Literature of Manitoba

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture) This course explores the literary culture of the Canadian Prairies through texts written by Manitoba authors. Themes examined may include the pioneer experience, establishing new communities in unfamiliar territory while recalling a cultural history from another place; the experience of colonized Aboriginal peoples; different perceptions of nature and the land; small town and big city life; and the search for intellectual, social, and religious freedom amidst perceived parochialism. Authors studied may include Margaret Laurence, Martha Ostenso, Tomson Highway, Frederick Philip Grove, Gabrielle Roy, Kristjana Gunnars, Patrick Friesen, Miriam Toews, Beatrice Culleton Mosionier, Sandra Birdsell, David Arnason, Robert Kroetsch, and W.D. Valgardson. Restrictions: Students may not hold credit for this course and ENGL-3714. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours of First Year English, including ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3) [prerequisite(s)]. ENGL-3723 (3 or 6) Topics in Indigenous Texts and Cultures (3 hrs Lecture) This course examines Indigenous literary and other cultural productions, such as music, film, and art. In an era when racism and neo-colonialism continue to challenge First People's sovereignty, Indigenous artists, along with scholars, activists, and community members are contributing to Indigenous peoples' health, healing, and self-determination. The course emphasizes Indigenous values, knowledge, and theories. In a given year, students may focus on a specific artist, nation, genre, or period. Students should consult the English Department Handbook for a description of the course offered in a given year. This course may be repeated once for credit when the topic varies. Cross-listed: IS-3723. Restrictions: Students may not hold credit for this course and IS-3723. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours of First-year English, including ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3) [prerequisite(s)]. ENGL-3724 (3 or 6) Topics in Race and Ethnicity (3 hrs Lecture) This course focuses on a specific topic related to critical race and ethnic studies. Possible topics include narratives related to immigration, multiracialism, gender and sexuality, transnationalism, or interethnic and comparative race studies: (auto) ethnographic texts; narratives of cultural nationalism; the Harem renaissance; Asian/America studies; race and film. Students should consult the department website for information about the specific topic offered in a given term. This course may be repeated once when the topic varies. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours of First Year English, including ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3) [prerequisite(s)]. ENGL-3725 (3 or 6) Topics Cultural Studies (3 hrs Lecture) This course examines specific topics, methodologies, and/or theoretical concerns in cultural studies and cultural theory. Possible topics include critical approaches to popular culture; fandom, audiences, and reception; mass culture and the mass media; intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in cultural studies; writing methods and practices at the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS); Stuart Hall; cultural studies and activism; popular cinema and cultural studies. Students should consult the department website for information about the specific topic offered in a given term. This course may be repeated once when the topic varies. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours of First Year English, including ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3) [prerequisite(s)]. ENGL-3732 (3 or 6) Topics in African Literatures and Cult (3 hrs Lecture) This course examines various topics within African and African Diaspora literatures and cultures in English. Topics may focus on specific literary and cultural tropes, themes, movements, or traditions such as negritude; nativism and Afrocentrism; critical and anticolonial realism; socialist realism; postcolonial disillusionment; animist and magical realism; African feminisms; migration, transnationalism, and Afropolitanism; racism; double consciousness; among others. The course may also focus on particular genres or authors. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic varies. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours of First-Year English, including either ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3) [prerequisite(s)]. ENGL-3742 (3 or 6) Topics in Caribbean Literature and Culture (3 hrs Lecture) This course explores Caribbean literature, culture, theory, and history from the early modern period to the present day. It engages with orality, art, and a range of genres and writings in translation, including primary documents, and creative responses that unsilence Caribbean history, and that offer new forms of expression, challenging the incursions of race and domination and exploring the richness of Caribbean creativity. Topics may include: Indigenous Oral Traditions in the Caribbean, Critiquing the myth of 'discovery', Diaspora and Caribbean culture, Slavery and resistance, Black Freedom, Poetry, and voice. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic varies. Experimental Course - This course is offered on a trial basis to gauge interest in the topic. Students who successfully complete this course receive credit as indicated. Requisite Courses: 6 credit hours of First-year English, including ENGL-1001(6) or ENGL-1000(3) [prerequisite(s)].