Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 Westminster College Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Westminster College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 446 - The Empire Writes Back

Semester Hours: 4

Oppression is never fun, but it can spark creativity. Beginning with a study of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, we will investigate and discuss what it means to speak, write, create, govern, etc. in the language of one’s oppressor, which is the situation of most people living in colonial and postcolonial cultures. We will read, discuss and employ significant criticism on and about postcolonial literature as we undertake analysis of texts such as Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Foe by J.M. Coetzee, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. As with most oppressive situations, there will be tests and papers. In other words, you’ll be able to write back. Discussion will be democratic and mandatory. Creativity is encouraged.