Courses

ENG 5173.50

Studies in Ethnic, Multicultural and Cross Cultural Literature

Fall 2009

Course Description and Overview: ENG 5173.50.  Studies in Ethnic, Multicultural and Cross Cultural Literature.  The Texas Woman's University General Catalog 2007-2009 describes ENG 5173 in this way: "Literature in English by authors whose work reflects the experience of ethnic or minority groups.  Focus on themes, genres, particular groups, authors, or historical periods.  May be repeated for credit with specific topic of investigation varies.  Credit: three hours."

ENG 5173.50 will be taught entirely asynchronously online.  If you have never taken a Blackboard course before or have questions about the format of the class, please contact me at rgreer@mail.twu.edu and arrange for an individual orientation with me during my office hours. 

The focus of this course will be on cross cultural literature, specifically postcolonial literature written in English by cultures emerging from the British empire.  To understand that movement, we will examine both colonial and postcolonial literature and theory and focus on three particular traditions writing in English: African, Indian, and Caribbean.

Faculty Contact Information:  
Instructor: Russell Greer, Ph.D.  Associate Professor.

Office location: CFO 803.

Office Phone Number: (940) 898-2346

Office Hours: 8 a.m. to noon on Mondays. 

E-mail Address: rgreer@twu.edu.

Other Contact Information: Fax: (940) 898-2297 (English Department).  Website: www.russellgreer.com

Most students find they can communicate with me quickly through the course itself online or by e-mail;  If I cannot hold regular office hours on a particular day or time, I will make an announcement on my website.  I am typically not available in my office at other times, but I am available by telephone, online, and special appointment outside of my regular office hours (if necessary).  You may also leave me a voice mail at (940) 898-2346.  I usually check for messages once a day (often in the evenings) and try to return calls promptly.

Please note that I am usually active and available online throughout the week (until 5 p.m.), but I reserve the weekends and evenings to be with my family.  Do not expect me to be available online on the weekends or in the evenings. 

Goal and Outcomes: Our goal is to become familiar with the discourse and theory associated with postcolonial literature.  We will measure our success by writing two papers, creating one annotated bibliography, posting in weekly discussion forums, and completing two examinations.

Course Materials and Supplies:

Required:

(1) The Postcolonial Studies Reader.  (Eds. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin.  2nd edition.  Routledge.  2006.  ISBN: 0-415-34565-0);

(2) An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction (Ed. Dean Baldwin.  Wadsworth Publishing.  2006. ISBN: 978-0618318810);

(3) Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary (Publisher: Dramatist's Play Service.  1939.  ISBN: 978-0822207641);

(4) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Anchor.  ISBN:  1958.  978-0385474542);

(5) Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Heinemann Educational Books.  1967. ISBN: 978-0435913564);

(6) The White Tiger: A Novel by Aravind Adiga (Free Press. 2008. ISBN: 978-1416562603).

Course Prerequisites: No prerequisites are listed in the TWU Graduate Catalog, but to ensure success the graduate student should be familiar with literary theory, writing about literature, and the writing conventions of the Modern Language Association.

Disability Support Policy Statement:

"If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the office of Disability Support Services (CFO 106, 940-898-3835, dss@twu.edu) in order to obtain the required official notification of your accommodation needs.   Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss approved accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate." (Statement supplied by Disability Support Services Office)

Academic Dishonesty: 

"Honesty in completing assignments is essential to the mission of the university and to the development of the personal integrity of the student. Cheating, plagiarism, or other kinds of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in appropriate sanctions that may include failing an assignment, failing the class, or being suspended or expelled.  Suspected cases in this course may be reported to Student Life. The specific disciplinary process for academic dishonesty is found in the TWU Student Handbook.  Tools to help you avoid plagiarism are available through the TWU Libraries at http://www.twu.edu/library/tutorial/plagiarism/player.html." (Statement provided by Vice-President of Academic Affairs at https://www.twu.edu/academic-affairs/syllabus-requirements.asp)

Activities, Assignments, and Grading Policy:

• Short Paper (10%)(due NLT 4 October)

• Long Paper (25%) (due NLT 6 December)

• Annotated Bibliography (5%) (due NLT 8 November)

• Weekly Discussion (15%)I will provide feedback in Weeks FOUR, SEVEN, TEN, THIRTEEN, and after week FIFTEEN.

