Eng. 277b
Spring 2000

Welcome to the homepage for the course on "Postcolonial Women Writers." This course will focus on writings by women from the South Asian sub-continent and its diaspora. Working from an expanded definition of writing as the attempt to draw new maps of reality, we will look at fiction, poetry, political manifestos, theoretical discussions, socio-historical accounts, and films by South Asian women. We will examine the ways these writings intervene in and energize postcolonial culture in South Asia and beyond by forging an aesthetic and political practice that involves a radical critique of gender arrangements. In particular, we will explore the ways writers use narrative traditions such as folklore, fable, memoir, and myth to give voice to their unique historical, cultural, and political perspectives. We will also trace the play of irony, parody, and mimicry as writers figure the ambivalence of their position as women, especially around issues of modernity, sexuality, religion, nation, and development.

Assignments

Bibliography (fiction)

Classlist

Contexts

Film list

Glossary

Maps

Portfolio of Images

Syllabus