Learning objectives
Knowledge of postcolonial theories and their evolution since the period of decolonization. Critical analysis and understanding of the cultural complexity of the UK, taking into account the historical processes of the single nations that form it. Ability to absorb and apply postcolonial theories to the study of regional/national literatures within the UK. Confronting identity issues from the point of view both of these specific geo-cultural realities and of the wider British "discourse", by examining the limits and advantages of each of these perspectives.
Course unit content
Title of the course: De-centring English Studies: Scottish, Irish and Welsh Literatures from a Postcolonial Perspective
Starting from the notion of a canon of "English" literature characterised by linguistic multiplicity and regional specificities pertaining to the geographical realities of the UK, the course aims to examine and discuss a crucial question in contemporary critical and theoretical debates: is it possible, or even legitimate, to study Scottish, Irish and Welsh literatures from a postcolonical perspective? First, the students will be introduced to “postcolonialism” and “postcolonial theories”, and, secondly, they will be presented with a selection of literary texts by Scottish, Irish and Welsh writers who, while defending their regional/national identity, also critique fixed and essentialist identity definitions and contribute to the ongoing formation of the diversified and complex "canon/s" of British literature.
Bibliography
Albertazzi Silvia e Vecchi Roberto, a cura di, Abbecedario postcoloniale (Macerata : Quodlibet, 2001-2002). [Biblio Lingue]
Anderson Benedict, Imagined communities : reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism (Rev. ed. - London ; New York : Verso, 1991). [Biblio Lingue]
Angeletti Gioia, ““Letteratura, nazionalità e regionalismo”, in Manuale di letteratura e cultura inglese, a cura di Lilla Maria Crisafulli e Keir Elam (Bologna: Bononia University Press, 2009), pp. 401-430. [Biblio Lingue]
Ashcroft Bill, Griffiths Gareth, Tiffin Helen, The Empire writes back : theory and practice in post-colonial literatures (London ; New York : Routledge, 2002). [Biblio Lingue]
Benvenuti Giuliana, Ceserani Remo, La letteratura nell'età globale (Bologna : Il mulino, 2012). [Biblio Lingue]
Bhabha Homi K., Nation and narration (London ; New York : Routledge, 1990). [Biblio Lingue]
---------------------, The location of culture (London ; New York : Routledge, 1994). [Biblio Lingue]
Brown Ian, ed., The Edinburgh History of Scottish literature, vol3 (Edinburgh : Edinburgh university press, 2007). [Biblio Lingue]
Cairns David and Richards Shaun, Writing Ireland : colonialism, nationalism and culture (Manchester : Manchester University Press, 1988). [Biblio Lingue]
Colley Linda. Britons : forging the nation : 1707-1837 (London : Vitage, 1996). [Biblio Lingue]
Deane Seamus, Celtic revivals : essays in modern Irish literature : 1880-1980 (Winston-Salem, N.Y. : Wake Forest University Press, 1987). [Biblio Lingue]
De Petris Carla e Stella Maria, a cura di, Continente Irlanda : storia e scritture contemporanee (Roma : Carocci, 2001). [Biblio Lingue]
Eagleton Terry; Jameson Frederic; Said Edward W.; introduction by Seamus Deane, Nationalism, colonialism, and literature (Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1990). [Biblio Lingue]
Gardiner Michael, From Trocchi to Trainspotting : Scottish critical theory since 1960 (Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2006). [Biblio Lingue]
Graham Colin, Deconstructing Ireland : identity, theory, culture (Edinburgh : Edinburgh university press, 2001). [Biblio Lingue]
Gualtieri Claudia, Vivan Itala, Dalla Englishness alla Britishness, 1950-2000 : discorsi culturali in trasformazione dal canone imperiale alle storie di oggi (Roma : Carocci, 2008) . [Biblio Lingue]
Hechter Michael, Il colonialismo interno : il conflitto etnico in Gran Bretagna, Scozia, Galles e Irlanda : 1536-1966 (Torino : Rosenberg & Sellier, 1979). [Biblio di Storia]
Hiddleston Jane, Understanding postcolonialism (Stocksfield : Acumen, 2009). [Biblio Lingue]
Hooker Jeremy, Imagining Wales : a view of modern Welsh writing in English (Cardiff : University of Wales press, 2001). [Biblio Lingue]
Innes C. L., The Cambridge introduction to postcolonial literatures in English (New York: Cambridge university press, 2007). [Biblio Lingue]
Kiberd Declan, Inventing Ireland (London : Cape, 1995). [Biblio Lingue]
Knight Stephen, A hundred years of fiction : writing Wales in English (Cardiff : University of Wales Press, 2004). [Biblio Lingue]
Loomba Ania, Colonialism/Postcolonialism (London ; New York : Routledge, 1998). [Biblio Lingue]
Lunan Lyndsay; Macdonald Kirsty A., Sassi Carla, Re-visioning Scotland : new readings of the cultural canon (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2008). [Biblio Lingue]
Mack Douglas S., Scottish fiction and the British empire (Edinburgh : Edinburgh University press, 2006). [Biblio Lingue]
McRae John and Carter Ronald, The Routledge history of literature in English : Britain and Ireland (London ; New York : Routledge, 2001). [Biblio Lingue]
McRae John and Carter Ronald, The Routledge guide to modern English writing : Britain and Ireland (London : Routledge, 2004). [Biblio Lingue]
Mellino, Miguel, La critica postcoloniale : decolonizzazione, capitalismo e cosmopolitismo nei postcolonial studies (Roma : Meltemi, 2005). [Biblio Lingue]
Park Sorensen Eli, Postcolonial studies and the literary : theory, interpretation and the novel (Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). [Biblio Lingue]
Ramone Jenni, Postcolonial Theories (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011). [Biblio Lingue]
Poddar Prem and Johnson David, eds., A historical companion to postcolonial literatures in English (Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2008). [Biblio Lingue]
Sassi Carla, Why Scottish literature matters (Edinburgh : The Saltire Society, 2005). [Biblio Lingue]
Snell K.D.M ed., The regional novel in Britain and Ireland, 1800-1990 (Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 1998). [Biblio Lingue]
Sorensen Eli Park, Postcolonial studies and the literary : theory, interpretation and the novel (Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). [Biblio Lingue]
Spivak Gayatri Chakravorty, A critique of postcolonial reason : toward a history of the vanishing present (Cambridge (MA) ; London : Harvard university press, 1999). [Biblio Lingue]
Teaching methods
Lectures: presentation of theoretical tools offered by postcolonialism and specific authors.
Tutorials: class discussions triggered by the reading of specific literary texts and based on the application of postcolonial theories to the analysis of nationa/regional identity issues emerging from those texts, and to the formation of the canon/s of "English" literature.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral presentations in class tutorials. Short essays on the topics of the course. Final oral exam.
