LC 19, Borderlands: The Construction of Nations and
Identities
Wagner College, Fall 2002
Dr. Pranav Jani Office Hours: MW 3-4:30, or by appointment
Parker Hall 302 http://www.wagner.edu/faculty/users/pjani
pjani@wagner.edu http://webboard.wagner.edu/~pjani
(718) 390-3362
Course Description:
English 111 will investigate “borderlands” by examining writing that
has developed under various forms of imperialism since the nineteenth
century. Imperialism – a system in
which richer and more powerful countries dominate over weaker ones – has
forcefully yoked together the histories of Asians, Africans, Europeans, and
indigenous peoples through slavery, colonization, and economic coercion. We will be reading literature that depicts
the various conflicts generated by imperialism – but from the perspective of
those oppressed by imperialism. In the
process, therefore, we will learn to hear the voices of the silenced and to
question our own notions of the boundaries between West and non-West, between
“us” and “them.”
Required Texts
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall
Apart
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
George Orwell, Animal Farm
Salman Rushdie, Haroun and
the Sea of Stories
Solomon, Barbara, ed. Other Voices, Other Vistas
|
Participation: |
20% |
|
ResponsePaper: |
5% |
|
Paper
#1 (2-3 pages): |
20% |
|
Paper
#2 (4-5 pages): |
25% |
|
Final Exam |
30% |
Try
to be actively present in class by
being prepared to participate in class discussions, critique the readings, and
express opinions. Not only is
discussion important to your grade, but sharing your ideas in class will help
refining your ideas in your papers.
Your participation grade will include one oral presentation.
More
than three absences—excused or unexcused—will affect your grade. It is your responsibility to communicate
with me about missed class time—preferably before the class you miss.
Papers
are quite important to your grade.
Consider using the resources you have at Wagner for helping you gather
ideas and materials for your paper and improving your writing. Call the writing center at x3298 to set up
an appointment. You can also contact
me—by email or phone—to set up an appointment or discuss ideas.
Evidence
of plagiarism or cheating will result in an “F” for the course (not just the paper) and disciplinary
proceedings. We will discuss how to
cite sources to avoid plagiarism.
Out of fairness to each
student, I will only give full credit to papers and assignments turned in by
the due date. This may require planning
ahead on your part, especially if you have multiple papers due on the same
day. Late papers will be knocked
down one-third of a grade for each week-day they are late. On the other hand, please do not hesitate to
speak with me about a due date in case of emergency.
M 8/26 Introduction
W 8/28 Howard
Zinn, “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”
http://www.horizons.k12.mi.us/~aim/papers/zinncolumbus.html
|
Extra Reading Zinn on Afghanistan: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/The_Others.html |
F 8/30 Tecumtha
(“Tecumseh”), speech to William H. Harrison
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Cove/8286/harrison.html
Tecumtha, Letter to William H. Harrison
http://www.jmu.edu/madison/tecumseh/letterharrison.htm
Tecumtha, For a Pan-Indian Alliance
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Cove/8286/history4.html
Hinmahtoo Yahlatkekeht (“Chief Joseph”), Surrender
speech
http://glenavalon.com/fightnomore.html
M 9/2 NO
CLASS—Labor Day
W 9/4 Frederick
Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
http://douglass.speech.nwu.edu/doug_a10.htm
|
Extra Reading Thomas Jefferson, the
original draft of the “Declaration of Independence”:http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/AMERICA/DECLAR.HTM Jefferson on slavery: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/tj3/writings/slavery.htm Thomas Paine on slavery: http://thomaspaine.org/archive/afri.html |
F 9/6 LC Day: Harlem
M 9/9 Rudyard
Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” http://www.boondocksnet.com/ai/kipling/kipling.html
Sixto
Lopez and Thomas Patterson, “The Filipinos Will Not ‘Take Up the White Man’s
Burden’” http://www.boondocksnet.com/ai/kipling/lopez_wmb.html
|
Extra Reading Kipling’s
Contemporaries: |
W 9/11 Michael
Ignatieff, “Nation-Building Lite” http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/afghan/2002/0728buildinglite.htm
RAWA,
Statement on the War, http://rawasongs.fancymarketing.net/us-strikes.htm
F 9/13 Debate: The Price of Progress
One-page response paper due
M 9/16 Chinua
Achebe, Things Fall Apart
W 9/18 Achebe,
Things Fall Apart
F 9/20 LC
Day: Brooklyn
M 9/23 Achebe,
Things Fall Apart
W 9/25 Achebe,
Things Fall Apart
F 9/27 Achebe,
Things Fall Apart
M 9/30 Nadine
Gordimer, “Africa Emergent” (Other Voices)
W 10/2 Gordimer, “Africa Emergent”
F 10/4 Paper
#1 Due (2-3 pages)
M 10/7 Khushwant
Singh, “The Wog” (Other Voices)
W 10/9 George
Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant,” http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/shoot.htm
F 10/11 OPEN
DATE
M 10/14 NO
CLASS—Colonizers’ Day
Tsitsi
Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
W 10/16 Dangarembga,
Nervous Conditions
F 10/18 LC
Day: Lower East Side
M 10/21 Dangarembga,
Nervous Conditions
W 10/23 Dangarembga,
Nervous Conditions
F 10/25 Dangarembga,
Nervous Conditions
Weeks 10-12: Postcolonial Encounters
M 10/28 NO
CLASS—Fall Break
W 10/30 Ngugi
wa Thiong’o, “The Testimony” (handout)
F 11/1 Ama
Ata Aidoo, “For Whom Things Did Not Change” (handout)
M 11/4 Bessie
Head, “The Collector of Treasures” (Other Voices)
W 11/6 Mahasweta
Devi, “Dhowli” (Other Voices)
F 11/8 Hanif
Kureishi, “My Son the Fanatic” (handout)
Paper
#2 Due (4-5 pages)
M 11/11 Salman
Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories
W 11/13 Rushdie,
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
F 11/15 LC
Day: Queens
M 11/18 Suheir
Hammad, “First Writing Since”:
http://www.teachingforchange.org/News%20Items/first_writing_since.htm
Film: Black Hawk Down
– time and place to be announced
W 11/20 Discussion: Black Hawk Down
Cecil, Jani, Takacs, “India Is(n’t)”
(handout)
F 11/22 Debate: Did the Afghan War Liberate Women?
Click “English 111 Links” at http://www.wagner.edu/faculty/users/pjani/
M 11/25 George
Orwell, Animal Farm
W 11/27 NO
CLASS—Thanksgiving Break
M 12/2 Conclusion