Course overview
Moving beyond historical frameworks in literary studies such as postcolonial theory, this course advances students’ understanding of various decolonial perspectives, building situated knowledges using stories as method of inquiry, where form substantially shapes the content and possibility of political engagement. Drawing on concepts such as pluriversality, voice, perspective, relationality, entanglement, and otherness in the context of post human perspectives, and mythopoesis, among others, this course provides diverse decolonial perspectives as central to the study of literatures in English. It also exposes students to a variety of literary traditions, methods, primary texts and genres from a range of local and international contexts, and empowers them to take part in major debates about cultural value, form, interpretation, and reception while also facilitating the acquisition of skills in literary analysis, argumentation, and evaluation. The course also draws on leading literary thinkers to bring a rich tapestry of works by contemporary creative writers from around the globe, into clearer focus.
- Past: From Borders to Communities
- Present: New Configurations of Belonging
- Future: Imagining New Futures
Course learning outcomes
- Read, interpret, and contextualise a range of literary texts from various traditions in decolonial literatures in English
- Generate critical analyses and essays about a range of decolonial literary texts in English, using internationally recognised conventions of expository and critical prose and paying close attention to the text’s formal qualities
- Identify, discuss and apply appropriate concepts and formal literary techniques in decolonial literatures to an appropriate range of literary texts from decolonial contexts around the world
- Identify, discuss and interpret major genres in decolonial literatures.
- Demonstrate awareness of the major debates, issues and perspectives in decolonial literary criticism and theory.
- Situate contemporary Australian writing and culture in relation to southern theory, post colonialism, decoloniality and the posthuman.