COURSE GUIDE ENG 417 POSTCOLONIAL AFRICAN LITERATURE Course Team Course Developer/Writers: Dr. Felix Gbenoba & Fidelis Okoroegbe Directorate of Instructional Resources Development, National Open University of Nigeria Course Editor: Professor Ayo Kehinde Department of English University of Ibadan Course Coordinator: Dr. Felix Gbenoba Department of Languages Faculty of Arts National Open University of Nigeria Jabi, Abuja. NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA National Open University of Nigeria Plot 91, Cadastral Zone, University Village, Nnamdi Azkiwe Expressway, Jabi, Abuja. Lagos Office: 14/16, Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos. E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.nou.edu.ng Published by: National Open University of Nigeria ISBN: All Rights Reserved 2 CONTENTS PAGE Introduction.............................................................. iv Course Aims............................................................. iv Course Objectives................................................... v Working through the Course.................................... vi Course Materials..................................................... vi Study Units............................................................ vi Textbooks and References........................................ vii Assignment File....................................................... ix Tutor-Marked Assignment........................................ x Final Examination and Grading................................ xi Course Marking Scheme.......................................... xi How to Get the Most from this Course..................... xi Tutors and Tutorials................................................. xiii Summary............................................................... xiv 3 INTRODUCTION Welcome to ENG 417: Postcolonial African Literature. It is a three- credit unit course for 400 level students in the Department of English. It comprises 19 study units subdivided into four modules. The course is meant to acquaint students with the nature of post-colonial African literature and its application to the whole range of the literary output across Africa since the end of the colonisation of the peoples. The course is diachronic even though the subject matters of the writers are not necessarily the same. In this wise, one could safely call the whole period since the 1950s on the African continent postcolonial as many of the peoples of Africa actually got their deliverance from colonial rule mostly from this period onwards. It is also historically known that the colonial period actually ceased from about the middle of the 20th Century. Literatures of the peoples of the world thus got into the post-colonial era since the stated period. Thus, at the end of the course, students would be exposed to literatures that were presented to the public within this diachronic period. Furthermore, this course aims to engage students in a dialogue on the intercultural encounters inevitable in the reading and analysis of the African literature. The course will prove an exciting journey to and through the thinking and life of the African people as you hear and read the texts of postcolonial African writings. It seeks to show that African literature is not a homogenous whole, rather, it exists where national and ethnic cultures are in reality enormously varied. It also actively connects with issues that are intimately influenced by the socio-cultural and political conditions of Africa. The course will develop as consistently as possible a discussion on the theory and issues that inform and affect African literature. COURSE AIMS This course introduces you to the colonial and postcolonial African literature and theory. Generally, the course tackles, probably, one of the most controversial aspects of African literature, namely ―post-colonial‖ writings. In this course, we shall study some of the proponents of postcolonial theory. We will also use a selection of some African texts to examine the nature of the postcolonial as well as what the term ―postcolonial‖ actually means. The importance of postcolonial studies in a globalised world in which ‗more than three-quarters of the people living in 4 the world today have had their lives shaped by the experience of colonialism,‘ cannot be overestimated (See ‗Introduction‘, The Empire Writes Back, Ashcroft Bill, Gareth Griffiths, & Helen Tiffin). The course, in particular, will use postcolonial theory to engage critically with texts within a postcolonial framework. Basically, at the end of the course, you should:  be able to define the term ‗postcolonial