Looking Back, Looking Forward

Dear World Literature Folks,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with each other and with me this semester. I have enjoyed being part of our learning community. You have all done great work: you've expanded your understandings of literature, the world, and your places in it, and you've demonstrated this through your critical writings and discussions. Bravo!

As I work my way through your final assignments this week and into next, I will make them available outside my office door. I will also be in my office during regular office hours and beyond on MWF this week. Please feel free to stop by to chat or pick up your work. If you can not pick up your work this week and would like it back, then please stop by my office hours next semester to pick it up.

Warm wishes for a safe, healthy, and happy break,
Dr. Brown

Furious Flower Poetry Center Spring Events

Furious Flower Poetry Center is pleased to announce events scheduled for the Spring 2010 semester.

Lineage: The Margaret Walker Song Cycle, February 27, Highlands Room, Festival, 4:00p.m.

Furious Flower Collegiate Poetry Summit, March 18-20, Location TBA

Crafting a Poetic Future: A Panel Discussion, March 18, 6:30p.m., Wilson Hall Auditorium

Poetry Reading by Claudia Emerson, March 18, 8:00p.m., Wilson Hall Auditorium

Poetry Readings by Jon Pineda and Quraysh Ali Lansana, March 20, 10:00a.m, Wilson Hall Auditorium

MadRush Student Conference Call for Papers

JMU is hosting an undergraduate conference in March, and actively seeks abstracts from students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students must submit a 150-word abstract to Dr. Chris Arndt (arndtjc@jmu.edu) no later than January 22, 2010. Student presentations at the conference will be 10-15 minutes, of critical papers and creative writing. I encourage all of you to submit abstracts of your best papers or creative portfolios to Dr. Arndt. If you would like my help formulating an abstract, please feel free to visit me either this week or next semester during office hours.

The website for the MadRush is: urcjmu.wordpress.com/

Conversation between Lahiri and Nair

Mira Nair, who directed this course's assigned film Monsoon Wedding, also directed the film adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's award-winning novel The Namesake. We are reading the Hema and Kaushik trilogy in Lahiri's more recent collection, Unaccustomed Earth. Here is a filmed conversation between the two artists to enrich our discussion of the connections in their work.

Jhumpa Lahiri talks about Unaccustomed Earth

You can hear Lahiri's answers to the interviewer's questions here. Other interviews with the author are here.

How to Read, by an Author

Thanks to classmate Angela Lewis for the link to this presentation with Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie. Adichie states that our various lives and cultures are composed of many overlapping stories. The novelist warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

How does Adichie's statement track with what we've been learning this semester about responsible reading, cross-culturally?

“Re-Thinking Our Environment" student showcase 11/17

The Institute for Visual Studies (IVS) has hosted two courses, Environmental Design and Environmental Rhetoric, this semester. The final exhibition of students' work, "Re-Thinking Our Environment," is on Tuesday, November 17th, from 11:00-1:00 in Roop 208 with refreshments. Internationally renowned artist and designer Michael Singer will lead a discussion.


Using sustainable design practices, one class designed landscapes for specific sites throughout campus. Students in the other course created public education campaigns intended to help us re-imagine our relationship to the environment. The exhibit will be open at IVS until Friday, December 18th. For more information, please contact Daniel Robinson at robinsdl@jmu.edu.

Study Abroad Funding Opportunity

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi will award competitive scholarships for undergraduate study abroad opportunities during the 2010-11 academic year. Interested students may obtain information and application materials from the organizations web site. Apply directly to Phi Kappa Phi national headquarters. This is an excellent opportunity for you to receive financial support for a study abroad experience. I encourage you all to apply. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Professor Chris Arndt, Department of History and Associate Dean ph: (540)568-3993; fax: (540)568-6556.

Sister Speak Reading: 11/15

Sister Speak, JMU s feminist literary zine, presents a literature reading on Sunday November 15th. Authors from the fall '09 issue, will read opinion essays, poetry, and prose at 8 p.m. in Taylor Down Under. If you are interested in hearing some of JMU s poignant, inspirational, and indomitable feminist voices, please come for a remarkable night. A short, informal informational session about The Vagina Monologues will follow. For further information, contact Sister Speak at sisterspeak@gmail.com.

MyAfricanDiaspora.com Short Story Contest

The competition is open to anyone, any country or continent, but the main character must be of African descent. The conveners believe this is a first competition of its kind, an international creative competition focused on providing positive, diverse images of people of color. Please let me know if you enter! Competition details are here.

African Literature Association Conference Call for Papers

The ALA Conference 2010 will be held in Tuscon, AZ (USA) at the University of Arizona, 10-14 March 2010 around the theme, "Eco-Imagination: African and Diasporan Literatures and Sustainability". You can read a complete theme statement here. Please send paper abstracts by December 15, 2009 to the convener, Irène d'Almeida at ala2010tucson@gmail.com. Please let me know if you submit a proposal, or if you want help in doing so.

Woman of Distinction Awards – Call for Nominations

A woman of distinction inspires through imagination, innovation and dedication; talent and achievement; strength of character and sincere service. A woman who possesses passion for the people and places making up her everyday life, who breathes life and energy into our community: this is a woman of distinction. The University Health Center’s Student Wellness & Outreach is accepting nominations for the 2010 Woman of Distinction Award. Three awards will be given: one each for a JMU student, faculty, and staff. Award recipients will be honored at a reception in January, 2010. Woman of Distinction the President’s Diversity Enhancement Award recipients will be recognized. More information and a nomination form are here. Nominations are due by November 6, 2009. Contact Heather Driver atdriverhf@jmu.edu or 568-2831 with questions. Please let me know if you nominate anyone.

From Classmate Saran

Thank you, Saran Sukhtumur, for bringing this article, on race and marriage in the United States, to my attention and to that of the class:

What does the article suggest about notions of normalcy in marriage? How does race impinge on the question of what "marriage" can be? How do these issues relate to questions we've discussed in class regarding marriage, race, gender, and normalcy?

Alumna Reading: Miracle Temple, 11/5, 7pm

The Creative Writing Program celebrates the recent publication of Miracle Temple, Poems by Esther Stenson with a reading on Thursday, November 5, at 7 p.m. in Taylor 402. Esther received her M.A. in English at JMU several years ago, and she is currently teaching in the English Department and WRTC.
Miracle Temple, Esther's first book of poems, is an outgrowth of her M.A. Thesis in Creative Writing. From the smouldering ash of an Amish fire in Pennsylvania to mountain snow reflected in Black Dragon pool in Lijianng, China, Stenson crafts the frank, unsentimental details of life experience into poems that are biblical, ecological, elegiac and redemptive. Her poems embody wanderlust, curiosity, and resilient spirit. Copies of her book will be available for sale at the reading.

Asian Culture Week (Nov. 2-7)

The Asian Student Union (ASU) promotes and increases awareness and understanding of the similarities and differences of Asian American cultures.

Monday, November 2:
. Lion Dance on the Commons (12-1pm) Come to the Commons to watch a traditional Chinese performance of the Lion Dance.
. Karaoke in Grafton-Stovall (6-9pm) Karaoke has Asian origins but international appeal; love it or hate it, Karaoke is truly a cultural element meant for sharing.

Tuesday, November 3:
. Tea Tasting on the Commons (10 am 2 pm) ASU will provide an assortment of teas for tasting. Come out and enjoy the variety.
. Wong Fu Productions (6:30-9pm) YouTube pop icons Wong Fu Productions will discuss various topics including their experience as independent film makers, the role of the internet on popular media, and the obstacles facing Asian-American film makers and actors.

Wednesday, November 4:
. Asian Snacks on the Commons (10am 2pm) Pocky, tamarind candy, and shrimp crackers; they sound eclectic, but for Asians and Asian-Americans they re as common as potato chips and lollipops. Come out and sample some tasty Eastern treats.

Thursday, November 5:
. Green Origami on the Commons (10am-2pm) Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. Drop by the commons and learn to make more than just paper airplanes, and be sure to bring any used paper you may have!
. Asian Cuisine Night at D-Hall (4:30-7:30pm) Craving eastern cuisine? Don t order out; eat in (D-hall, that is)! Just as the name implies, D-hall will be serving Asian cuisine for dinner.

Friday, November 6:
. Philanthropy Day on the Commons (10am-2pm) The Asian Student Union alone with other CMSS orgs will be on the commons asking for donations to support their respective international philanthropies.

Saturday, November 7:
. ASU s 11th Annual Culture Show
When: Doors open at 7pm, Show starts at 7:30
Where: Memorial Hall Auditorium
How much: Absolutely Free!

"Witness to Apartheid"

I will collect your film viewing worksheets at the beginning of class on Monday, October 12th. The worksheets will count as an additional commentary/quiz grade. We'll screen the film in class on Wednesday, Oct. 7. It is also on reserve in Carrier Library.

"49" by Hanay Geiogamah, Oct. 27-31, Theatre II, JMU

Directed by JMU English and Theatre Arts Honors student Robby Bassler. Shows are at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and also on Friday at 11:59 p.m. Recommended for Mature Audiences. Tickets: $4.

Bassler describes Geiogamah’s 49 as a "gut-wrenching dissection of the Native American culture through subconscious creation and elaboration." A driving drumbeat leads the narrative through the past and into the future as a community of young Native Americans, celebrating the “49” ritual, coalesces to protect their culture. Geiogamah drives the piece with music, movement, and classic myth derived from Native American nations.

Robby is a former student of mine. He has directed scenes from African theatre in several of my world literature classes. Vibrant energy infuses his direction, and I hope you can all attend what is sure to be an exciting theatre event!

Group Community Service Project News

As I announced in class, I am excited about this semester's cache of group community service projects and the ways you have connected your work to the themes of the course. As part of the project assignment, you must invite the class to attend any performance or presentation you mount. If you are running a donation/collection of any kind, you must include the class in your donor pool. These measures are meant to promote inter-group communication as part of our class's learning community, as well as to provide a forum for each group to advertise its goals more widely.

Please reply to this post in order to share your group's announcements by the start of class on Friday, October 9th. In addition, any group may use this space to post project updates at any time.

Huh Hwe-tae Exhibit at Sawhill through Oct. 30

Through October 30, the Sawhill Gallery features the work of Huh Hwe-tae, a South Korean artist whose work expands the bounds of traditional calligraphy in creating an original art form, the name of which combines the terms “emotion” and “graphy”: Emography. Huh Hwe-tae the School of Art and Art History and College of Visual and Performing Arts Encore Artist for 2009-2010.

The artist will be in Duke Hall on Thursday, October 1 at 4:00 p.m. to demonstrate his expressive painting technique.

According to Kim Bok-Young, President of the Korean Society for Science of Art and Design, Huh’s work is a “masterpiece reaffirming his desire to attain the universe in a single brushstroke.”

Huh depicts forms of nature in his work. His brushstroke expresses the profound meaning and spirituality in clouds, willow trees, or an eagle aloft. Representing the beauty of movement, his work seeks to capture subtle references to soaring, galloping, shouting, and the wind.

Africana Studies Symposium Oct. 9th

JMU's first Annual Africana Studies Interdisciplinary Symposium is October 9, 2009. The keynote speaker is Professor Isidore Okpewho, State University of New York Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies, English, and Comparative Literature, Binghamton University. His address is entitled "The World of African Storytelling."

In lieu of a class meeting on Friday, you will attend one session of the symposium and post a short (one- to four-sentence) comment to this blog post that identifies who you are, the session you attended, and its connection to our course. Your post is due by the beginning of our class meeting time on Monday, October 12th.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
Africana Studies Annual Interdisciplinary Symposium, 2009
“AFRICA AT THE CROSSROADS: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?”
James Madison University, October 9th, 2009.
Godwin Hall, Room 344

8.40 A.M.
SYMPOSIUM OPENING AND WELCOME
Dr. David Owusu-Ansah, James Madison University

9.00 A.M. – 10.15 A.M.
ENVIRONMENT

Prof. S. Njuguna, Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya
Impact of MAU Deforestation on Rift Valley Lakes in Kenya

Caroline Gitau, Kenyatta University, Nairobi
Kenya Ecotourism Development in the Mt. Kenya Region

Dr. Jennifer Coffman, James Madison University.
The Political Ecology of Climate Change: Kenya, Drought, Governance, and Higher Education

