ENG 475
Topics in Comparative Literature: Colonialism and Its Legacy
Tuesdays, 6 p.m.–9:15 p.m.
Professor James Fairhall
MAE: 20th-/21st-Century Requirement; Elective
MAWP: Language, Literature, Publishing, and Teaching (LLPT) Requirement; Open Elective
View a more detailed course description here, or see below.
ENG 475 examines colonialism in its late phase, during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the period of postcolonialism in which we now live. We will look at these two historical phenomena through the lens of 20th-century British literature: novels, two plays, a movie, and four poems. “British” here is broadly defined. Thus we will read works by two Caribbean novelists and a poet/playwright (Jean Rhys, Jamaica Kincaid, and Derek Walcott), a South African playwright (Athol Fugard), and a Nigerian novelist (Chinua Achebe), as well as works by English writers (Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad, E.M. Forster). We will also view and discuss Hanif Kureishi’s postcolonial Pakistani-English film, My Beautiful Launderette.