Anglophone Literatures
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
The course investigates some pivotal aspects of African and Indian literatures, in order to involve students in deep critical analyses of the literary texts proposed, supported by the knowledge of history and of local culture. The aim of the course is to take students beyond the traditional boundaries of the British/Irish canon to discover rich and fascinating Anglophone literary traditions in Africa and Asia; accordingly, the programme introduces some of the most relevant non-English writers and some key issues in the current debate on global English literature. The active participation of students will be promoted through presentations and paper submissions, in order to stimulate and enhance their critical and argumentative skills (both oral and written).
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have a sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary background of the investigated cultural and geographical areas. They will be able to carry out in-depth textual and critical analyses of the literary works listed in the syllabus, relying on the critical studies provided in the reading list. They will also acquire critical tools to carry out an independent critical assessment of the literary texts and of the cultural issues dealt with in class, taking into consideration the theoretical and critical perspectives introduced and discussed during the course.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course is entitled "Watermarks: Human and Non-Human Sea Narratives". It is divided into three parts
Part A: "Zooming in: Discovering the Sundarbans" (Prof. Vescovi)
Part B: "Zooming out: The World from the vantage point of the Sundarbans" (Prof. Vescovi)
Part C: "Watery Words: South African Contemporary Literature and the 'Oceanic Turn'" (Prof. Iannaccaro).
Parts A and B focus on the riverine area of the Sundarbans on the Bay of Bengal, a mangrove forest that lies at the border between Indian and Bangladesh (which Italians know because of Emilio Salgari's novels). We shall read the Sundarbans trilogy written by the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh between 2004 and 2021, which comprises two novels and a poem. The first part will highlight the specificities of the fragile ecosystem, now doomed because of climate change. Particular attention will be devoted to human interaction with the environment. The second part, on the contrary, will investigate how the Western world is perceived from the standpoint of the Sundarbans. We shall consider how the city of Venice is viewed by Bangladeshi migrants. The first part will be taught in tandem with prof. Binayak Roy from the University of North Bengal, Siliguri, who will join us with his students. Students from India and Italy will be asked to collaborate on research tasks assigned by the teachers.
Part C of the course deals with South African water in a region where the tip of the African continent merges with the intersection of two oceans. The human and non-human inhabitants of those territories have stories to tell, which talk about their relationship with the environment but, at the same time, do not forget to narrate the long and tortuous road towards social and political justice.
Course attendance is highly recommended. Those who cannot attend classes are invited to the first lesson, in which information regarding the course syllabus and the exam will be provided.
The course bears 6/9 credits. Students wishing to acquire only 6 credits will study Units A and B.
The course syllabus is valid until September 2024.
Part A: "Zooming in: Discovering the Sundarbans" (Prof. Vescovi)
Part B: "Zooming out: The World from the vantage point of the Sundarbans" (Prof. Vescovi)
Part C: "Watery Words: South African Contemporary Literature and the 'Oceanic Turn'" (Prof. Iannaccaro).
Parts A and B focus on the riverine area of the Sundarbans on the Bay of Bengal, a mangrove forest that lies at the border between Indian and Bangladesh (which Italians know because of Emilio Salgari's novels). We shall read the Sundarbans trilogy written by the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh between 2004 and 2021, which comprises two novels and a poem. The first part will highlight the specificities of the fragile ecosystem, now doomed because of climate change. Particular attention will be devoted to human interaction with the environment. The second part, on the contrary, will investigate how the Western world is perceived from the standpoint of the Sundarbans. We shall consider how the city of Venice is viewed by Bangladeshi migrants. The first part will be taught in tandem with prof. Binayak Roy from the University of North Bengal, Siliguri, who will join us with his students. Students from India and Italy will be asked to collaborate on research tasks assigned by the teachers.
Part C of the course deals with South African water in a region where the tip of the African continent merges with the intersection of two oceans. The human and non-human inhabitants of those territories have stories to tell, which talk about their relationship with the environment but, at the same time, do not forget to narrate the long and tortuous road towards social and political justice.
Course attendance is highly recommended. Those who cannot attend classes are invited to the first lesson, in which information regarding the course syllabus and the exam will be provided.
The course bears 6/9 credits. Students wishing to acquire only 6 credits will study Units A and B.
The course syllabus is valid until September 2024.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is addressed to graduate students, and it is held in English. Therefore, a good knowledge of the English language is required in order to understand complex literary and/or critical texts. A general knowledge of the major authors and currents of English literature is taken for granted.
Teaching methods
Teaching methods: lectures with close reading, discussion, textual analysis, and contextualisation of the works in the reading list; constant engagement of students in the analytical and critical process of learning; "Flipped classroom": the possibility to present to the class a topic/text chosen from the reading list, and/or to be the 'respondent' of someone else's presentation. In the case of online classes, alternative methods such as group work may be resorted to.
