Studies in Postcolonial Literature (365-0-21)
Topic
Secrets, Silence, and Lies in Postcolonial Lit
Instructors
Laura MacKay Hansen
Meeting Info
University Hall 412: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
Topic: Secrets, Silence and Lies in Postcolonial Literature
Concealed murders, sexual transgressions, double agents, and eerie ghost children: postcolonial fiction is filled with dark secrets and disturbing silences. Why are secrecy and silence so pervasive in postcolonial culture, in both the political and the personal realm? This seminar will focus on three postcolonial novels set in three very distinct postcolonial cultures: the 1940's Northern Ireland of Seamus Deane's Reading in the Dark; the tumultuous Kerala province in southern India of Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things; and the wartorn 1975 Saigon and refugee-filled Los Angeles of Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer. Focused on the unspeakable secrets and double crossings at the center of these texts, we'll explore how legacies of violence—physical, psychic, and sexual—manifest themselves when they're shrouded in silence. What are the potential consequences for a culture that misleads or refuses to speak about some of its darkest crimes and traumas? How can a code of silence and secrecy create the conditions for traitors, informants, and double agents to flourish? We will also use several seminal writings from postcolonial studies, including excerpts from Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Decolonising the Mind and Edward Said's Culture and Imperialism, to frame and complicate our discussions and raise new questions, such as: How does misinformation or secrecy work as a rhetorical device? How might the horror genre be used to subvert colonial narratives? In addition to the three novels, we will examine some recent versions of postcolonial narratives that have secrets, silences or lies at their center, including excerpts/episodes from Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing, episodes from the Netflix series The Crown and the HBO series The Sympathizer, Thi Bui's graphic novel The Best We Could Do and Jordan Peele's film Get Out.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity