123044 PS PS Literary Studies (2025W)

This course offers an introduction to African literature written in English from a decolonial, feminist, and ecocritical perspective. We will critically engage with the concept of the ‘canon’ in the field of English literary studies and explore in-depth the significance of colonialism, decoloniality, Black Consciousness, and African feminism. We will take a look at anglophone African literatures spanning different geographical locations, different genres, time periods, and themes. We will have a special focus on African womxn writers as well as on contemporary works dealing with Africanfuturism and eco-literature, in particular climate fiction.

Course objective:
Students will get acquainted with African writers and thinkers and learn to critically engage with their work. Students will get familiarised with discourses on decoloniality and African feminism, gain an understanding of contemporary debates about race, gender, and power from an Afrocentric perspective. Students will train critical thinking, close reading, and creative writing, and develop their presentation and writing skills.

Teaching and learning method:
interactive (& New Media); The methodology of this course is based on critical pedagogy. Short input session by the course instructor, which will explain and contextualize relevant theories and contexts, are followed by in class dialogue and group discussions, in which students are expected to actively participate. Students will also engage in close readings and critical analysis of assigned texts. We will follow a code of conduct built on collaboration, respect, and compassion towards one another and actively practice the Southern African philosophy of ubuntu which broadly means, I am who I am because you are who you are, I am me through you and you are you through me. My aim is to create inspiring, engaging, and safe learning environments that are useable, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming and in which students will be constantly provoked to engage in critical thinking. I follow a Universal Design for Learning approach and strive to create inclusive and accessible classrooms and course materials. Please e-mail me if you are in need of any accommodations.