EN3S28 - Postcolonial Literature 01 Sep 2022 - 31 Aug 2028 | Version 1

Associated Module Information

Module Code: EN3S28
Module Title: Postcolonial Literature
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Culture and Animation
Faculty Sub Group: Culture
Module Leader: Nicholas Dunlop
Module Team:
First Intended Intake: SEP 2022 Final Year of Intake: 2027
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 6
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes:
HECOS Code Weighting:

Document Version Information

Version 1
Valid From 01 Sep 2022
Valid To 31 Aug 2028

Module Aims

The module will address fictional, poetic and dramatic works by post-colonial writers from the mid-twentieth century to the present. The T&L programme will trace common concerns, themes and influences within the texts studied, to enable students to relate texts to their national and historical contexts and to establish an awareness of the theoretical issues surrounding and examined in postcolonial literary study.

Content Summary

In this module students will consider the key developments and thematic concerns in a range of 'national' literatures in post-colonial contexts. Students will be introduced to post-colonial theory, and will apply theory to practice in analysis of literary texts, including poetry, drama and prose from, among others, India, Canada, Australia, Africa and the Caribbean alongside some diasporic fiction written by British authors from various cultural backgrounds. Students will be able to study a number of works from a selection of postcolonial national contexts and to critically relate these texts to the cultural, social and historical contexts in which they were produced. Students will be introduced to key theoretical concepts underpinning the academic study of postcolonial writing and the social and cultural context of the texts prescribed for study. Students will normally study approximately eight primary texts originating from a variety of cultural backgrounds, which will be chosen to exemplify the formal and thematic aspects described in the previous paragraph. The texts will be selected from the work of such authors as Chinua Achebe, Fred d’Aguiar, Monica Ali, Margaret Atwood, Peter Carey, David Malouf, Derek Walcott and Salman Rushdie.

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 18
Seminar 18
Independent Study 84
Directed Study 80
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Critically analyse a range of poetry, prose fiction from a range of former colonies, including India, Africa, Canada, Australia and the Caribbean, locating discussion in post-colonial literary contexts
LO2 Analyse and discuss the key features of post-colonial literary theory and criticism in and apply the latter to the written discussion of literary texts, accurately expressed, effectively justified by reference to pertinent scholarly and/or discursive materials, and appropriately presented in line with conventional academic standards.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Essay 2 Students select a question to answer in a critical essay. 0 2000 50 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Essay 1 Students select a question to answer in a critical essay. 0 2000 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Essay 2
Essay 1

Reading List

Set texts indicated on a yearly basis.
McLEOD, J. 2010. Beginning Postcolonialism, 2nd ed. Manchester: Manchester UP.

ASHCROFT, B., GRIFFITHS, G. AND TIFFIN, H., eds. 1995. The Post-Colonial
Studies Reader. London: Routledge.
---. 1998. Key Concepts in Postcolonial Studies. London: Routledge
---. 2002 The Empire Writes Back. London: Routledge
BOEMHER, E.1995. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature: Migrant Metaphors.
Oxford: Oxford UP.
INNES, C.L., ed. 2007. The Cambridge Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures in
English. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
KNEPPER, W. 2011. Postcolonial Literature. London: Longman.
McLEOD, J., ed. 2007. The Routledge Companion to Postcolonial Studies. London:
Routledge.
NAYAR, P. K. 2010. Postcolonialism: A Guide for the Perplexed. London:
Continuum.
RAMONE, J. 2011. Postcolonial Theories. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
RIGNEY, B. 1987 Margaret Atwood. London: Macmillan.
WISKER, G. 2007. Key Concepts in Postcolonial Literature. Basingstoke: Palgrave.