Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course will study the ways in which modern Caribbean authors write back to (revise and re-vision) several key colonial-imperialist texts which have subordinated, marginalized, or rendered invisible Caribbean histories, cultures, and identities. Some attention will be paid to historical and cultural contexts, but the emphasis will be on the analysis of literary texts by Afro-Caribbean writers in several different genres.

Required Texts

• Olaudah Equiano, The Life of Olaudah Equiano, Dover 1999.
• Aimé Césaire, A Tempest, Theatre Communications Group 2002.
• Derek Walcott, Dream on Monkey Mountain and Other Plays, Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1971.
• Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, Penguin 2001.
• Michelle Cliff, Abeng, Plume 1995.
• Maryse Condé, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem, Ballantine Books 1994.
• V. S. Naipaul, Miguel Street, Vintage 2002.
• Edwidge Danticat, Krick? Krack! Vintage 1996.

Since it is very difficult to find Caribbean anthologies in print, we will have to rely on a number of online and photocopied texts for the shorter assignments (poems, short stories, etc.). I suggest you get a separate notebook in which you can compile your own "anthology" as we go along--plus it will help you keep track of all this material. At any rate, be prepared to visit our online Reading Schedule which has links to the additional texts we will be studying.

Grades

• Cultural/Historical Report, plus Oral Report (20 %). See Paper directions.
• Literary Analysis Paper (20 %). See Paper directions.
• Three exams (20 % each; total 60 %)

NOTE: All major assignments must be completed
in order to pass the course.

Class Participation

A successful class depends on your participation--your observations and questions and willingness to explore new ideas--about the assigned readings. Therefore, it is crucial that you keep up with the reading assignments. Please adjust your schedules to accommodate the reading requirements for the course.

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is required. Everyone has four pre-excused absences for those difficult times in life that interfere with class attendance, so you do not need to clear absences with me, but it is a good idea to check with me (or a classmate) to make sure an assignment was not changed while you were gone. Students who miss more than four classes may be dropped from the roster for "excessive absences."

Late Papers/Exams Policy

• Late papers will be graded down one letter grade for each day they are late.
• Missed exams must be made up just as soon as possible. See me immediately when you return to class.

If you live out-of-town, you may e-mail papers to me at knichols@pittstate.edu , but make sure they are attached in .doc format.

Plagiarism Policy

Academic honesty is expected of all students. I support the stated policies of the University and the English Department on penalties for plagiarism. Passing off anyone else's work (whether your roommate's or a published article) as your own may result in an F for that paper or an F for the course.

I am always willing to help students making good-faith efforts to avoid plagiarism.

Class Web Pages

The class syllabus and research/writing assignments can be accessed online in the following ways:

• Instructor's home page:
  arcadiasystems.org/academia/nichols.html. Scroll down to the link for our class. All my web pages are are linked to my home page.
  
  
• Class Syllabus:
  arcadiasystems.org/academia/~knichols/cariblit.html. Click on the links in the upper-left column of this page to access the assigned readings and other class pages. Click the BACK BUTTON (top of screen) one or more times to return to your starting page. There are also links at the bottom of each web page that will take you to all our web pages.
  
  
• PSU Home Page:
  If all else fails, here is a roundabout way to access our class web pages. Go to the "PSU Home Page," next to "Academics," and then to "English"; click on the "Faculty" link and scroll down to my name--which is linked to my home page.

The assumption is that the internet assignments will be done in the Computer Lab downstairs in Grubbs Hall 101 or elsewhere on campus, although you can probably do some of the assignments on your personal computer if you wish.

Some links go to my other web pages, which you can identify by checking for my email address at the top or the bottom of the page. Other links go to pages created by others. If their links do not work or their pages have been removed, there is nothing I can do about it (unfortunately), but check with me. Sometimes we can find an alternate address to use.

Return to Nichols Home Page

Web page design by: knichols