UNIVERSITY OF FACULTY OF SOCIAL STUDIES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016

ENG 3002Y(5): Postcolonial Studies II: (Semester 1)

Title of Programme: BA (Hons.) English Level: 3 Core/ Elective: Elective Module Tutor: Dr. S. Shivani Rajkomar Credit Rating: 3 of 6 Module Duration: 16 weeks

Module Description/ Aims: This half module examines a range of texts written by three key authors hailing from different parts of the Caribbean. Exploring issues related to writing, , hybridity, culture and community, the module asks: at the intersection of diverse diasporic groups and races in one single and large area having an important history of colonialism, what is the impact of hybridity and difference on culture, cultural politics and cultural transformations, and how is this reflected in literature? What characterizes different post-colonial communities of the Caribbean? What and where is home? To what extent does history and geography inform genre and narrative style as the writer of fiction constructs and represents individual as well as collective identity in the Caribbean? Can there be one common discourse of the Caribbean?

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the module, students will be expected to: - become familiar and engage with a wider range of Postcolonial discourse theory and literature - develop cross-cultural awareness that will enable them to understand the complex issues relating to the Caribbean and how these issues impact on writing - be able to identify these issues in diverse narrative genres and critically engage with the specific aesthetic demands of writing and reading each of these genres - develop the capacity to think independently, critically and objectively - manage quantities of complex information in a structured and systematic way - demonstrate time-management skills; research skills, such as retrieval of novel information from libraries and online resources; and the capacity to organize and evaluate the importance of this material - develop the ability to communicate their ideas orally and effectively in class - communicate these ideas by constructing sophisticated arguments in their written work - be able to apply the critical tools and material learned in this module in other modules

Course Syllabus:

Week 1: Introduction - Revision of important concepts in Postcolonial Studies - Introduction to

Week 2: ’s Selected Poetry (1981), Part 1 - Reading (also available online): From the collection In a Green Night (1962): 'To a Painter in England' and 'Ruins of a Great House'

Week 3: Derek Walcott’s Selected Poetry (1981), Part 2 - Reading (also available online): From the collection In a Green Night (1962): 'A Lesson for this Sunday' From the collection The Castaway (1965): 'Veranda'

Week 4: Derek Walcott’s Selected Poetry (1981), Part 3 - Reading (also available online): From the collection The Castaway (1965): 'The Castaway' and 'The Almond Trees' - Setting of Assessed Essay

Week 5: ’s Palace of the Peacock (1960) [first part of The Quartet], Part 1 - Reading: Palace of the Peacock, Chapters 1-5

Week 6: Wilson Harris’s Palace of the Peacock (1960) [first part of The Guyana Quartet], Part 2 - Reading: Palace of the Peacock, Chapters 6-8

Week 7: Wilson Harris’s Palace of the Peacock (1960) [first part of The Guyana Quartet], Part 3 - Reading: Palace of the Peacock, Chapters 9-12

Week 8: Mid Semester Activities [no class]

Week 9: Mid Semester Revision and Discussion of Assessed Essay

Week 10: ’s Arrival of the Snake-Woman and Other Stories (1989), Part 1 - Reading: ‘Arrival of the Snake-Woman’ - Submission of assessed essay

Week 11: Olive Senior’s Arrival of the Snake-Woman and Other Stories (1989), Part 2 - Reading: ‘Tears of the Sea’

Week 12: Olive Senior’s Arrival of the Snake-Woman and Other Stories (1989), Part 3 - Reading: ‘The View from the Terrace’

Week 13: Reading Week

Week 14: Essay feedback and class test revision

Week 15: Class test

Week 16: Revision/ Tutorial/ Consultation Week

Reading: The reading detailed in the syllabus is compulsory and should be done before class. Hard copies of all set reading have to be brought to the relevant classes. Soft copies on laptops/ tablets/ smartphones will not be allowed in class. An indicative reading list will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Plagiarism: The University takes plagiarism very seriously. It is a legal offence of theft in Mauritius and heavy penalties can ensue from plagiarising. Therefore, students are strictly warned against plagiarism, which tutors can easily detect. It is compulsory to acknowledge secondary material that has informed the student’s argument, that has been used and engaged with, and that is not the student’s own within the body of the essay and in its bibliography. Please refer to the policy of the University of Mauritius on plagiarism on its website.

Attendance and Participation: Attendance is mandatory and will be closely monitored. All absences need to be accounted for before class by emailing the tutor.

Students are expected to be punctual and fully prepared to contribute to class discussions. These discussions are an opportunity for students to raise issues leading to mature, constructive and intellectual debates; to discuss ideas, develop those they already have and refine them; and to get to know how others think. Students are therefore encouraged to make the best of them and are strongly discouraged from silently taking notes.

Teaching and Learning Methods: In this semester, these will consist of lectures, seminar discussions, an assessed essay and a class test.

Continuous assessment: 1) Assessed essay (set in Week 4 and due in Week 10) (counting for 10% of the total marks for the whole module)

Word count: 1,400 – 1, 550 words. This word count does not include footnotes/ endnotes and the bibliography.

The essay is due on Monday the 5th of October (Week 10) at 4pm. Please leave the essay, with a completed and signed copy of the Assessed Essay Cover Sheet attached to it, in my assignment box. A soft copy of the essay, identical to the hard copy, should also be mailed to me.

Late submissions will suffer a penalty of 2 marks per day, including weekends and public holidays. Essays submitted on the due day but after 4pm will also suffer the penalty of 2 marks.

Beyond the deadline, a soft copy of the essay should be mailed to me and a suitable arrangement for handing in the hard copy, which should be identical to the soft copy, will then be made. If the soft and hard copies are not identical, the essay will be awarded a mark of 0.

Extensions can be given but only on valid ground, such as serious personal circumstances or medical conditions that should be communicated to the tutor as soon as possible and before the due date. In the case of medical issues, a medical note/ certificate signed and dated by a practising doctor will be required.

2) Class test (Week 15) (counting for 5% of the total marks for the whole module). The test will last for an hour and Examinations Regulations of the University of Mauritius will be strictly followed.

3) Exam: at the end of the academic year in May/ June 2015.

Continuous assessment marks for this semester contribute 15% towards the final mark for the whole module.