(S) From Colonialism to Black British Writing: Heart of Darkness, A Passage to India & White Teeth
Focusing on three major colonial/postcolonial texts by Joseph Conrad, E.M. Forster and Zadie Smith, this seminar offers a dual approach to text analysis as it will be based on close readings of Heart of Darkness (Conrad), A Passage to India (Forster), and White Teeth (Smith), as well as on analyses of the film versions of two of these texts, in particular Apocalypse Now (Coppola). These truly outstanding novels and films offer a wide perspective on the colonial and postcolonial question, ranging from racism and conservatism via existential questions and the Vietnam War to postmodern concepts of third space and hybridity.
Please buy the following editions:- Conrad, Joseph (1899/2007). Heart of Darkness. Ed. Owen Knowles. London: Penguin Classics. [ISBN 978-0141441672]
- Forster, E.M. (1924/2005). A Passage to India. Ed. Oliver Stallybrass. London: Penguin Classics, 2005. [ISBN 978-0141441160]
- Smith, Zadie (2000). White Teeth. London: Penguin. [ISBN 978-0140297782]
A syllabus and comprehensive bibliography will be available in the first session. Further materials will be provided online (via OPAL).
NB: This course prepares students for the "Schriftliches Staatsexamen: Klausur Englische Literaturwissenschaft" in the spring/summer 2023