Instructor: Dr. Janis Haswell

Office: Faculty Center #277

Phone: 825-5981

E-Mail: jhaswell@falcon.tamucc.edu

Office Hours: MW 9:00-11:00AM and TR 9:00-11:00AM and 5:00-5:30PM

Description of the Course: We will read, discuss together, and write about voices that emerge when cultures and genders intersect. Applying Edward Said's theory of Orientalism not only to East-West power relations but to broader issues of ethnicity, cultural identity, and gender, we will work toward 1) a theoretical and textual understanding of how ideology works in literature, 2) an appreciation of the role language plays in establishing and dismantling power relations, 3) analytical skills in using and questioning theory, and 4) a firm cultural/historical base by which to analyze literary texts.

Importance of the Topic: This course focuses on three relationships that have been described as imperialist: between men and women, between England and Ireland, and between England and India. Our initial theoretical framework will be supplied by Said's notion of Orientalism, but we will soon see that this landmark theory has itself been challenged and modified. Thus, the course not only allows students to consider opposing world views via conflicting literary modes (such as Commonwealth versus Postcolonial Literature), it also challenges students to construct a fuller, more adequate theoretical framework by which to read and interpret this literature.

Required Texts:

Theory:

Edward Said, Introduction to Orientalism [handout]

Bart Moore-Gilbert, Gareth Stanton, & Willy Maley, eds. Postcolonial Criticism

Poetry:

Seamus Heaney, Seeing Things

Short Stories:

Joseph Conrad, "An Outpost of Progress" and "The Black Mate"

Rudyard Kipling, "Without Benefit of Clergy" and "The Man Who Would be King"

Edna O'Brien, Lantern Slides

Plays:

W. B. Yeats, Deidre, Countess Cathleen, and On Baiile's Strand

Novels:

E. M. Forster, A Passage to India

Paul Scott, The Jewel in the Crown

V. S. Naipaul, In a Free State

Arundhati Roy. The God of Small Things

Evaluation and Grading:

Short Studies: 30% of final grade

Oral Presentations and class discussion: 20% of final grade

Art journal: 20% of final grade

Independent Project: 30% of final grade

The Short Studies: These short, one-page reflections will function as avenues to reflect, interrogate, and assess our literature and theory. You might pursue a single strand throughout the semester (such as personal versus ethnic identities, the cultural basis of what it means to be "English," etc.) or focus on the unique, conflicting, or overlapping voices and styles of our literature. Feel free to pursue what interests you. The only requirements are to offer an interpretive thesis, polished writing, and correct documentation.

Oral Presentations: Each student will be involved in one of the following projects:

1. Factual biographies of two of our authors (two, ten-minute presentations)

[there can be several of these since we have 9 authors]

2. Historians' responses to Edward Said (twenty-minute presentation)

3. Ireland, 1650-1900 (twenty-minute presentation)

4. Ireland, 1900-1923 (twenty-minute presentation)

5. Ireland, 1924-present (twenty-minute presentation)

6. India, 1715-1857 (colonial period) (twenty-minute presentation)

7. India, 1858-1947 (imperial period) (twenty-minute presentation)

8. India, 1948-present (twenty-minute presentation)

Whether working individually or as a member of a small group, students will present and "teach" their material, using appropriate support materials, visual aids, handouts, etc. Each student will also provide a short, self-assessment describing the project and its outcome (including a bibliography if appropriate).

In addition, during the last two weeks of class, you will present material your art journal for explanation and discussion. See Art Journal assignment for more details.

The Independent Project: Using the theories we have identified and/or critiqued over the course of the semester, this paper of 10-15 pages will involve a novel of your choice that either qualifies for or dismantles "orientalist" writing. You will be invited to

• identify the dynamics of racial, cultural, or gender conflicts being depicted
• use Said (or other postcolonial critics) to further explore the issues
• analyze whether the author offers potential correctives to the conflict
• argue whether these correctives are realistic or effective
• onclude any final insights about the connection between power and discourse.

