Aims and Fit of Module

This course approaches contemporary English literature in a global context, studying texts (mostly written in English) from across the globe since 1950. Drawing on postcolonial literary theory, the course encourages the development of critical perspectives on English as a world-literary language. Through close readings of authors from diverse ‘postcolonial’ situations – from Ireland to Nigeria, from the Indian subcontinent to the Caribbean and Hong Kong – the course will explore themes including globalization, linguistic nationalism, translation and code switching, cultural and linguistic hybridity, postcoloniality, and feminism. Texts will cover a diverse range of genres, and will include poems, plays, short stories, novels, and non-fiction and mixed-genre writings. There may also be scope for consideration of postcolonial adaptations or re-readings of ‘canonical’ works studied on earlier modules.

Learning outcomes

A.	Demonstrate critical engagement with colonial and postcolonial texts
B.	Perform structuralist and post-structuralist analyses on post/colonial texts 
C.	Identify characteristics of colonial and postcolonial texts while also being aware of the problematics of the “post” in the term postcolonial 
D.	Summarize the basic ideas of the foundational texts of postcolonial theory 
E.	Appropriately use important post/colonial and critical race theory terminology
F.	Apply theory to the interpretation of literary texts

Method of teaching and learning

The teaching sessions divide into Lectures and Seminars. Lectures offer content on texts and contexts, and provide examples of how texts can be read and understood in globalized and postcolonial contexts. Seminars require students to present and interrogate ideas, to develop critical positions in detail, and to explore literary, contextual, and secondary/critical reading materials in depth.