English 485/685:
The Empire Writes Back—Reading "Third World" Literature With and Against the Canon

"Show me the Proust of the Zulus." The smug challenge that American novelist Saul Bellow issued over a decade ago sums up the myopia of many Western literati towards work by former subjects of the British and/or American Empires. If they acknowledge African (or Indian, or Caribbean, or Pacific) writing at all, they often do so dubiously: with condescension, misapprehension, or know-nothing arrogance. Though Bellow and many of his literary brethren have written about colonized peoples for several centuries, the success of their efforts has depended largely on those peoples’ silence in the face of repeated injury and misrepresentation. But for some time now the Empire has been writing back, with eloquence, sophistication, and vitality, to correct Western distortions, to reclaim suppressed traditions, to build new national cultures, and to give an accounting of post-colonial realities—and not least of all, to test (and break) the limits of English-language literature. Through a critical examination of paired Anglo-American and "Third World" fictional texts, this course will give us an opportunity to overhear parts of that animated dialogue, and to develop an understanding of some of its stakes: in particular those concerning the politics of literature and language, the role of culture in resisting domination, and the relation of Western consumers to "Third World" cultural production.

Course requirements: Since these colloquia are loosely based on the seminar model—one that has a built-in propensity for dullness—your principal responsibility will be to do everything in your power to keep us from falling headlong or sliding languidly into a tedious rut. There’ll be times when I’ll need (or claim) to tell you some true facts; but colloquy means talk, so you’ll be credited largely on your overall engagement in the talk; that is, on the degree of intelligence, inquisitiveness and enthusiasm you show, both in responding to one another and to the materials under scrutiny, and in helping to control the direction and flow of conversation.

That shouldn’t be such a daunting task, but to make it even less so, I’ll be asking you to write down in advance, in a fairly informal yet systematic way, your responses to the things you read (a minimum of 500 words—the rough equivalent of two notebook pages—weekly). That way, as you work those responses into ideas on screen or paper, you’ll have ready-made material (work-in-progress, anyway) to refer to in class. Undergrads may elect to skip one week of their choice.

Additionally (with the exception of the first week of the course) groups of two or three of you, in consultation with me, if you like, will be responsible for helping to facilitate a discussion of the text(s) assigned for each week’s meeting. (And finally, graduate students will be expected to produce a short paper which surveys and critiques the reception in the West of a "Third World" text of any sort. We’ll talk more about all these requirements as the semester progresses.)

Internet listserver: Given that the infrequency of our meetings will engender a certain lack of continuity, I’d like for us to maintain contact throughout the week via a listserver (an e-mail address that automatically distributes anything sent to it to all members of the class). I’m aware that a combination of technological glitches, user unfamiliarity and Luddite resistance often conspires to keep this from becoming the tool for knowledge-sharing and community-building that we might like it to be; but unless you have a serious and compelling reason for not doing so, please e-mail your riff on the week’s readings to this address:

hsu-engl485-2@redwood.humboldt.edu
(that’s "engl" as in "English," not ee-en-gee-numeral-one)

at least one full day in advance of our class meeting (the earlier the better). In addition, I and the weekly coordinators may have important announcements, afterthoughts or avisos to offer you, so check your e-mail regularly. And finally, consider yourselves encouraged to use this forum informally to continue (or start) conversation during any of the 166 hours per week that class doesn’t meet.

Required texts: There are six books you need to pick up at the HSU Bookstore or anywhere else you can find them. Any edition’s acceptable; I’ve indicated which one was ordered for our class. Shakespeare, Conrad, and Cooper are also available in full-text versions on the Web; ask me for URLs if this interests you.

Ordinarily a course like this should also have a fairly heavy theoretical apparatus, but I understand that the reading load for a 1-unit class needs to be relatively light, so we’ll muddle through without. Just the same, I may occasionally suggest an essay for you to read on reserve, and I’d be happy to provide you with ideas for further reading in private.

Grading: OK, let’s come clean: as far as I can tell, nobody really seems to know what sort of standards or expectations to enforce in these colloquia. Mainly what I expect is a seriousness of purpose and some sort of lively, critical engagement on your part. (And I expect you to show up, of course: missing more than one of our eight classes will seriously jeopardize your fate.) Beyond that, I expect you to complete all the requirements listed on this syllabus to receive a passing grade. And I don’t expect to give any incompletes.

 (The equation for graduate students will factor in the short critical paper.) I’ll read and respond to all of your work in at least a minimal fashion and serve as your consultant when you plan a discussion agenda. And I’ll be happy to meet with you at any time to talk about your progress and prospects.

 CALENDAR

Aug. 25: Introductions and bureaucratic housekeeping. Introductory lecture/discussion: "Colonialist Discourse"—Eng-Lit’s imperial past and "broken" future.

Across the Sea: The Tempest and A Tempest

Sep. 1: Discussion of William Shakespeare, The Tempest. Begin discussion of Aimé Césaire, A Tempest.

Sep. 8: Finish discussion of A Tempest; Shakespeare and Salih together.

Up the River: Heart of Darkness and Season of Migration to the North

Sep. 15: Discussion of Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness. Begin discussion of Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North.

Sep. 22: Finish discussion of Season of Migration to the North; Conrad and Salih together.

Into the Woods: The Last of the Mohicans and Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles

Sep. 29: Discussion of James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans.

Oct. 6: Discussion of Gerald Vizenor, Bearheart: the Heirship Chronicles.

Oct. 13: Cooper and Vizenor together. The last dance: summing-up, evaluations, and goodbyes.