Anglophone Literatures
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The course investigates some pivotal aspects of African and Indian literatures, in order to involve students in deep critical analyses of the literary texts proposed, supported by the knowledge of history and of local culture. The aim of the course is to take students beyond the traditional boundaries of the British/Irish canon to discover rich and fascinating Anglophone literary traditions in Africa and Asia; accordingly, the programme introduces some of the most relevant non-English writers and some key issues in the current debate on global English literature. The active participation of students will be promoted through presentations and paper submissions, in order to stimulate and enhance their critical and argumentative skills (both oral and written).
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have a sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary background of the investigated cultural and geographical areas. They will be able to carry out in-depth textual and critical analyses of the literary works listed in the syllabus, relying on the critical studies provided in the reading list. They will also acquire critical tools to carry out an independent critical assessment of the literary texts and of the cultural issues dealt with in class, taking into consideration the theoretical and critical perspectives introduced and discussed during the course.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course, entitled "Human Divisiveness: The Cultural Challenges of South African and Indian Literatures", is divided into three parts:
Parts A and B: "The Skin Shades' Sad Song: Representing 'Apartheid' in South African Literature" (Prof. Iannaccaro)
Part C: "Adivasi, the Domestic Alien" (Prof. A. Vescovi)
Parts A and B tackle the controversial issue of 'race relations' in the 20th-century South African narrative in English. We will read novels and short stories in which the "nightmare of history" is represented both realistically and imaginatively: in harsh, documentary narratives as well as in more lyrical stories that, towards the end of the century, tend to adopt self-referential, metanarrative literary techniques. More and less privileged writers, belonging to different communities, take up the challenge of literary representation in a society that is divisive to the point of bordering on absurdity and non-representability.
Part C explores the condition of Adivasi communities in contemporary India. The term "Adivasi" refers to indigenous or aboriginal communities that have inhabited the Indian subcontinent for centuries and have distinct cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic characteristics. After centuries of discrimination and cultural denigration, Adivasi communities have gained a representation in Indian literature—written by themselves and educated urban elites. Adivasi literature serves as a platform for self-expression, cultural preservation, and activism, contributing to the broader literary landscape of India. The course will consider how Adivasi communities are viewed by both Hindu and Adivasi authors.
Course attendance is highly recommended. Those who cannot attend classes are invited to the first lesson, in which information regarding the course syllabus and the exam will be provided.
The course bears 6/9 credits. Students wishing to acquire only 6 credits will study Parts A and B.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2025.
Parts A and B: "The Skin Shades' Sad Song: Representing 'Apartheid' in South African Literature" (Prof. Iannaccaro)
Part C: "Adivasi, the Domestic Alien" (Prof. A. Vescovi)
Parts A and B tackle the controversial issue of 'race relations' in the 20th-century South African narrative in English. We will read novels and short stories in which the "nightmare of history" is represented both realistically and imaginatively: in harsh, documentary narratives as well as in more lyrical stories that, towards the end of the century, tend to adopt self-referential, metanarrative literary techniques. More and less privileged writers, belonging to different communities, take up the challenge of literary representation in a society that is divisive to the point of bordering on absurdity and non-representability.
Part C explores the condition of Adivasi communities in contemporary India. The term "Adivasi" refers to indigenous or aboriginal communities that have inhabited the Indian subcontinent for centuries and have distinct cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic characteristics. After centuries of discrimination and cultural denigration, Adivasi communities have gained a representation in Indian literature—written by themselves and educated urban elites. Adivasi literature serves as a platform for self-expression, cultural preservation, and activism, contributing to the broader literary landscape of India. The course will consider how Adivasi communities are viewed by both Hindu and Adivasi authors.
Course attendance is highly recommended. Those who cannot attend classes are invited to the first lesson, in which information regarding the course syllabus and the exam will be provided.
The course bears 6/9 credits. Students wishing to acquire only 6 credits will study Parts A and B.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2025.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is addressed to graduate students, and it is held in English. Therefore, a good knowledge of the English language is required in order to understand complex literary and/or critical texts. A general knowledge of the major authors and currents of English literature is taken for granted.