• Mid-term Examination (20%) (Due NLT 25 October)

• Final Examination (25%) (Due NLT Wednesday, 16 December)

Major Course Assignments and Examinations:

Papers:  You will write two papers.  The first one will only be 5-7 pages long, and it will simply allow you to engage with a postcolonial theoretical concept as applied to a piece of literature we are studying or in culture.  The second paper will be longer, suitable for a conference presentation or for a journal (12-25 pages) on a topic of your choice.

Annotated Bibliography: I will provide a format for you, but essentially you will survey at least five book chapters or articles on a related theme or topic.  Ideally, this reading would prepare you for your research paper.

Weekly Discussion: Credit is given for postings to the discussion questions,  special assignments, and the weekly summary.  You must post a minimum of TEN times a week on the discussion question forums (including the weekly summary) and in your groups, when applicable, and once before the end of the day on Wednesday of each week (except for the final week).  Some of these postings will be responses to the study questions; others will be responses to your classmates.  If you do not post at least ten times in the assigned week, do not expect a good participation grade for that week.  I will give you a participation grade weekly, but I will announce them only periodically.  Your grade will be determined by (1) the amount of postings and (2) the quality of the postings (equally weighted).  I calculate participation for a week that begins on Monday and ends at midnight on the following Sunday.  Your postings do not need to be long, but they DO need to advance the discussion helpfully. Postings only count in the week they are due; in other words you cannot “make up” late postings after the week is over.  Postings only count in the following places: (1) the discussion question forums; and (2) the weekly summary forum.  Note: Each week you will be asked to answer three discussion questions, one of which will may occasionally be about writing the research paper.  These discussion questions will allow you to earn participation credit and share ideas with your classmates.  At the end of the week you will also post a summary message and attach a Student Summary Form with your best ten postings pasted into the forum.  I will use your attached form to calculate your participation grade for the week. If you do not attach a summary form, you cannot get participation credit for the week.

Examinations: You will take two examinations: a mid-term and a final examination.  The purpose of these tests is to encourage understanding of key theoretical postcolonial concepts.  The format of the test will be open book short essay and short answer. 

TWU Attendance Policy:

"Consistent and attentive attendance is vital to academic success, and is expected of all students. Grades are determined by academic performance, and instructors may give students written notice that attendance related to specific classroom activities is required and will constitute a specific percentage of students' grades.

Instructors are strongly encouraged to keep a record of student attendance. They should note absences due to documented student illness, serious illness or death in the student's immediate family, official school activity, state-recognized religious holiday, active military service that is of a reasonable brief duration, or other verified absences deemed appropriate by the instructor. Students must consult with instructors regarding the completion of make-up work.

Absences do not exempt students from academic requirements. Excessive absences, even if documented, may result in a student failing the course.   An incomplete may be granted if the student has a passing grade, but only if the instructor determines that it is feasible for the student to successfully complete remaining assignments after the semester. Pursuant to university policy, such determinations are within the discretion of the instructor." (Statement provided by Vice-President of Academic Affairs at https://www.twu.edu/academic-affairs/syllabus-requirements.asp)

Miscellaneous

Student Participation Summary Form

You will post a summary to a forum provided after you have completed all your week's postings and attach a "student participation summary" form.  You can find this form under "Course Documents." In this form, you will cut and paste your "top ten" postings from the week.  You may edit your postings for grammar and spelling (in fact you SHOULD edit them for grammar and spelling) but not for content (I will check occasionally to make sure that the they represent your actual work from the week).  I will use this summary form to assign your participation grade.  If you do not submit a summary form, you cannot get credit for the week's work even if you fully participated otherwise.  You will post these summaries in the discussion forums provided.

