Course Description
Examines the literature of the wider Caribbean, drawn from the south coastal U.S., the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Central America, and the Northern shores of South America. Topics and instructors vary from semester to semester.
Athena Title
CircumCaribbean Literature
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students in the class will learn to think critically about CircumCaribbean literature and culture, relating texts to the basin's history. Students will be encouraged to think transnationally and globally, and to master concepts of colonialism, diaspora, post-colonialism, and modes of the tropical imagination. Students in the course will also develop their abilities to think critically, argue persuasively, and write vigorous college-level prose. At the end of the course, students, having read a substantial body of literature, will be able to discuss the assigned works (orally and in writing) with critical sophistication, to read and interpret other works from the genre, and to converse with fellow students about texts and issues related to the subject matter of the course.
Topical Outline
The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The topics will consist of selected works by various authors, to be read outside of class and discussed in class, examined individually and comparatively in the context of the times and the circumstances of their composition and reception. Because the course will change from semester to semester, students are encouraged to refer to the English Department website for information concerning the course content for a specific semester. Sample topics might include the following: - The era of conquest and colonialism - Slave narratives - Piracy - The Haitian, Mexican, and Cuban Revolutions - Patterns of gendered identity - The influence of French, African, and Spanish cultures - Caribbean poetics - The tropical sublime - The Romance tradition of the Caribbean - Travel narratives - CircumCaribbean drama - a focus on a particular CircumCaribbean author (Zora Neale Hurston; Claude McKay; Jean Rhys; Cristina Garcia; Ana Menendez) Periodically during the semester, students will perform a number of graded tasks, including some combination of tests, critical essays, and in-class writing assignments. Assignments may also include class presentations and/or research outside of class.