UNIVERSITY OF GUJRAT

Postcolonial Literature

Course Code:ENG-420 Course Title: Postcolonial Literature

Year: Fall 2020 Semester: VII
Instructor’s Name: Shamshad Rasool
E-mail: shamshad.rasool@uog.edu.pk Office Hours:8:30 to 4:30

Course Description This course intends to introduce students to a selection of

literature and criticism generated by the colonizers and the
colonized. Students will be able to participate meaningfully in
the debate inaugurated by Post-Colonial literary studies. They
will be able to identify the common thematic concerns and
stylistic features in the cross continental voices of the empire.
They will also be able to recognize post-colonial literature and
criticism as a distinct and significant addition to English literary
studies.
Course Type Core
Goals The aim of the course is to introduce the students with the
postcolonial literature of the world so that they can understand
the real issues of such societies and enhance their understanding
of the literature as a whole.
Texts 1. General Introduction to Post-Colonial Theory
2. Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart
3. Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness
4. Ben Okri: The Famished Road
5. HanifKureishi: Buddha Suburbia
6. Derek Wallcot: Dream on a Monkey Mountain
7. Derek Wallcot: Selected Poems: Dark August, A City’s Death by
Fire, A Far Cry from Africa
8. Agha Shahid Ali: Country without a Post Office (Poem)

Additional Readings 1. Achebe,Chinua, “The Role of a Writer in A New

Nation.” Nigeria Magazine. No 81: 1964
2. Ashcroft, B. Griffiths, G. and Tiffin, H. Eds. The Post-
Colonial Studies Reader, London: Routledge, 1995
3. Belsey, C. Critical Practice, London: Methuen, 1980
4. Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995
5. Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/ Postcolonialism. London:
Routledge, 1998
6. Peck, J. Ed. New Casebook on Post-colonial Literatures.
Macmillan, 1995
 7. Smith, H. Beyond the Post Modern Mind. Lahore:
Suhail Academy, 2002
8. Burnett, Paula. Derek Walcott: Politics and Poetics.
University of Florida Press, 2000
9. Hamner, Robert. D. Critical Perspectives on Derek
Walcott. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1997
10. Thieme, John. Derek Walcott. Manchester UP, 1999
Lectures 32 sessions of 90 minutes each

Attendance Policy A minimum of 70% attendance is required for a student to

Grading
Quizzes, Assignments and
Presentation Schedule
(tentative)
be eligible to take the final examination.
The students with less than 70% of the attendance in a course
shall be given the grade SA (Short Attendance) in such a course
and shall not be allowed to take its End Term Exams and will
have to reappear in the course to get the required attendance to
be eligible to sit in the exam when the course is offered the next
time.
The course will be evaluated on the basis of the following
percentage:
 Mid Term 25%
 Sessional work 25%
o Presentation/Practical 10%
o Assignment/Practical 10%
o Quizzes 05%
 Final term 50%
2 Assignments will be taken.
Presentations would be taken after Mid Term exam
1 quiz would be taken before Mid Term and 1 Quiz after Mid
Term Papers.

Session Schedule

Session Topic Readings

Week 1, Class 1 & 2 Introduction to the course, a brief history of Postcolonial
Literature

Week 2, Class 1 & 2 Introduction to Chinua Achebe and Things Fall Apart

Week 3, Class 1 & 2 Introduction to Chinua Achebe and Things Fall Apart
Week 4, Class 1 & 2 Critical Analysis of the Novel and Discussion on the Themes of
the Novel

Week 5, Class 1 & 2 Introduction to Derek Wallcot, and reading his poetry

Week 6, Class 1 & 2 Critical Analysis of the Novel and Discussion on the Themes

Week 7, Class 1 & 2 Critical Analysis of the Novel and Discussion on the Themes

Week 8, Class 1 & 2 Critical Reading of the Text and Quiz (2)

Week 9, Class 1 & 2 Mid-Term Examination

Week 10, Class 1 & 2 Agha Shahid Ali’s Country without a Post Office (Poem)

Week 11, Class 1 & 2 Critical Reading of the Texts

Week 12 Class 1 & 2 Introduction to Dream on a Monkey Mountain

Week 13, Class 1 & 2 Discussion on Dream on a Monkey Mountain

Week 14, Class 1 & 2 Introduction of Conrad and Heart of Darkness + Presentations

Week 15, Class 1 & 2 Discussion on Heart of Darkness + Presentations

Week 16, Class 1 & 2 Discussion on Heart of Darkness + Presentations