Some possible candidates for your reading:

E. M. Hull, The Sheik

Isak Dinisen: Out of Africa

Barbara Kingsolver: The Poisonwood Bible

Salman Rushdie: Midnight's Children

Frank McCourt: Angela's Ashes

James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Novels by Anita Desai, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, R.K. Narayan, Kamala Markandaya

The Art Journal: five examples of Orientalism in art

This assignment (comprising 20% of your final grade) incorporates a series of stages: research, analysis and interpretation, visual articulation and oral presentation. Working from the characteristics of orientalism and postcolonialism that we have identified in class, you will identify examples in European or North American art. You have to make several decisions as you begin this assignment.

• Do you want to limit yourself to British culture or include examples from the European Continent or the U.S.? Or if you are very adventurous, do you want to examine examples of Occidentalism (if there is such a thing)?

• Do you want to deal with Orientalism by itself, or define by contrast via examples of Postcolonialism as well?

• Do you want to work with conventional materials (i.e., notebook, xeroxes, pen and paper) or would you like to develop an electronic journal?

Stage 1 - Research. To understand Orientalism, we need to be familiar not just with writers but other important figures in the culture. Once you select your general area (i.e., the art of a particular country or culture) you will probably want to narrow your topic even further: either to one or two individuals, or one or two periods of time. Next, you will want to note

• the primary material (the specific pieces of art),

• the life of the artist(s),

• any first-hand commentary available from that individual(s),

• helpful scholarly (secondary) materials that will help you to understand the works you are studying,

• historical background that discusses the context of the work, or the continuum from which this work develops or against which it rebels.

Stage 2 - Analysis and Interpretation. Once your research is complete, your job will be to interrogate your material and see any similarities and differences between it and our discussions in class. Does your artist display a view of human culture, a belief about the identity of the individual within that culture, the course of human history, the path of historical forces?

Stage 3 - Oral Presentation (awarded up to ten points). During the last several class sessions, you will give a 20 minute presentation to the class on your topic (the time is firm, so be sure to rehearse). Your presentation will, to a certain extent, summarize your research. But more importantly, you will define and support an interpretive thesis supported by evidence that connects with the issues we have raised in class. Since one of the differences between (for instance) reading a poem and reading an oil painting is the visual nature of the second, it is important to plan creative ways to help your audience not only learn about your subject, but use their senses (hearing, seeing, perhaps even moving) in understanding how Orientalism is visually enacted and interpreted. Remember that overheads or handouts are essential in providing historical or biographical background.

Stage 4 &endash; The Journal will consist of 1) a reproduced image of the artwork itself (five images total) with the name of the artist, his or her nationality, and the date of the painting, and 2) a short analysis of each painting The subject of art (instead of plays, novels, short stories, or poems) takes us outside of the art of reading texts to the art of reading images. In Ways of Seeing, John Berger notes that "We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves" (9). After you select fives examples of Orientalist art, consider the following questions in a short analysis:

• What does the painter select for our view? What does he "see" in the Orient
• that he/she wants to convey to us?
• What do you "see" in your first impression? What do you "see" as you study
• the painting more closely?
• How are you invited to situate yourself in the image?

Finally, you are invited to create in the Journal itself a series of artistic images, (sketches, colors, designs, collages, etc) that help capture your response to the five selections. You may generate a Journal in paper and paint format, or electronically.

Graduate Studies Standards:

The instructor assumes that seminar members are good-faith graduate students. Bona fide graduate-school behavior is distinguished in at least four ways.

1. Students read weekly assignments on time, completely, to the last page, and they come to the seminar with serious response and a willingness to discuss.

2. Students do not assume that an assignment is legitimate only if it will be "tested." The work is done for its own sake.

3. Students expect that they will attend 100% of the time, and make home arrangements that this will happen. They don't assume that there are a certain number of allowable "skips."