Teaching methods
Teaching methods: lectures with close reading, discussion, textual analysis, and contextualisation of the works in the reading list; constant engagement of students in the analytical and critical process of learning; "Flipped classroom": the possibility to present to the class a topic/text chosen from the reading list, and/or to be the 'respondent' of someone else's presentation. In the case of online classes, alternative methods such as group work may be resorted to.
Teaching Resources
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Roman Jakobson, "On Realism in Art" (on Teams). Also available in Italian: Roman Jakobson, "Il realismo nell'arte", in Tzvetan Todorov (a cura di), I Formalisti Russi, Einaudi, 1968, pp. 97-107 (Biblioteca di Anglistica).
- Roland Barthes, "The Reality Effect" (free online). Also available in Italian: "L'effetto di reale", in Il brusio della lingua, Einaudi, 1988, pp. 151-159 (Biblioteche di Filosofia e di Scienze antichità filologia moderna).
PART A
- Sol T. Plaatje, "'Introduction' and 'A Retrospect'", in Native Life in South Africa (1930), Longman, 1987, pp. iv-xv, e 1-14 (on Teams).
- Sarah Gertrude Millin, God's Stepchildren, 1924.
- Bessie Head, Maru, 1971.
- Miriam Tlali, "Soweto Hijack! A Story of our Times", Staffrider, 1:1, 1978, pp. 12-20 (on Teams).
- Mtutuzeli Matshoba, "A Glimpse of Slavery", 1979 (on Teams).
PART B
- André Brink, A Dry White Season, 1979.
- Nadine Gordimer, "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off"; "Once Upon a Time", in Jump and Other Stories, 1991.
- Zoë Wicomb, You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town, 1987. The Feminist Press edition, with an Introduction by Marcia Wright and an Afterword by Carol Sicherman. This edition provides a valuable historical Introduction and a useful Literary Afterword.
PART C
- Satyajit Ray, Days and Nights in the Forest
- Neel Mukherjee, A State of Freedom
- Daribha Lyndem, Name Place Animal Thing
- Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, The Adivasi Will Not Dance: Stories
CRITICAL STUDIES, PARTS A-B
- Peter Blair, "That 'Ugly Word': Miscegenation and the Novel in Preapartheid South Africa", Modern Fiction Studies, Vol. 49, n. 3, 2003. (Unimi database).
- Khadidiatou Diallo, "Disclosing the Hidden: The Narration of Thoughts in Bessie Head's Maru", in Commonwealth: Essays and Studies, vol. 34 no. 2, 2012, pp- 31-42. (Unimi database).
- Androne, Mary Jane, 2013, "Writing Apartheid: Miriam Tlali's Soweto Stories", in Bryce, J. et al. (eds.), Writing Africa in the Short Story: African Literature Today, Woodbridge, James Currey, pp. 25-39 (Unimi database).
- André Brink, "After Soweto", 1976, in Mapmakers. Writing in a State of Siege, Faber and Faber, 1983 (on Teams).
- Graham Huggan, "Echoes from Elsewhere: Gordimer's Short Fiction as Social Critique", Research in African Literatures, Vol. 25, no. 1, 1994, pp. 61-73 (Unimi database).
- Dorothy Driver, "The Struggle Over the Sign. Writing and History in Zoë Wicomb's Art", Journal of Southern African Studies, 36:3, 2010, pp. 523-542 (Unimi database).
CRITICAL STUDIES, PART C
- Dietrich Rothermund, Storia dell'India, Il Mulino OR Metcalf and Metcalf, A concise history of modern India (available online on the University Library website), CUP.
- Dasgupta, S. (2016). "Introduction: Reading the archive, reframing 'Adivasi' histories", The Indian Economic & Social History Review, 53(1), 1-8. https://doi-org.pros1.lib.unimi.it/10.1177/0019464615619527
- Vescovi, Alessandro. "The Conversational Quality of Literature: An Interview with Neel Mukherjee." Ariel 50.2 (2019): 219-238.
