Postcolonial TheoryLiterature

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course will sharpen our sense of the issues important for the analysis of postcolonial literary fiction: race and ethnicity, class distinctions, gender and sexuality, ideology, hegemony. We will read essays in postcolonial theory (Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Edward Said and others) in conjunction with works of fiction (in English translation) by three Francophone authors: two French writers (Albert Camus and J.M.G. Le Clézio) and one African writer (Camara Laye). Produced from the 1950s to 1980, these short stories and novels represent French colonialism and its legacy in former French colonies in Africa (Algeria, Morocco and French Guinea). Students will demonstrate their engagement with, as well as their understanding and appreciation of, both the theoretical and the literary texts by writing essays, making classroom presentations and participating in classroom discussions.