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ENGL 276b |
L McGrane |
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TTH 2:30-4 |
HU/SJ/Africana |
This course explores the history and historiography of South African apartheid from its inception in 1948 to the election of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994. We will consider the interplay between complex definitions of race, gender, nation and difference in novels, drama, poetry, and memoirs written during the apartheid years. We will also discuss the tension between an ethics and aesthetics of literary production in a time of political oppression. What would it mean for one to write an apolitical text in a cultural space rife with racial and social tensions? How does an author's identify affect both the efficacy and significance of his or her literary production? Authors will include Nadine Gordimer, Alan Paton, J.M. Coetzee, Athol Fugard, and Alex La Guma.
Possible Readings:
Nadine Gordimer, Burger's Daughter
Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country
Alex La Guma, A Walk in the Night
Reshard Gool, Cape Town Coolie
Miriam Tlali, Footprints in the Quag
Mark Mathabane, Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (excerpts)
Allister Sparks, Tomorrow is Another Country
J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace
Athol Fugard, Sizwe Bansi is Dead
Course Reader (Supplementary materials by Shula Marks, Stanely Trapido, and Leonard Thompson)
Films: Long Night's Journey Into Day
Cry Freedom
Course Requirements:
Group Presentations on cultural and political materials
Two Reflection Papers (3-5 pp.)
Mid-Term/Final Exam
Two film viewings
This course has a limited enrollment of 30.