- Chakraborty, Abin. "Examining Subalterneity in Hansda Sowvendra Sekhar's [sic] The Adivasi Will Not Dance." Postcolonial Text 12.1 (2017).
ADDITIONAL READING LIST FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
PARTS A and B
In addition to the above bibliography (and any new material uploaded on Teams), students must read up individually on South African history.
Suggested readings:
- South African History Online (SAHO), http://www.sahistory.org.za/
- A Concise History of South Africa, by Robert Ross. Cambridge University Press, 2008 (Unimi database, Cambridge Core).
- The Cambridge History of South Africa, edited by C. Hamilton, B. K. Mbenga, R. Ross, 2 vols, 2010-11. (Scienze della Storia library and Unimi database, Cambridge Core).
Narratology: to analyse the literary texts we read, it is mandatory to be acquainted with the main narrative techniques.
Suggested reading:
- Manfred Jahn, "Narratology 2.2: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative", 2021 (Free online).
PART C
In addition to the above bibliography (and to any new material uploaded on Teams):
- Prathama Banerjeei, Writing the Adivasi: Some Historiographical Notes
- Damodaran, V., & Dasgupta, S. (2022). "Special issue: Multiple worlds of the Adivasi. An introduction". Modern Asian Studies, 56(5), 1353-1374. doi:10.1017/S0026749X22000361
- Roman Jakobson, "On Realism in Art" (on Teams). Also available in Italian: Roman Jakobson, "Il realismo nell'arte", in Tzvetan Todorov (a cura di), I Formalisti Russi, Einaudi, 1968, pp. 97-107 (Biblioteca di Anglistica).
- Roland Barthes, "The Reality Effect" (free online). Also available in Italian: "L'effetto di reale", in Il brusio della lingua, Einaudi, 1988, pp. 151-159 (Biblioteche di Filosofia e di Scienze antichità filologia moderna).
PART A
- Sol T. Plaatje, "'Introduction' and 'A Retrospect'", in Native Life in South Africa (1930), Longman, 1987, pp. iv-xv, e 1-14 (on Teams).
- Sarah Gertrude Millin, God's Stepchildren, 1924.
- Bessie Head, Maru, 1971.
- Miriam Tlali, "Soweto Hijack! A Story of our Times", Staffrider, 1:1, 1978, pp. 12-20 (on Teams).
- Mtutuzeli Matshoba, "A Glimpse of Slavery", 1979 (on Teams).
PART B
- André Brink, A Dry White Season, 1979.
- Nadine Gordimer, "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off"; "Once Upon a Time", in Jump and Other Stories, 1991.
- Zoë Wicomb, You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town, 1987. The Feminist Press edition, with an Introduction by Marcia Wright and an Afterword by Carol Sicherman. This edition provides a valuable historical Introduction and a useful Literary Afterword.
PART C
- Satyajit Ray, Days and Nights in the Forest
- Neel Mukherjee, A State of Freedom
- Daribha Lyndem, Name Place Animal Thing
- Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, The Adivasi Will Not Dance: Stories
CRITICAL STUDIES, PARTS A-B
- Peter Blair, "That 'Ugly Word': Miscegenation and the Novel in Preapartheid South Africa", Modern Fiction Studies, Vol. 49, n. 3, 2003. (Unimi database).
- Khadidiatou Diallo, "Disclosing the Hidden: The Narration of Thoughts in Bessie Head's Maru", in Commonwealth: Essays and Studies, vol. 34 no. 2, 2012, pp- 31-42. (Unimi database).
- Androne, Mary Jane, 2013, "Writing Apartheid: Miriam Tlali's Soweto Stories", in Bryce, J. et al. (eds.), Writing Africa in the Short Story: African Literature Today, Woodbridge, James Currey, pp. 25-39 (Unimi database).
- André Brink, "After Soweto", 1976, in Mapmakers. Writing in a State of Siege, Faber and Faber, 1983 (on Teams).
