6 ECTS credits
180 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4020151FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Faculty
Faculty of Languages & Humanities
Department
Linguistics and Literary Studies
Educational team
Janine Hauthal
Elisabeth Bekers (course titular)
Activities and contact hours

13 contact hours Lecture
15 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
75 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This course examines postcolonial themes and techniques in a selection of works by postcolonial authors from different continents and eras. It also offers insight into postcolonial literary criticism.

Course material
Digital course material (Recommended) : Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Bloom, the Wealth of a Common Global Culture, Ngugi wa Thiong’o., Canvas
Handbook (Recommended) : Decolonising the Mind, The Politics of Language in African Literature, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, James Currey Ltd / Heinemann, 9780852555019, 1986
Handbook (Recommended) : Moving the Centre, The Struggle For Cultural Freedoms, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, James Currey, 9780852555309, 1993
Handbook (Recommended) : Orientalism, Said, Edward, Vintage, 9780141187426, 2003
Handbook (Recommended) : Culture and Imperialism, Said, Edward, Vintage, 9780099967507, 1993
Digital course material (Recommended) : Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism, Spivak, Gayatri, Canvas
Digital course material (Recommended) : The Empire Writes Back With a Vengeance, Rushdie, Salman, Canvas
Digital course material (Recommended) : Post-Colonial Literatures and Counter-Discourse, Tiffin, Helen, Canvas
Digital course material (Recommended) : The Figure of Crusoe, Walcott, Derek, Canvas
Handbook (Recommended) : Post-Colonial Studies, The Key Concepts, Ashcroft, Bill et al., 3, Routledge, 9780415661911, 2013
Digital course material (Required) : Writing Guide for Students of Literature in English (TALK), Bekers, Elisabeth, et al., Canvas
Handbook (Required) : MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Gibaldi, Joseph, 8, MLA, 9781603292627, 2016
Handbook (Required) : Silence is My Mother Tongue, Addonia, Sulaiman, The Indigo Press, 9781911648062, 2019
Digital course material (Required) : course slides, Bekers, Elisabeth, updated annually
Handbook (Recommended) : The Oxford Handbook of Literary Terms, Baldick, Chris, 4, Oxford University Press, 9780198715443, 2015
Handbook (Recommended) : Key Concepts in Postcolonial Literature, Wisker, Gina, Palgrave, 9781403944481, 2007
Handbook (Recommended) : The Empire Writes Back, Theory and Practice in Post-colonial Literatures, Ashcroft, Bill et al., 2, Routledge, 9780415280204, 2002
Digital course material (Recommended) : The Novelist as Teacher, Achebe, Chinua, Canvas
Digital course material (Recommended) : An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Achebe, Chinua, Canvas
Additional info

Introductory lectures are followed by discussion seminars in English. Active participation in the lectures and seminars is essential. Students prepare for each seminar by means of list of discussion topics and/or additional reading assignments (mostly critical and theoretical texts) and lead the seminar discussion of one of the assigned topics. They are encouraged to confer with their instructor when preparing for their presentations. Critical evaluation of texts and literary criticism is expected.

The reading list (incl. the literary works to be studied) and additional reading material (incl. ppts) will be made available via Canvas. Students complement this information with their own notes.

In order to take this class, compulsory additional costs may be charged in addition to the invoice sent to you as a student by the Student Administration Centre: for participation in literary events off campus a minimum contribution of  €5 and a maximum contribution of €15 will be required. The costs are borne by the student and can neither be passed on to fellow students nor recovered from the lecturer or faculty. The amounts stated are approximately correct. If you experience payment difficulties as a result of these additional costs, you can contact Student Social Services via sociale.dienst.studenten@vub.ac.be  or + 32 2 629 23 15More information can also be found on https://my.vub.ac.be/en/social-services.

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

The students gain insight into postcolonial literatures in English and postcolonial theory. Specific attention is paid to the way in which postcolonial writers rewrite the Western literary canon and historiography. They learn to analyse and interpret (1) literary classics in English from a postcolonial perspective and (2) some significant postcolonial literary works in English. They develop their reading, speaking and writing skills by analysing and interpreting literary texts and by reporting on their interpretations.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Practical Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Paper with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Within the Practical Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Discussion,presentation,tests with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Students are required to participate in both the oral (50%) and the written (50%) parts of the evaluation in order to receive a mark for the course. Students who fail to do so automatically are marked as "absent" (AFW).

Students are required to obtain at least 08/20 for either part of the evaluation in order to receive a pass mark for the course. Students who fail to do so automatically receive the lower mark of the two as the overall mark for the course.

Students who have to be reevaluated in the second exam session, write an exam paper (50%) and take an oral exam (50%). Pass marks (at least 10/20) for either part of the evaluation are automatically transferred to the second session.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Italian-German (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Literary Studies - 1 language (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Linguistics - 1 language (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Literary Studies - 2 languages (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Linguistics - 2 languages (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: profile Intermediality - 1 language (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: profile Intermediality - 2 languages (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: profile Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics - 1 language (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: profile Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics - 2 languages (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: profile Multilingualism and Foreign Language Acquisition - 1 language (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: profile Multilingualism and Foreign Language Acquisition - 2 languages (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Literary Studies 1 Language
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Literary Studies 2 Languages
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Linguistics 1 Language
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Linguistics 2 Languages
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics 1 Language
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics 2 Languages
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Multilingualism and Foreign Language Acquisition 1 Language
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Multilingualism and Foreign Language Acquisition 2 Languages
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Intermediality - 1 language
Master of Linguistics and Literary Studies: Profile Intermediality - 2 languages
Master of Teaching in Languages: 1 taal (120 ECTS, Etterbeek) (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Teaching in Languages: 2 talen (120 ECTS, Etterbeek) (only offered in Dutch)