In this course we will explore the ways in which the condition of postcolonialism-the process by which former European colonies obtained national sovereignty-affected the literature of societies in the Caribbean, Africa, the Asian subcontinent, and such metropolises as London and New York. Postcolonial literature grapples with the possibilities and problems of decolonization, and we will engage such issues as the narrative construction of the new "nation," the optimism of that project, the ways in which the economic, cultural, and symbolic links to the metropolitan power (in this course, mainly Britain) survived the end of colonial rule, the failures of the postcolonial state, and the relationship between gender and postcolonialism. We will read a variety of texts, ranging from Sam Selvon's 1950s work The Lonely Londoners-an account of the difficulties experienced by Caribbean immigrants in England-to the more contemporary and provocative novels of Salman Rushdie-the ways in which The Satanic Verses is a critique of metropolitan racism and xenophobia. The experience of (im)migration, making community in a geographically and culturally alien space, and an on-going negotiation with the concept of "home," will constitute the focus of this course. Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: three papers. Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 25). (Post-1900)