Feedback

I will send you feedback with a course grade FIVE times: in Weeks FOUR, SEVEN, TEN, THIRTEEN, and after week FIFTEEN.  For example, in Week FOUR I will provide feedback for the work the class did in Weeks ONE, TWO, and THREE; in Week SEVEN I will send out feedback forms for the work done by the class in Weeks FOUR, FIVE, and SIX, etc.  When I post a feedback form, I will announce it on Blackboard. You can find it under "digital dropbox."   

Plagiarism

[Academic writing differs from other kinds of writing in that it is a conversation with other people who are writing and thinking about your topic.  When you write an academic essay you will agree with others, disagree with them, or do a little of both, but above all you will remain in a conversation.  If you do not clearly identify their words and ideas from your own, you are not in a position to demonstrate your own critical thinking.  Plagiarism, therefore, not only robs others other their proper credit, but it robs you of your ability to respond.]

TWU Policy (Statements provided by Vice-President of Academic Affairs at https://www.twu.edu/academic-affairs/syllabus-requirements.asp):

"In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas Woman’s University vigorously affirms the importance of academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook.   Therefore, in an effort to detect and prevent plagiarism, faculty members at Texas Woman’s University may now use a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources.   It then reports a percentage of similarity and provides links to those specific sources.   The tool itself does not determine whether or not a paper has been plagiarized.  Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member."

[Your 6-8 page formal essays will be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.com.]

Definition of Plagiarism

"Plagiarism defined at TWU: Plagiarism occurs when a student obtains portions or elements of someone else's work, including materials prepared by another person or agency, and presents those ideas or words as her or his own academic work. The intentional or unintentional use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement shall constitute plagiarism." 

"Students are responsible for following guidelines of the appropriate course or discipline (i.e.; MLA, APA).
Conduct Guidelines: http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentLifeOffice/AcademicDishonesty.html
TWU Student Code of Conduct: http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentLifeOffice/StudentCodeofConduct.html
TWU Judicial Process: http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentLifeOffice/AcademicDishonesty.html"

"The primary purpose for any antiplagiarism prevention software at TWU is educational. Antiplagiarism technology should be used as a teaching tool. Antiplagiarism technology is merely a tool. The tool alone does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized. Conversely, students cannot use antiplagiarism tools to prove they have not plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member. Use of antiplagiarism tools is optional, but if they are used, they must be used according to the policies and guidelines set forth in this document. Instructors must discuss plagiarism and academic integrity with students at the beginning of each course. If students do not consent to having their original work archived in the antiplagiarism tool databases, individual faculty members may use alternative assignments or use other, more traditional, methods for detecting plagiarism. Because papers written for course credit are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), student work submitted to Turnitin by an instructor should use an alias for the student name, and delete any personally-identifiable information. If faculty members suspect that a paper has been plagiarized, and the student does not acknowledge plagiarism, the procedures outlined in Chapter 4 of the Student Handbook must be followed."

[Above all, remember that if you have any questions as to whether or not you have used another person's work and not given proper credit, please see me before you submit the work.]

Tentative Calendar of Classes & Assignments:

Please check here for the Academic Calendar for fall 2009.  Also, please note that this daily syllabus is for planning purposes only and is subject to change. Page numbers for assigned reading (when applicable) are provided.

Week ONE (31 August-6 September 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: "Defining Imperialism and Colonialism" (2); "The Colonial and Postcolonial Short Story" (5); "Postcolonial Theory: A Primer" (8); "England" (21); Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Beach at Falsea" (29);
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "General Introduction" (1).

Online Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Post your autobiography.
• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week TWO (7-13 Sept. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would be King" (77);
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part ONE: Issues and Debates Introduction" (9); "Orientalism" by Edward W. Said (24).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week THREE (14-20 Sept. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (104);
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Two: Universality and Difference: Introduction" (71); "Colonialist Criticism" (73).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week FOUR (21-27 Sept. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Chinua Achebe's "Girls at War" (664);
• Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Three: Representation and Resistance: Introductrion" (93); "Post-Colonial Literatures and Counter-Discourse" by Helen Tiffin (99).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week FIVE (28 Sept. to 4 Oct 2009)

  Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Grace Orgot's "The Great Leaves" (642);

• Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary;

• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: Part Four: Nationalism: Introduction" (117); "Dissemination: Time, Narrative, and the Margins of the Modern Nation" by Homi K. Bhabha (132).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements;

• Short Paper Due.