Teaching Resources
General Bibliography Parts A & B
Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press 2011. (esp. introduction).
Ursula Heise, "World Literature and the Environment". From Theo D'ahen, David Damrosch et al. The Routledge Companion to World Literature (2012).
Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement. (2017).
Literary Texts
Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide, 2004.
——, Gun Island, 2018.
——, Jungle Nama, 2021.
Della Puppa, Matteuzzi, Saresin. La linea dell'orizzonte. Ethnographic novel. Becco Giallo, 2021.
Carlo Levi, Christ Stopped at Eboli.
Criticism
Lenka Filipova, Place as Process in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide, in A. De and A. Vescovi Amitav Ghosh's Culture Chromosome (2021).
Further Readings for non-attending students.
- Metcalf and Metcalf, A Concise History of Modern India, Cambridge University Press, online on Cambridge core. Esp. chapters 7 and 8.
Alessandro Vescovi, Amitav Ghosh, 2012.
Alessandro Vescovi, "The Uncanny and the Secular in Amitav Ghosh's The Great Derangement and The Hungry Tide", Le Simplegadi, 2017.
Graham Huggan and Helen Tiffin. "Introduction" to Postcolonial Ecocriticism (ch. 17 in Ken Hiltner. Ecocriticism: The Essential Reader, Routledge, 2015.)
Further readings will be added at the beginning of the course. All texts except the primary bibliography and The Great Derangement, will be made available on the course website.
PART C
In addition to the following reading list, students will study all materials uploaded on the didactic platform before or during the course.
Literary Texts and Online Performances:
Koleka Putuma, "Water", 2017, in Collective Amnesia, Cape Town, uHlanga. Free online.
Koleka Putuma, "Water", official video by K. Putuma, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfq3C8GNrE
Hoskins, Allison Claire, 2018, "We are Coming for Everything". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFZSTVmDUcU.
Stuart, Toni, 2018, "Krotoa Eva Speaks - a Cape Jazz Poem in Three Movements". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjmkMCRh3g8&feature=emb_logo.
Mda, Zakes, The Whale Caller, New York, Picador, 2005 (novel, to be acquired).
Literary criticism:
Isabel Hofmeyr, 2019, "Provisional Notes on Hydrocolonialism", English Language Notes, Vol. 57 (1), pp. 11-20. (Unimi database).
Byrne, Deirdre Cassandra, 2021, "Water in the Anthropocene: Perspectives on Poetry by South African Women", Feminist Encounters: A Journal in Critical Studies of Culture and Politics, Vol. 5 (1), pp. 1-11. (Uploaded on Teams).
Jonathan Steinwand, "What the Whales Would Tell Us. Cetacean Communication in Novels by Witi Ihimaera, Linda Hogan, Zakes Mda, and Amitav Ghosh", in Elizabeth DeLoughrey and George B. Handley (eds), Postcolonial Ecologies. Literatures of the Environment, 2011, pp. 182-199. (Unimi database).
Dan Wylie, "Narrating Whales in Southern Africa", English in Africa, 46, 1, 2019, pp. 37-55. (Unimi database).
Giuliana Iannaccaro, "Sharing Life on Earth: Material and Immaterial Needs in The Whale Caller", English in Africa, Vol. 48, n. 2, August 2021, pp. 43-62. (Unimi database).
Additional reading list for non-attending students:
In addition to the above bibliography (and to any new material uploaded on Teams), students are required to read up individually on the South African history from the 17th century to the present. Suggested references:
History:
1. Robert Ross, A Concise History of South Africa, Cambridge University Press, 2008. (Unimi database, Cambridge Core collection).
2. Nancy L. Clark and William H. Worger, South Africa. The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, Pearson Longman, 2004. (Unimi database).
3. South African History Online (SAHO) http://www.sahistory.org.za/
Literary criticism
Particularly useful are the critical essays contained in The Cambridge History of South African Literature, ed. by D. Attwell and D. Attridge, Cambridge U.P., 2012. (Anglistica Library). This volume can be used to deepen one's knowledge of authors, works, cultural contexts, and literary trends.
Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press 2011. (esp. introduction).
Ursula Heise, "World Literature and the Environment". From Theo D'ahen, David Damrosch et al. The Routledge Companion to World Literature (2012).
Amitav Ghosh, The Great Derangement. (2017).
Literary Texts
Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide, 2004.
——, Gun Island, 2018.
——, Jungle Nama, 2021.
Della Puppa, Matteuzzi, Saresin. La linea dell'orizzonte. Ethnographic novel. Becco Giallo, 2021.
Carlo Levi, Christ Stopped at Eboli.
Criticism
Lenka Filipova, Place as Process in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide, in A. De and A. Vescovi Amitav Ghosh's Culture Chromosome (2021).
Further Readings for non-attending students.
- Metcalf and Metcalf, A Concise History of Modern India, Cambridge University Press, online on Cambridge core. Esp. chapters 7 and 8.
