Module Title: ENGL 304
Post-Colonial Literature
Credit Value: 12
General Objectives
The objective of this course is to
introduce students to a selection of authors from across the post-colonial
Commonwealth. Through study of four novels, a play and selected poetry from
Nigeria, Trinidad, South Africa, and India, students will become acquainted
with such related concepts as space, place, boundary, migration, home, language
and identity. The course will be supplemented with short readings in
post-colonial theory.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will
have extended their knowledge of English Literature beyond the confines of
England and the literary canon to countries of the world touched by Empire.
They will be in a position to consider how the literary canon has influenced
the selected Commonwealth writers and how these writers have migrated from it.
They will also be able to draw parallels between the various experiences
described and recognise commonness in themes. They will be able to comment on
the concepts listed above and relate post-colonial theory to experience.
Teaching and learning approach
15 weeks: 3hrs/wk lecture; 2 hrs/wk
tutorials; 3hrs/wk group exercises, discussion, presentation etc.
Assessment
Assignments:
- 1st Assignment: (800-1000
words) 10%
- 2nd Assignment: (1500-2000
words) 20%
Oral Presentation: 20%
Class Participation: 10%
Examination: 40%
Total: 100%
Reading List
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart
(novel)
Desai, Anita. Clear Light of Day (novel)
Hope, A.D. [Australian Poet] Selected
Poetry [Three Poems]
Naipaul, V.S. A House for Mr. Biswas
(novel)
Soyinka, Wole. The Lion and the Jewel
(play)
Walcott, Derek. Selected Poetry
[Three Poems]
Background Reading
Ashcroft, Bill; Griffiths, Gareth and Tiffin, Helen. The Empire
Writes Back (selections).
Fanon, Franz. Wretched of the Earth (1959)
(selection).
Fanon, Franz. Black Skin White Mask
(selection).
Naipaul, V.S. ‘East Indian.’
Rushdie, Salman. Imaginary Homeland [1st
Chapter].
Thiong’o, Ngugi wa. Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of
Language in African Literature. London:
James Currey: Heinemann, 1986.
Reference
Soyinka, Wole. Myth,
Literature and the African World.
Module
updated: 7th March, 2007
Module Title: ENGL
305 Professional Writing
Credit Value: 12
General Objectives
The aim of this course is to advance a
student’s skills in written English to the level at which he or she is able to
perform effectively in a professional setting. The civil service, university,
companies that do business internationally, and mass media all require
employees with the capacity to write accurately and creatively in English.
Students will practice common forms of professional writing such as job
applications, resumes, business letters, internal memorandums, official
reports, notices, and briefing notes. Brochures, speech writing, and press
releases for media will also be considered. Close attention will be paid to
format and the use of formal language, as well as to the mechanics of technical
writing: grammar, punctuation, word choice, and clear, logical sentences.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will
have gained experience in writing English for a variety of professional
purposes, essential for any career where written English is a mode of
communication. They will have become aware not only of the vocabulary,
phrasing and expressions relevant to and expected of business letters, reports,
press releases, and so forth, but also the format appropriate to each.
Students will also have sharpened and extended their knowledge and handling of
business lexicon, grammatical structures and formal idiom.
Teaching and learning approach
15 weeks: 3hrs/wk lecture; 2 hrs/wk
tutorials; 3hrs/wk group exercises, discussion, presentation etc.
Assessment
Business letters (3): 5%
each
Official reports (2): 5%
each
Resume: 10%
Speech: 15%
Press release: 15%
Project: design a brochure: 20%
Class Participation: 15%
Reading List
Alred, Gerald J. et al. The Handbook of
Technical Writing.
Reep, Diana, C. Technical Writing:
Principles, Strategies, and Readings.
Course books should be supplemented with
authentic materials (e.g. staff resumes, ministerial speeches, intranet memos,
etc).
Module
updated: 7th March, 2007