Week SIX (5-11 Oct. 2009)

8 October (by 5 p.m.) is the last day to drop a class without academic penalty.

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Ama Ata Aidoo's "Two Sisters" (648);
• Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Five: Hybridity: Introduction" (137); "The Cultural Politics of Hybridity" by Robert Young.  

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week SEVEN (12-18 Oct. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's "Minutes of Glory" (678);
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Six: Indigeneity: Introduction" (163); "The Myth of Authenticity" by Gareth Griffiths (163).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.
• Mid-term examination distributed.

Week EIGHT (19-25 Oct. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Bessie Head's "The Wind and a Boy" (688);
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Seven: Ethnicity: Introduction" (189); "New Ethnicities" by Stuart Hall (199).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.
• Mid-term Examination due by the end of Week EIGHT.

Week NINE (26 Oct. to 1 Nov. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: "Sindiwe Magona's "I'm Not Talking About That, Now" (715);
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Eight: Race: Introduction" (211); "Race and Racism" by Tzvetan Todorov (213).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week TEN (2-8 Nov. 2009)

5 November (by 5 p.m.) is the last day to drop a class or withdraw from the university.

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: R.K. Narayan's "A Horse and Two Goats" (545);
• A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Nine: Feminism: Introduction" (233); "First Things First: Problems of a Feminist Approach to African Literature" by Kirsten Hoist Petersen (233).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements;
• Annotated Bibliography Due.

Week ELEVEN (9-15 Nov. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's "Miss Sahib" (559);
• A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Ten: Language: Introduction" (261); Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's "The Language of African Liteature" (261" and Chinua Achebe's "The Politics of Language" (268).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements

Week TWELVE (16-22 Nov. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Salman Rushdie's "The Courter" (591);
• A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Eleven: The Body and Performance: Introduction" (289); "The Fact of Blackness" by Frantz Fanon (291).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week THIRTEEN (23-29 Nov. 2009. Please note that TWU is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday 25-29 Nov.)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Raja Rao's "The Cow of the Barricades" (521); Anita Desai's "Studies in the Park" (571); "Bapsi Sidhwa's "Serahbai's Story" (608);
• The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Twelve: History: Introduction" (317); Peter Hulme's "Columbus and the Cannibals" (325).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Week FOURTEEN (30 Nov. to 6 Dec. 2009)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: "The Caribbean: An Introductory Essay" (433); "The Day They burnt the Books" by Jean Rhys (451); V.S. Naipaul's "The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book" (463); Jamaica Kincaid's "Blackness" (470);
• The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Seventeen: Globalization: Introduction" (461); "Globalization and the Claims of Postcoloniality" by Simon Gikandi (473).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.
• Long Paper Due.

Week FIFTEEN (7-11 Dec. 2009.  Please note that this is a short week.  11 Dec. is the last day of fall classes)

Reading:

• An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction: Olive Senior's "Do Angel's Wear Brassiers?" (483); Sasenarine Persaud's "Canada Geese and Apple Chatney" (498); John Stewart's "The Old Men Used to Dance" (508);
• The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga;
• The Postcolonial Studies Reader: "Part Sixteen: Diaspora: Introduction" (425); "Imaginary Homelands" by Salman Rushdie (428).

Lecture: On the assigned reading.

Assignments:

• Final Examination Distributed
• Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation/reading requirements.

Final Examination Period (14-20 Dec. 2009)

The final examination will be due by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 16 December.

Syllabus Changes

All changes (if any) made after 31 August 2009 to the syllabus will be summarized here:

Last updated:  28 August 2009