Studies in Postcolonial Literature (365-0-20)

Topic

Magical Realisms

Instructors

Kalyan Sunder Sameer Nadiminti

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 214: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Novels often describe real and complete worlds that is proximate to our own, with entirely imaginary people going about their daily lives as if in a continuous hut parallel universe. This process is called worldling and is now an established concept. But what happens when the contract with the "real world" is broken and instead writing reanimates myths, folktales, legends, and more within the real? What kinds of new worlds does this open up and how might it interfere with the conception of literature?Around 1950, Latin American writers began to break away from "realist" writing to explore a realm between the real and the magical, giving rise to what is now the established style of "magical realism."

To understand this overall movement from realism to magical realism, this course will begin with a consideration of realist writing and its reliance on the simulation of reality, aka verisimilitude, in the first few weeks. After understanding some basic tenets of realism, we will turn to Latin American, South Asian, and American sites of magical realism that stage a revolt against the dictates of the real. We will consider how paying close attention to the deployment of this style can yield significant political interventions, particularly around anti-imperial and anti-racist discourses. Fiction will include texts like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, and Toni Morrison's The Song of Solomon. The course will also foray into theoretical work that helps to situate the importance of magical realism and its variations. Assignments will be modest, with two short close-reading papers, a presentation, and a final comparative paper.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area