4. Students assume that open and equitable discussion and critique is the soul of a graduate seminar. Everybody participates. Students don't put the burden on the teacher or on other students to originate or maintain discussion. They themselves take on the responsibility to keep some seminar members from dominating others, and they do it by offering their share of talk.

Late Assignments: Please call me if an emergency arises and you cannot attend class. I will not accept late assignments unless you have made previous arrangements.

Class Schedule:

Week #1 (Jan 17)

Wednesday: Introduction to the course.

Week #2 (Jan 22-26)

Monday: Said, "Introduction" [handout]

Presentation: Historians respond to Edward Said

Wednesday: Moore-Gilbert: "Introduction"

Writing due: working definition of Orientalism

Week #3 (29-Feb 2)

Monday: W. B. Yeats: Countess Cathleen and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter I (Césaire)

Presentation: Background in English/Irish relations: Ireland, 1650-1900

Wednesday: W. B. Yeats: Deidre and On Baile's Strand

Presentation: Background in English/Irish relations: Ireland, 1900-1923

Writing due: short study on Yeats and Irish identity

Week #4 (Feb 5-9)

Monday: Edna O'Brien: and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 8 (hooks)

Group: Background in English/Irish relations: Ireland, 1924-present

Wednesday: Edna O'Brien:

Writing due: short study on O'Brien and Irish identity

 

Week #5 (Feb 12-16)

Monday: Seamus Heaney: and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 2 (Fanon)

Wednesday: Seamus Heaney:

Writing due: short study on Heaney and Irish identity

Week #6 (Feb 19-23)

Monday: Rudyard Kipling: "Without Benefit of Clergy" and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 4 (Said)

Background: The Colonial Period (1715-1857)

Wednesday: Rudyard Kipling: "The Man Who Would Be King"

Writing due: short study on Kipling and Raj identity

Week #7 (Feb 26-Mar 2)

Monday: Joseph Conrad: "The Black Mate" and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 3 (Achebe)

Background: The Era of Confidence and Imperial Rule (1858-1945)

Wednesday: Conrad: "An Outpost of Progress"

Writing due: short study on Conrad and Imperialist identity

Week #8 (March 5-9)

Monday: E. M. Forster: "Mosque" and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 5 (Spivak)

Wednesday: E. M. Forster: Sections I-XIX of "Caves"

Week #9 (March 12-16)

Monday: E. M. Forster: Sections XX-end of "Caves" and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 6 (Bhabha)

Wednesday: E. M. Forster: "Temple"

Writing due: short study on Forster and English identity

Week #10 (March 19-23) Spring Break

Week #11 (March 26-30)

Monday: Paul Scott: Parts 1 and 2 And Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 9 (JanMohamed & Lloyd)

Background in English/Indian relations: Dismantlement and The Era of Melancholy (1945-1960)

Wednesday: Paul Scott: Parts 3 and 4

Week #12 (April 2-6)

Monday: Paul Scott: Parts 5 and 6

Wednesday: Paul Scott: Part 7

Short study due on Scott and British-Indian identity

Week #13 (April 9-13)

Monday: V. S. Naipaul: Prologue, "In a Free State," and Epilogue and Gilbert-

Moore: Chapter 7 (Brydon & Tiffin)

Wednesday: Arundhati Roy: pp. 3-83 and Moore-Gilbert: Chapter 10 (Ahmad)

Week #14 (April 16-20)

Monday: Arundhati Roy: pp. 84-177

Wednesday: Arundhati Roy pp. 178-267

Week #15 (April 23-27)

Monday: Arundhati Roy pp. 268-321

Writing due: short study on Roy and Indian Identity

Wednesday: Art presentations

Week #16 (April 30-May 4)

Monday: Art presentations

Wednesday: Art presentations; course evaluations

Independent Project due on Friday by noon.

