement to earn an "A" in the class. All writing assignments will have specific due dates unless you consult with me ahead of time.

Go ED. Writing Standard:

It is expected that any college level course may contain writing assignments as part of student evaluations. Students are expected to produce written work that is focused, well developed, organized, and relatively free of grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors. Papers that do not meet this standard will be returned to the student for revision within a reasonable time.

Criteria for college level writing requires that an essay:

has a clear thesis and maintains a focus
paragraphs are well developed with topic sentence and adequate support
has smooth transitions and flow of ideas
is grammatically correct
borrowed ideas are documented correctly using MLA format

Course Evaluation and Record:

Record your grades below. Divide the total number of points by the total points possible (1200) to figure your course grade at any time during the semester.
-- Things Fall Apart              Quiz 1    100
-- The River Between              Quiz 2    100
-- Song of Lawino                 Quiz 3    100
-- Death of a King's Horseman     Quiz 4    100
-- So Long a letter               Quiz 5    100
-- No Longer at Ease              Quiz 6    100
-- Nervous Conditions             Quiz 7    100
-- Class Participation                      100
-- Oral Literature Project                  200
-- Total Points                            1000

Grading Scale:

Required texts:

Chinua Achebe -- Things Fall Apart
Ngugi Wa' Thiongo -- The River Between
Okot p' Bitek -- Song of Lawino
Wole Soyinka -- Death and the King's Horseman
Mariama Ba -- So Long a Letter
Chinua Achebe -- No Longer at Ease
Tsitsi Dangaremgba -- Nervous Conditions

Course Outline:

Day	Topic
1	Course Introduction Post Colonial literature debate, identity, cultural concerns and the political context in African literature
2	African oral literature forms and functions of oral literature and the Orature Debate
3	Chinua Achebe -- Things Fall Apart Quiz #1 (100 points) Discussion
4	The Tension and Passion of the Colonial Encounter Postcolonialism and the language question
5	Traditional Gukuyu Aesthetics and Views on Female Circumcision
6	Ngugi Wa' Thingo -- The River Between Quize #2 (100 Points) Discussion
7	Nationalism and Form in Modern African Poetry
8	Okot p' Bitek -- Song of Lawino Quiz #3 (100 points) Discussion
9	Socio-Cultural Background and Issues in African Drama and Theatre The Literary Tradition of Nigerian Theatre
10	Wole Soyinka -- Death and the King's Horseman Quiz #4 (100 points) Discussion
11	Chinua Achebe -- No Longer at Ease Quiz #5 (100 points) Discussion
12	Voices of African Women Mariama Ba -- So Long a Letter Quiz #6 (100 points) Discussion
13	Choice, Solidarity and the African Woman Experience
14	Tsitsi Dangarembga -- Nervious Conditions Quiz #7 (100 points) Discussion