- Graham Huggan, "Echoes from Elsewhere: Gordimer's Short Fiction as Social Critique", Research in African Literatures, Vol. 25, no. 1, 1994, pp. 61-73 (Unimi database).
- Dorothy Driver, "The Struggle Over the Sign. Writing and History in Zoë Wicomb's Art", Journal of Southern African Studies, 36:3, 2010, pp. 523-542 (Unimi database).
CRITICAL STUDIES, PART C
- Dietrich Rothermund, Storia dell'India, Il Mulino OR Metcalf and Metcalf, A concise history of modern India (available online on the University Library website), CUP.
- Dasgupta, S. (2016). "Introduction: Reading the archive, reframing 'Adivasi' histories", The Indian Economic & Social History Review, 53(1), 1-8. https://doi-org.pros1.lib.unimi.it/10.1177/0019464615619527
- Vescovi, Alessandro. "The Conversational Quality of Literature: An Interview with Neel Mukherjee." Ariel 50.2 (2019): 219-238.
- Chakraborty, Abin. "Examining Subalterneity in Hansda Sowvendra Sekhar's [sic] The Adivasi Will Not Dance." Postcolonial Text 12.1 (2017).
ADDITIONAL READING LIST FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
PARTS A and B
In addition to the above bibliography (and any new material uploaded on Teams), students must read up individually on South African history.
Suggested readings:
- South African History Online (SAHO), http://www.sahistory.org.za/
- A Concise History of South Africa, by Robert Ross. Cambridge University Press, 2008 (Unimi database, Cambridge Core).
- The Cambridge History of South Africa, edited by C. Hamilton, B. K. Mbenga, R. Ross, 2 vols, 2010-11. (Scienze della Storia library and Unimi database, Cambridge Core).
Narratology: to analyse the literary texts we read, it is mandatory to be acquainted with the main narrative techniques.
Suggested reading:
- Manfred Jahn, "Narratology 2.2: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative", 2021 (Free online).
PART C
In addition to the above bibliography (and to any new material uploaded on Teams):
- Prathama Banerjeei, Writing the Adivasi: Some Historiographical Notes
- Damodaran, V., & Dasgupta, S. (2022). "Special issue: Multiple worlds of the Adivasi. An introduction". Modern Asian Studies, 56(5), 1353-1374. doi:10.1017/S0026749X22000361
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral exam: It consists of an oral interview assessed in thirtieths; 18/30 is the passing score.
The interview will ascertain: the student's sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary background of the investigated geographical and cultural areas; their ability to carry out in-depth textual and critical analyses of the literary works in the reading list, relying on the scholarly studies provided; their capacity to engage in an independent critical assessment of the literary texts and of the cultural issues dealt with in the classes, taking into consideration the theoretical and critical perspectives introduced and discussed during the course.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case, the record will be "ritirato", withdrawn, and they will have to retake the whole exam in a future session).
The language of the exam is English.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Likewise, students with any disabilities are kindly invited to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along all the literary texts listed in this syllabus to take the exam.
The interview will ascertain: the student's sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary background of the investigated geographical and cultural areas; their ability to carry out in-depth textual and critical analyses of the literary works in the reading list, relying on the scholarly studies provided; their capacity to engage in an independent critical assessment of the literary texts and of the cultural issues dealt with in the classes, taking into consideration the theoretical and critical perspectives introduced and discussed during the course.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case, the record will be "ritirato", withdrawn, and they will have to retake the whole exam in a future session).
The language of the exam is English.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Likewise, students with any disabilities are kindly invited to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along all the literary texts listed in this syllabus to take the exam.
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professors:
Iannaccaro Giuliana, Vescovi Alessandro
Professor(s)
Reception:
Three hours a week. Please send me a mail in advance to make an appointment.
Piazza S. Alessandro 1, Anglistica; or Microsoft Teams Platform
Reception:
Every Friday 2:30 pm. Please use the form to reserve a position.
Teacher's office or Teams