African literature‘  be able to discuss some of the major proponents of postcolonial theory  have a critical awareness of the wide-ranging impacts of colonialism and how these have been treated in various periods in different types of text  have a sound understanding of the main issues in postcolonial African literature today, along with the appropriate critical vocabulary. COURSE OBJECTIVES As already stated, this course examines the emergence of what has come to be known as ‗Postcolonial African literature‘. You are encouraged to take a critical approach to this term, examining different approaches to its literary, cultural, theoretical and political aspects. An examination of the critical responses to colonialism will enable students place postcolonial African literature at the centre of a complex web of ideas and ideology about the nature and role of literature, especially in the African continent. At the end of the course, students should be able to:  develop the capacity to think critically about postcolonial African literatures in a comparative framework  develop the capacity to understand how the genres or forms in which writers treat postcolonial issues shape their representation of postcolonial realities and identities  arrive at an understanding of how the postcolonial situation is represented and interrogated in texts from Africa  arrive at an understanding of how identities are formed in the context of class, gender, and ethnicity in formerly colonised African nations  express their understanding of specific literary texts as postcolonial African texts. 5 WORKING THROUGH THIS COURSE To complete the course, you are required to read the study units and other related materials. You will also need to undertake practical exercises for which you need a pen, a notebook and other materials that will be listed in this guide. The exercises are to aid you in understanding what postcolonial African literature encompasses. At the end of the course, you will write a final examination. COURSE MATERIALS The major materials you will need for this course are: 1. Course Guide 2. Study Units 3. Relevant textbooks, including the ones listed under references/further reading 4. Assignment file 5. Presentation schedule STUDY UNITS There are 17 study units in this course, divided as follow: Module 1 An Overview of Postcolonial Theory Unit 1 Postcolonial Theory: A Plethora of Definitions Unit 2 Stages of Postcolonial Theory Unit 3 Central Tenets of Postcolonial Theory Unit 4 Key Terminologies in Postcolonial Theory Module 2 Major Proponents of Postcolonial Theory Unit 1 Edward Said Unit 2 Homi Bhabha Unit 3 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Module 3 Africa in the Eyes of Europe: Colonial Representations of Africa in Literature 6 Unit 1 Literature in the Service of Empire: Colonial Representations of Africa in Literature Unit 2 Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness Unit 3 Joyce Cary‘s Mister Johnson Unit 4 Daniel Defoe‘s Robinson Crusoe Module 4 Postcolonial African Literature Unit 1 Overview of African Literature Unit 2 Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart as a Postcolonial Text Unit 3 J.M Coetzee‘s Foe as a Postcolonial Text Unit 4 Ayi Kwei Armah‘s The Beautiful Ones are Not Yet Born as a Postcolonial Text Unit 5 Ngugi wa Thiong‘o‘s Devil on the Cross as A Postcolonial Text Unit 6 Ben Okri‘s The Famished Road as a Postcolonial Text TEXTBOOKS AND REFERENCES Many books and articles have been recommended in the course. You may wish to purchase them for further reading. Achebe, Chinua. (1978).―An image of Africa: Racism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness‖. Research in African Literatures, Vol. 9, No.1, Special Issue on Literary Criticism. (Spring), pp. 1-15. Achebe, Chinua. (2006). ―The Politics of Language‖. In The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths & Helen Tiffin (Eds.). (2nd ed.). London, New York: Routledge. Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi.(2008). ―African ‗Authenticity‘ and the Biafran Experience.‖ Transition, No. 99, pp 42-53. Also known as ―The http://www.ted.com/speakers/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie.html. Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin. (2002). The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literature. London, New York: Routledge. (2nd ed.). Balogun, Jide. (20011). ‗Approaches to Modern Literary Theories‘. www.unilorin.edu.ng/publications/balogun/Doc5.pdf . 7 Bennett, Andrew & Nicholas Royle.