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2012/13 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ENGL3013 Postcolonial Literature

20 creditsClass Size: 90

School of English

Module manager: Dr Samuel Durrant
Email: s.r.durrant@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2012/13

Pre-requisite qualifications

Grade B at 'A' Level in English Language or Literature or equivalent or an achieved mark of 56 or above in a Level 1 module in English.

PLEASE NOTE: This module is restricted to Level 3 students.

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

Contemporary English literature is global in scope: much of the most exciting and challenging writing to have emerged over the last half century is from India, Africa, the Caribbean, New Zealand, and other regions of the formerly colonised world. This 'postcolonial' literature engages, directly or indirectly, with the multiple legacies of colonialism, but also with the issues and problems surrounding today's increasingly globalised world.Topics of discussion will therefore include: representations of cultural identity, the uses of history, (post)national and gender politics, cross-cultural transformations, migrant aesthetics, the function of postcolonial theory, and the role played by English literatures and languages in a modern globalised world.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students will be equipped with knowledge of a wide range of postcolonial literature from Commonwealth countries as well as postcolonial discourse theory.

Learning outcomes
In terms of Academic Excellence this module develops critical thinking, flexibility of thought and analytical skills. It supports and develops the ability to work autonomously, initiative, planning and organisational skills. Students will learn to analyse information, synthesise views and make connections; students will be critically aware of, and be informed by, current knowledge; and will develop research skills. In short:

- Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
- Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
- Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
- Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
- Critical reasoning.
- Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
- IT skills.
- Time management and organisational skills.
- Independent learning.

Skills outcomes
- Skills for effective communication, oral and written.
- Capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse.
- Ability to acquire quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way.
- Capacity for independent thought and judgement.
- Critical reasoning.
- Research skills, including information retrieval skills, the organisation of material, and the evaluation of its importance.
- IT skills.
- Time management and organisational skills.
- Independent learning.

Syllabus

This module introduces students to an exciting and challenging range of literatures in English which have emerged in the second half of the twentieth century from postcolonial states and/or regions that were once part of the British Empire, such as Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, India, New Zealand, Nigeria and South Africa.

It provides them with the opportunity to explore a rich selection of texts from different cultural contexts, and to engage with related issues, including representations of cultural identity, the uses of history, (post)national and gender politics, cross-cultural transformations, migrant aesthetics and the impact of postcolonial theory.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	22	1.00	22.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			168.00
Total Contact hours			32.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Seminar preparation, reading, essay writing.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- Contribution to seminars.
- Unassessed assignment.

Methods of assessment

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	3 hr	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		100.00

One unassessed essay of approximately 1700 words (including quotations and footnotes) is required, for which the deadline is given in the Undergraduate Student Handbook. This does not form part of the examination for this module, but is a module requirement and MUST be submitted. Students who fail to submit the unassessed essay will be awarded a maximum mark of 40 for the module (a bare Pass).

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 15/02/2013

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