Alessandro Vescovi, Amitav Ghosh, 2012.
Alessandro Vescovi, "The Uncanny and the Secular in Amitav Ghosh's The Great Derangement and The Hungry Tide", Le Simplegadi, 2017.
Graham Huggan and Helen Tiffin. "Introduction" to Postcolonial Ecocriticism (ch. 17 in Ken Hiltner. Ecocriticism: The Essential Reader, Routledge, 2015.)
Further readings will be added at the beginning of the course. All texts except the primary bibliography and The Great Derangement, will be made available on the course website.
PART C
In addition to the following reading list, students will study all materials uploaded on the didactic platform before or during the course.
Literary Texts and Online Performances:
Koleka Putuma, "Water", 2017, in Collective Amnesia, Cape Town, uHlanga. Free online.
Koleka Putuma, "Water", official video by K. Putuma, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfq3C8GNrE
Hoskins, Allison Claire, 2018, "We are Coming for Everything". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFZSTVmDUcU.
Stuart, Toni, 2018, "Krotoa Eva Speaks - a Cape Jazz Poem in Three Movements". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjmkMCRh3g8&feature=emb_logo.
Mda, Zakes, The Whale Caller, New York, Picador, 2005 (novel, to be acquired).
Literary criticism:
Isabel Hofmeyr, 2019, "Provisional Notes on Hydrocolonialism", English Language Notes, Vol. 57 (1), pp. 11-20. (Unimi database).
Byrne, Deirdre Cassandra, 2021, "Water in the Anthropocene: Perspectives on Poetry by South African Women", Feminist Encounters: A Journal in Critical Studies of Culture and Politics, Vol. 5 (1), pp. 1-11. (Uploaded on Teams).
Jonathan Steinwand, "What the Whales Would Tell Us. Cetacean Communication in Novels by Witi Ihimaera, Linda Hogan, Zakes Mda, and Amitav Ghosh", in Elizabeth DeLoughrey and George B. Handley (eds), Postcolonial Ecologies. Literatures of the Environment, 2011, pp. 182-199. (Unimi database).
Dan Wylie, "Narrating Whales in Southern Africa", English in Africa, 46, 1, 2019, pp. 37-55. (Unimi database).
Giuliana Iannaccaro, "Sharing Life on Earth: Material and Immaterial Needs in The Whale Caller", English in Africa, Vol. 48, n. 2, August 2021, pp. 43-62. (Unimi database).
Additional reading list for non-attending students:
In addition to the above bibliography (and to any new material uploaded on Teams), students are required to read up individually on the South African history from the 17th century to the present. Suggested references:
History:
1. Robert Ross, A Concise History of South Africa, Cambridge University Press, 2008. (Unimi database, Cambridge Core collection).
2. Nancy L. Clark and William H. Worger, South Africa. The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, Pearson Longman, 2004. (Unimi database).
3. South African History Online (SAHO) http://www.sahistory.org.za/
Literary criticism
Particularly useful are the critical essays contained in The Cambridge History of South African Literature, ed. by D. Attwell and D. Attridge, Cambridge U.P., 2012. (Anglistica Library). This volume can be used to deepen one's knowledge of authors, works, cultural contexts, and literary trends.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral exam: It consists of an oral interview assessed in thirtieths; 18/30 is the passing score.
The interview will ascertain: the student's sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary background of the investigated geographical and cultural areas; their ability to carry out in-depth textual and critical analyses of the literary works in the reading list, relying on the scholarly studies provided; their capacity to engage in an independent critical assessment of the literary texts and of the cultural issues dealt with in the classes, taking into consideration the theoretical and critical perspectives introduced and discussed during the course.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case, the record will be "ritirato", withdrawn, and they will have to retake the whole exam in a future session).
The language of the exam is English.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Likewise, students with any disabilities are kindly invited to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along all the literary texts listed in this syllabus to take the exam.
The interview will ascertain: the student's sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary background of the investigated geographical and cultural areas; their ability to carry out in-depth textual and critical analyses of the literary works in the reading list, relying on the scholarly studies provided; their capacity to engage in an independent critical assessment of the literary texts and of the cultural issues dealt with in the classes, taking into consideration the theoretical and critical perspectives introduced and discussed during the course.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case, the record will be "ritirato", withdrawn, and they will have to retake the whole exam in a future session).
The language of the exam is English.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Likewise, students with any disabilities are kindly invited to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along all the literary texts listed in this syllabus to take the exam.
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professors:
Iannaccaro Giuliana, Vescovi Alessandro
Professor(s)
Reception:
Three hours a week. Please send me a mail in advance to make an appointment.
Piazza S. Alessandro 1, Anglistica; or Microsoft Teams Platform
Reception:
Every Friday 2:30 pm. Please use the form to reserve a position.
Teacher's office or Teams