Required Texts:
Derek Walcott, Ti-Jean and His Brothers
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
No Longer at Ease
Wole Soyinka, Collected Plays I (the two plays we will study are The
Swamp Dwellers and The
Strong Breed)
Percy Mtwa, Woza Albert!
Leslie Silko, Gardens and Dunes
Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Richard Wright, The Long Dream
Any Bible
Objectives:
To help students understand the ways that literature expands their
awareness of themselves and of
their relations to the world around them.
To help students read, interpret, and respond individually and collectively
to imaginative literature
more thoughtfully and meaningfully through an examination of the elements
of literature.
To familiarize students with the literature of various periods, emphasizing
the twentieth century,
of post-colonial peoples.
To help students express their thinking about post-colonial theory,
literature, and culture through
class discussion, journal entries, class presentations, examinations,
and papers.
To expose students to the culture and experience of various post-colonial
regions around the
world.
To learn how to apply various literary and critical languages to specific
texts in order to illuminate
their richness and intellectual power.
Focus: “Colonial and Postcolonial Implications for World Evangelization
in an Era of
Globalization.”
It is the intention of this course to analyze and demonstrate postcolonial
peoples’ shifting
relationship with the Bible and Christianity and the political and
critical factors responsible for
these shifts and the results of these shifts, especially the implications
these shifts have on world
evangelization. Through careful examination of postcolonial literature
and theory–literary and
critical texts, autobiographies, interviews, letters–and the Bible,
we hope to unravel myths and
establish important conclusions about Europeans’ colonial flaws in
world evangelization and how
a more enlightened cross-cultural missions program can be effective
in a global, postcolonial
world.
Evaluation:
6 unannounced quizzes on the texts (before discussion)
- 10%
Class presentation
- 20%
6 journal entries responding to the readings of each text.
- 10%
(no less than 1 typed page per entry)
Three short papers/exams 10% for the weakest one and 20% for each of the strongest two - 50%
Attendance and class participation (includes serving as class secretary for one day) - 10%
Late:
All late assignments will be penalized with a lost of a shade of grade
(B- to C+). No late
assignment will be accepted after the Friday of the week in which assignments
are to be
submitted. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP ASSIGNMENT FOR THE QUIZ,
EXAM,
JOURNAL, PRESENTATION, OR PAPER.
Groups:
Discussion will be done in small and large groups.
Course Outline:
WEEK 1: (MAY 29) INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF POST-COLONIAL
THEORY AND LITERATURE AND EVANGELIZATION: Derek Walcott, Ti-Jean and
His Brothers
Introduction to course. Discussion of syllabus and policies.
Journal 1-Sample writing-
What I think/feel/know about the topic. Filling cards.
Background and introduction
SIGN UP FOR PRESENTATION
WEEK 1: (MAY 30 & 31) Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Quiz 1 and Journal 2 on Achebe
WEEK 1: (June 1 & 2) Achebe No Longer at Ease
Quiz 2 and journal 3 on Achebe
Paper/Exam I
WEEK 2: (5-9) Wole Soyinka, Collected Plays I (the two plays we will
study are The Swamp
Dwellers and The Strong Breed)
Percy Mtwa, Woza Albert!
Quiz 3, 4, and 5 and journal 4, 5, and 6 on Soyinka and Mtwa,
respectively
Paper/Exam II
WEEK 3: (12-16) Leslie Silko, Gardens and Dunes, Alice Walker, The
Color Purple, and
Richard Wright, The Long Dream
Quiz 6 and 7 and journal 7 and 8 on any two
Paper/Exam III
NB. Additional information/definition/clarification will be given
at different times during the
semester. Please do not hesitate to seek my help. Good
Luck!
ADDITIONAL:
1. a. Presentation 1: (10 mins)
Select an article/essay relevant to the topic and possibly text for
that day. On a handout for the
class, state complete documentation, thesis, main and sub-points, notable
examples, conclusion,
and your evaluation of the article. Select 5-10 main points from
the article and apply them to the
play(s) listed for that week. Present your findings to the class
in an interesting and involved
manner. Basically, I want you to introduce interesting information/ideas
to the class, involve
students in your discussion, use teaching aids, and focus on central
points. Support your points
with examples from the critical articles and text(s). Reference
to other works can enhance
presentation.
2. Journal:
A collection of writing pieces based on your responses to the plays/texts.
We will share some of
these in class on a voluntary and rotation basis.
3. Quiz:
There will be 6 unannounced quizzes based on the texts These
will be given before we commence
discussion on each text. The purpose is to ensure that you have
read each assigned reading before
discussion and presentation.
4. Attendance and participation:
Attendance and participation will be graded on a letter scale.
Poor attendance always affects
grades adversely. Participation includes serving as class secretary
for one week.
PRESENTATION 1 EVALUATION:
1. Interesting information:
/20
Handout for the class and professor
Complete documentation, thesis, main and subpoints, notable examples,
conclusion, your
evaluation of the article, and accuracy.
Focus on central points and support of points with examples from the
critical articles/text.
2. Apply 5-10 points, selected from essay, to the play(s) listed for
that week.
/10
3. Presentation of findings to the class in an interesting/a creative/an
enthusiastic manner.
/5
4. Use of teaching aids--handout, board, TV/VCR, Tape recorder, poster,
books, etc.
/5
5. Involvement of students in your presentation/discussion; comments,
questions, readings, etc. /5
6. Preparation and Research; reference to other works and articles,
textual work, etc.
/5
TOTAL /50
PERCENTAGE: .......
GRADE:
.......
As far as possible support your points with textual examples, and document
all researched
materials.