Terms:

Anglo-Indian: The English community resident but not finally settled in India (Misra). Some critics argue that the term should also apply to the Eurasian population of India (half Indian, half British).

First World: used in opposition to Third World, designating the dominant economic and racial sites. "First" applies then to imperial and industrialized powers, "third" to former colonies still oppressed by the consequences of imperialism and capitalist exploitation. First and Third are locations but also discursive realities involving sociohistorical or geographic designations (Mohanty). It can refer to "minority" people or people of color in the U.S. Note that these are both "imagined communities" and relative terms. Isn't the U.S. a former colony itself? Even populations in Europe were dominated by various conquerers (Vikings, Romans, Magyars).

Hybridity: This concept attempts to deconstruct the "Manichean allegory" that postcolonial theory tends to encourage: the bifurcation between Imperial powers (evil incarnate) and indigenous populations (good personified). Hybridity suggests a double identity, a position that joins spaces, locations, cultures, even races. In eliminating the essentialist view of identity based on a static attribute (like imperialist meaning "white"), the term suggests that all postcolonial space (wherein imperialist legacy and indigenous vestiges are joined) is "hybrid."

Imperialism: A "conscious state policy guided by the unprincipled and disreputable desire to acquire overseas possessions and based on the belief in the value of colonies and the justifiability of extending a country's empire and influence" (Bose x). Most scholars agree that imperialism and capitalism go hand-in-glove.

Metropolis: The imagined site wherein imperialist, capitalist, middle-class, and academic values are in full operation.

Nationalism: Activist movement resisting imperialist rule. It is criticized for being based in middle-class loyalties and aspirations. The main intent is not to broaden how wealth is distributed, but substitute one ruling elite for another by transferring privilege (Gikandi). In India, nationalists were often educated in the West or schooled in Western politics, history, and philosophy.

Nativisim: The political position roughly opposed to nationalism. Rather than embracing middle-class values, nativists believe in returning to the traditional and therefore purer form of self and community based on notions of pre-imperial existence or a new existence totally severed from the imperial legacy.

Negritude: the awareness of being black, or in Césaire's words, "the simple acknowledgement of a fact which implies the acceptance of it, a taking charge of one's destiny as a black man, of one's history and culture" (Moore-Gilbert 7).

Postcolonial: "Post" can refer to chronology (after the imperial experience or after national independence) or to opposition (against or "anti" colonial legacy).

Raj: In general, this term is applied as a synonym for Anglo-Indian, or the British in India. Literally it means "he who rules."

Subaltern: Designates both subordinate classes and subordinate forms of knowledge (Sharpe). The term originally was applied by Gramsci and adopted by Spivak, who defines it as "the demographic difference between the total Indian population and all those whom we have as the 'elite'" ["elite" means dominant foreign groups and dominant indigenous groups] (Spivak 284).

Sources:

Bose, Sujit. Attitudes to Imperialism: Kipling, Forster and Paul Scott. Delhi: Amar Prakashan,

1990.

Gikandi, Simon. Maps of Englishness: Writing Identity in the Culture of Colonialism. New

York: Columbia, 1996.

Low, Gail Ching-Liang. "Rereading the Raj." New Formations 18 (Winter 1992): 170-173.

Misra, Udayon. The Raj in Fiction: A Study of Nineteenth-Century British Attitudes

Towards India. Delhi: B. R. Publishing Corporation, 1987.

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. "Introduction: Cartographies of Struggle." Third World

Women and the Politics of Feminism. eds. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Ann

Russo, and Lourdes Torres. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1991.

Moore-Gilbert, Bart, et. al. Postcolonial Criticism. New York: Lonngman, 1997.

Sharpe, Jenny. Allegories of Empire: The Figure of Woman in the Colonial Text.

Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. "Can the Subaltern Speak?" Marxism and the Interpretation of

Culture. eds. Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg. Urbana: University of Illinois

Press, 1988. 271-313.