Research Seminar for Literature Majors (397-0-20)
Topic
An Empire of Islands
Instructors
Jules D Law
Meeting Info
University Hall 318: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
This course will examine a series of novels that look at the relationship between empires and islands. We will approach islands through the lens of various theoretical paradigms, and we will ask questions about sovereignty, imperialism, slavery, piracy, race, origins, language and memory. Students will develop their own independent research projects revolving around a single island.
Evaluation Method
Students will be responsible for two short seminar presentations, one short paper and one long paper.
Class Materials (Required)
Literary readings will be drawn from: Shakespeare, The Tempest (978-0393265422), Césaire, Une Tempête (on Canvas), Shawna Yang Ryan, Green Island (978-1-101-87236-9), Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (978-1-55111-935-9), Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (978-0393352566), Charles Nordhoff and James Hall, Mutiny on the Bounty (978-0316611688), Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings (978-1-59463-394-2) and Wu He, Remains of Life (978-0-231-16601-0). Critical readings (provided on Canvas) will be drawn from: Buck-Morss, Hegel, Haiti, and Modern History; Allewaert, Ariel's Ecology; Hau'ofa, "Our Sea of Islands"; Hegel, "Of Lordship and Bondage"; Samuel, Theaters of Memory (Vol, 2: Island Stories); texts from the Sahlins-Obeyesekere debate; Williams, Capitalism and Slavery; James, The Black Jacobins; Linebaugh and Rediker, The Many-Headed Hydra; Santos-Perez, from unincorporated territory.
Class Attributes
Department Majors Only
SDG Reduced Inequality