Introduction to Postcolonial Literature (265-0-20)

Instructors

Evan Mwangi

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 212: Mon, Wed 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Colonialism was not funny—but postcolonial writers have repeatedly turned humor into one of their most effective forms of resistance. This course introduces students to postcolonial literature through comedy, irony, satire, parody, and laughter. Focusing on fiction, drama, and memoir from Africa, the Caribbean, and the postcolonial diaspora, the course examines how writers use humor to expose the absurdities of empire, undermine authority, survive violence, and critique the uneven legacies of colonial rule.

Humor in this course is treated not as comic relief but as a serious political and aesthetic practice. Students will explore why power fears laughter, how satire destabilizes hierarchy, and when humor becomes double‑edged, unsettling, or offensive. Literary texts are paired with accessible theoretical readings on laughter, ridicule, mimicry, and performance by thinkers such as Plato (laughter, order, aesthetics, tragedy hierarchy), Sigmund Freud (jokes, repression, psychic release, economy), Frantz Fanon (racial laughter, masking, colonial psyche), Mikhail Bakhtin (carnival, grotesque, popular subversive laughter), Homi Bhabha (mimicry, irony, colonial ambivalence), Terry Eagleton (humor, aggression, politics, ambivalence), and feminist theorists of humor and affect such as Gloria Anzaldúa (border laughter, survival, hybridity), Hélène Cixous (feminist laughter, subversion, excess), and Sara Ahmed (affect, feminist killjoys, unruly emotions).

Designed as a gateway to postcolonial studies, ENGLISH 265 emphasizes close reading, historical context, and discussion rather than specialized theoretical mastery. Students will develop skills in literary analysis while considering how humor travels across cultures, languages, and systems of power.

Teaching Method

Interactive lectures, guided class discussion, close‑reading workshops, small‑group activities, short contextual presentations, and occasional low‑stakes creative or analytical exercises. Emphasis is placed on discussion‑based learning and sustained engagement with primary texts.

Evaluation Method

Short response papers or reading reflections
One midterm analytical essay
One final essay or project
Participation, including in‑class writing and discussion
No Final Exam.

Class Materials (Required)

Trevor Noah - Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. One World/Penguin Random House. ISBN‑13: 978‑0399588198

Ama Ata Aidoo - No Sweetness Here and Other Stories. The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN‑13: 978‑1558611191

Tsitsi Dangarembga - Nervous Conditions. Graywolf Press. ISBN‑13: 978‑1644450710

Wole Soyinka - The Trials of Brother Jero. Dramatists Play Service. ISBN‑13: 978‑0822210900

Sam Selvon - The Lonely Londoners. Penguin Modern Classics. ISBN‑13: 978‑0141188416

Dany Laferrière - How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired. Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN‑13: 978‑1553655855

NoViolet Bulawayo - We Need New Names. Back Bay Books (Little, Brown & Company). ISBN‑13: 978‑0316230841

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
SoC Humanities and Fine Arts Distro