Students will consider the ideological underpinnings of different phases of global postcolonial literatures, from the middle of the twentieth century to the present day, paying careful attention to how such literatures' offer a decolonizing perspective.

This module will examine colonial, postcolonial and neocolonial discourses through innovative theoretical approaches to cultural texts, exposing students to novel analytical paradigms developed through critical responses to contemporary global literatures. The central concern driving our readings will revolve around the "decolonization of the real," and we will investigate how anticolonial and postcolonial literary narratives from, and/or about contemporary Sudan, Pakistan, Vietnam, Samoa (the Pacific Rim), North America and Haiti unsettle normative bodies of knowledge and their foundational dichotomies--such as master/ slave, center/margins, enlightenment/ barbarism, authenticity/hybridity, secular modernity/ religious conservatism, nation/tribe, among others. As we investigate the diverse aesthetic strategies global literary narratives employ in representing "non-Western" subjectivities, we will also consider the productive tensions between discourses of aesthetic freedom and social constraint.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: - Speak knowledgably about the history and development of postcolonial literatures; - Utilise theoretical frameworks regarding the experience of colonization and postcoloniality in literary criticism; - Interrogate the ideological constructions of 'the postcolony,''the future' and 'progress' in global literatures; - Engage critically with questions of literary representation; - Examine global texts in their specific historical and cultural contexts; - Apply close reading techniques to non-realist texts, and texts written in non-naturalist registers; - Perform cross-genre and cross-cultural comparisons of postcolonial literary works; - Complete assignments on set topics to an appropriate standard.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: - Identify the narrative and linguistic features of literature in a contemporary global context of postcoloniality; - Assess literature beyond prescriptive ideals of canonicity and narrowly-defined realism; - Critically evaluate the geopolitical, historical and cultural contexts in which literary texts are produced, drawing upon theoretical principles acquired through their assignments and classroom discussion.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: N/A

This multidisciplinary module will consist of one three-hour seminar per week. The seminar will consist of a short lecture, but will be mostly student-led. The module is underpinned by a belief in the value of discussion in co-operative professional development. Participants will engage in active and critically reflective discussion across disciplines (Graduate Attribute: Agile). As such, the primary focus of the predominantly face-to-face class sessions is structured reflective discussion tasks around using the theory, themes and historical contexts presented in the readings and short lecture to facilitate classroom discussion related to selected postcolonial fiction texts (Graduate Attribute: Curious). Seminars will, where possible, include contributions by guest lecturers and creative writers working in postcolonial literature. Assessment methods will include options for critical and creative responses, and will be conducted with the aim of encouraging students to objectively critique and rationalise their claims and argument (Graduate Attribute: Articulate), while increasing students' confidence in those skill sets.