Studies in World Literature (301-0-20)

Instructors

Evan Mwangi

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L28: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

While attending to the major debates and keywords in postcolonial studies, this course will read speculative fiction from formerly colonized regions of the world. How can we account for the explosion of interest in speculative fiction from the Global South in the 21st century? How do these texts compare with their Western counterparts? In what ways have foundational mimetic texts from the Global South incorporated aspects of speculative fiction? What are the benefits and the perils of the use of non-mimetic modes of narrative in postcolonial societies? As we grapple with these questions, we will also respond to the debates about literature in the Global South, especially its intimacies with folklore, and its unconditional acceptance of marginalized identities currently being contested in some parts of the West. Primary texts will include works by Nnedi Okorafor, Kojo Laing, Lauren Beukes, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Indrapramit Das, etc. We will put these texts in conversation with much more conventional postcolonial genres and speculative fictions from other parts of the world. We will also watch, discuss, and write about relevant films from and about the Global South (e.g. Wanuri Kahiu's Pumzi, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, Sharon Lewis's Brown Girl Begins, C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi 's Hello Rain and Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman's Neptune Frost). Topics will include how writers use speculative fiction to present a wide range of topics (e.g., the universal human condition; technology and culture; environmental crisis; expressions of gender/sexual identities; racial politics; political power; people with disabilities; and human/non-human relations). Experimenting with different ways of reading a text (e.g., close reading, distant reading, surface reading, etc.), we will attempt to critically write about materials read in class using ideas by such literary and narrative theorists as Aristotle, Judith Merril, Pierre Bourdieu, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Diana Waggoner, Kathryn Hume, Tzvetan Todorov, Fredric Jameson, and Robert Scholes. At the end of the class, the student should be able to appreciate the nature and function of artistic production in the Global South and demonstrate a holistic understanding of the incredible diversity and capaciousness of non-Western societies.

Teaching Method

Interactive lectures, debates, role play, one-on-one meetings with professor, and small group discussions, library visits

Evaluation Method

Two 6-page papers, weekly Canvas postings, regular self-evaluation, peer critiques, class participation, pop quizzes (ungraded), and 1-minute papers (ungraded).

Class Materials (Required)

1. Nnedi Okorafor, Binti. Tordotcom (2015). ISBN-10: 0765385252; ISBN-13‏ : ‎ 978-0765385253
2. Nalo Hopkinson, Midnight Robber. Grand Central Publishing; (2000) ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0446675601 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0446675604
3. Wu Ming-Yi, The Man with the Compound Eyes. ‎ Pantheon (2014). ISBN-10‏ : ‎ 9780307907967; ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307907967
4. Chen Qiufan, Waste Tide. Tor Books. (2019 English translation) ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765389312 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765389312

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity