ENGL 285

Fall 2026 All Classes

All Classes

Postcolonial Literature in English

Credit: 3 hours.

Examination of selected postcolonial literature, theory, and film as texts that "write back" to dominant European representations of power, identity, gender and the Other. Postcolonial writers, critics and filmmakers studied may include Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Aime Cesaire, Ousmane Sembene, Chinua Achebe, Michelle Cliff, Mahesweta Devi, Buchi Emecheta, Derek Walcott and Marlene Nourbese-Philip.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.

This course satisfies the General Education Criteria in Fall 2022 for:

Cultural Studies - Non-West

Humanities – Lit & Arts

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ENGL 285 class schedule data for fall 2026
	Status		CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
			32221	Lecture-Discussion	E	1:00PM -1:50PM	MWF	150 English Building	Deshpande, A	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Degree Notes: Humanities - Lit & Arts, and Cultural Studies - Non-West course. Section Info: FA26 ENGL 285 - Postcolonial Literature in English - Amar Deshpande - This course will interrogate the “post-” in postcolonialism through examining literature, theory, and film that reveal colonialism as not a bygone era but an ongoing process. Questions of gender, race, and identity will be explored alongside historical context and current events. We will explore work from the African continent and diaspora, from Indigenous and First Nations authors, from South Asia, and from West Asia and the Arabic speaking world. Authors include but are not limited to: Franz Fanon (Martinique) and Igoni Barret (Nigeria), Gerald Vizenor (Anishinaabe) and Billy Ray Belcourt (Driftpile-Cree), Arundathi Roy (Kerala/West Bengal) and Amit Masurkar (Karnataka), as well as Susan Abulhawa (Palestine) and Binebine Mahi (Morocco). This list of authors is non-exhaustive and subject to change--what’s important are the distinct geographical contexts through which each unit will be constructed. Global connections and comparisons across texts will be emphasized and central to this course. We will work with novels, films, memoir, and poetry and hone our close reading and literary analysis skills. Every week a pair of students will lead discussion and create an activity/exercise based on the reading. Writing assignments will include weekly short reading responses, a midterm close reading paper, and a final paper/project TBD. Prerequisite: Completion of the Composition I requirement.