(2009). ―Racial Difference‖ and ―The Colony‖. In An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. Pearson Longman, (4th ed.). Bhabha, Homi K. (2004). ―Of Mimicry and Man‖. The Location of Culture. London, New York: Routledge. Childs. Peter & R. J. Patrick Williams.(1996). ―Introduction: Points of Departure,‖ in An Introduction to Post-Colonial Theory, Prentice Hall. Conrad, Joseph. (1950). Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. New York: New American Library. Culler, Jonathan. (1997). Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. During, Simon. (1999). The Cultural Studies Reader. (Ed.). London: Routledge. Eagleton, T. (1996). Literary Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press. Fanon, Frantz. (1961). ―On National Culture‖ ―The So-Called Dependency Complex‖ and ―The Fact of Blackness‖ in Black Skin, White Masks. Pluto Press. Hall, Stuart. (1979). ―Foucault: Power, Knowledge and Discourse‖.In Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage. Hall, Stuart. (1990). ―Cultural Identity and Diaspora,‖ in Identity: Community, Culture, Difference. Jonathan Rutherford. (Ed.). London: Lawrence & Wishart. Jussawalla, Feroza. (1997). ―Kim, Huck and Naipaul: Using the Postcolonial Bildungsroman to (Re) define Postcoloniality‖ in Links & Letters 4, (25-38). Lugard, Frederick. (2005). ―The Value of British Rule in the Tropics to British Democracy and the Native Races.‖ In Postcolonialisms: An Anthology of Cultural Theory and Criticism Gaurav Desai and Supriya Nair. (Eds). Oxford: Berg. 8 Mishra, Vijay & Bob Hodge. (1991). ―What is Post (-) colonialism?‖ in Colonial Discourse and Postcolonial Theory. Moore-Gilbert, Bart Stanton, Gareth, & Maley Willy.(1997). Postcolonial Criticism. (Eds). New York: Addison, Wesley, Longman. Rice, Philip & Waugh Patricia. (1998). Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. (4th ed.). New York: Routledge. Richter, David H. (1998). The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. (Ed.). Bedford Books: Boston. Rivkin, Julie & Ryan, Michael. (1998). Literary Theory: An Anthology. (Eds). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. Said, Edward. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books. Senghor, Léopold Sédar. (2005). ―Negritude,‖ in Postcolonialisms: An Anthology of Cultural Theory and Criticism. (Eds). Gaurav Desai & Supriya Nair, Oxford: Berg. Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. (2008). ‗Questions of Multiculturalism.‘ In D. Lodge & N. Wood Modern Criticism and Theory. (Eds). Harlow: Pearson/Longman. Spurr, David. (1993). ―Affirmation‖ and ―Negation.‖ In The Rhetoric of Empire. Durham & London: Duke University Press. Thiong'o, Ngugi Wa. (1986). ―Decolonising the Mind‖. In The Language of African Literature. Tyson, Lois. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User Friendly Guide. New York: Routledge . Welleck, Rene & Warren, Austin. (1973). Theory of Literature. Middlesex: Penguin Books Limited. ASSIGNMENT FILE An assignment file and a marking scheme will be made available to you. In this file, you will find all the details of the work you must submit to your tutor for marking. The marks you obtain from these assignments will count towards the final mark you obtain for the course. 9 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT You will need to submit a specified number of Tutor-Marked Assignments (TMAs). Every unit in this course has a tutor-marked assignment. The total mark for assignments is 30%. However, you need to note that the University currently administers electronic TMAs of 20 items each. It is thus obvious that the whole course material will likely be covered in providing the standard four TMAs. You are advised to go through the whole of your course material in order to do well. Nonetheless, the best three of the four TMAs will used for your final grading. COURSE OVERVIEW This table brings together the units, the number of weeks you should take to complete them. Nonetheless, this is an estimate. Unit Title Week’s TMA Activity Course Guide 1 Module 1: An Overview of Postcolonial Theory 1 Postcolonial Theory: A Plethora of 2 Definitions 2 Overview of Postcolonial Theory 3 3 Central Tenets of Postcolonial Theory 4 4 Key Terminologies in Postcolonial 5 TMA1 Theory Module 2 Major Proponents of Postcolonial Theory 1 Edward Said 6 2 Homi Bhabha 7 3 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak 8 TMA2 Module 3 Africa in the Eyes of Europe: Colonial Representations of Africa in Literature 1 Literature in the Service of Empire: 9 Colonial Representations of Africa in Literature 2 Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness 10 3 Joyce Cary‘s Mister Johnson 11 4 Daniel Defoe‘s Robinson Crusoe 12 TMA3 Module 4 Postcolonial African Literature 10