ENGL 256(S) Culture and Colonialism: An Introduction (Gateway (W)
There are many who would argue that the most important event of the twentieth
century was neither the Russian Revolution nor World War II nor the eventual
collapse of state communism, but rather the crumbling of the old European empires, the end of Europe's formal dominion over the non-European world. If you
are interested in literature and start thinking about the history of empire, some
interesting questions emerge: A people can decolonize the state; that is, they can
send foreign soldiers and governors back where they came from. They might
even be able to decolonize the economy; that is, they might be able to build independent economic institutions for the benefit of local people. But can a people
decolonize culturally? Can you decolonize your beliefs and your language and
your habits and your arts? Can you, in short, decolonize your head? Should you
even bother trying? What would a decolonized culture even look like? This
course will serve as an introduction to these and related questions: Is European
literature imperialist, by nature or by tendency? Is there such a thing as cultural
imperialism? Does it operate even in the absence of genuine empires? Does empire generate distinct kinds of writing? What kind of choices do colonized writers (and other artists) face when trying to address imperialism and its aftermath?
None of these questions have unambiguous answers. The course will be organized around short theoretical readings-from Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak and many others. And we will also, in order to put our new ideas to
the test, read a number of poems and watch several movies, from Homer's
Odyssey to Zacharias Kanuk's The Fast Runner, an Inuit feature released in
2001.
Requirements: three papers with revisions.
Prerequisite: a 100-level English course (except 150). Enrollment limit 19 (expected: 19). Preference given to sophomores.
(Criticism)