Prof. R. M. Muasya, Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya
Kenyatta University Higher Education Internationalization Program for
Now and the Future


10.30 A.M. – 11.45 A.M.
JUSTICE / GOVERNANCE

Dr. Brillian Besi Muhonja, James Madison University
When Motherhood is not Enough

Dr. Tammy Castle, James Madison University
An Examination of Nigeria and Ghana’s Processing of Women in the Criminal Justice System

Dr. Patrick Dikirr, Institute of Global Cultural Studies / Binghamton University
Democratic Tyranny

Terry Beitzel, James Madison University
Justice and Peace? Questions for the ICC and Uganda, and the Future


12.00 P.M. – 1.30 P.M.
CULTURE /IDENTITY

Dr. Cheikh Thiam, Ohio State University
Memory, Truth, and Nationalism in Oral African Literature

Dr. Caroline Tushabe, University of California Riverside
Culture in Mind: Identity, Personhood & Agency in Nativist and Anti-Nativist Scholarship on Africa

Stephanie Mireku, James Madison University
The Lost Generation of Zimbabwe

Jemimah Mwakisha, Binghamton University
Social-cultural Values: Parenting at the Crossroads in Kenya

Michael P. Wolfe, James Madison University
Hip Hop, Youth, Non-Violent Protest and Revolution in Africa


1.30 P.M. – 2.30 P.M.
SPECIAL SESSION

Dr. Nikitah Imani, James Madison University
Echo, Narcissus, and the Waterless Fish

Godfrey Vincent, Morgan State University / James Madison University
The People's National Movement and the Independence Project, 1956-1965


2.45 P.M. – 3.45 P.M.
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Barrel Gueye, East Stroudsburg University
Dr. Ibra Sene, Wooster College
A Critical Approach of the Community College Model in the Global Order: The College Universitaire Regional of Bambey (Senegal) as a Case Study

Justin Broughman, James Madison University
Building from the Ground Up: Educating Africa's Youth

Dr. Seifudin Adem, Institute of Global Cultural Studies
China in Africa

Dr. Senanu Asamoah, CNA Analysis and Solutions
The Role of Human Capital and Infrastructure Development in Mitigating Consequences from Natural Disaster Risk and Epidemics in Africa


4.00 P.M. – 5.00 P.M.
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Professor Isidore Okpewho, State University of New York Distinguished Professor
of Africana Studies, English, & Comparative Literature, Binghamton University.
The World of African Storytelling


FILM SESSIONS
11.00 A.M. – 12.00 P.M.
2.00 P.M. – 3.00 P.M.
Harrison Hall, Room 102
Kobina Aidoo’s “The Neo African Americans”

Faculty Book Launch and Guest Readings Nov. 6th

Please plan to attend the book launch of Shaping Memories by the English Department's Professor Joanne Gabbin on Friday, November 6, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. in the Highlands Room in the Festival.

Professor Gabbin will be there with twelve other outstanding writers, all of whom will read from the book, including:

Nikki Giovanni

Toi Derricotte

Trudier Harris

Daryl Dance

Toni Morrison Discusses and Reads "A Mercy"

Thanks to classmate Max Sedghi for pointing me toward this interview. National Public Radio's Lynn Neary interviewed Toni Morrison about A Mercy and its historical context last year. Morrison also read several selections from her novel.

The interview and series of readings, including the one we played in class, are here.

South African Runner Caster Semenya's Femininity Under Scrutiny

After her crushing win in the 800-meter world championships in Berlin a few weeks ago, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is conducting chromosomal tests on South African runner Caster Semenya to determine whether she is biologically female and therefore technically the race's winner.

President of Athletics South Africa, Leonard Chuene, resigned from his seat on the IAAF board to protest the organization's treatment of Semenya. "We are not going to allow Europeans to describe and define our children," he said.

Female athletes in patriarchal societies have long struggled against heterosexist social pressures to be either feminine or athletic, as if femininity and athleticism are mutually exclusive. Female athletes often attempt to look pretty and display athletic prowess.

If they fail to perform this obescience, they are labeled "lesbian" or, in Semenya's case, not a woman.

Semenya's story provides one example of the ways in which heterosexism is linked with racism. The initial story is here.

How does this story connect with our class discussions on how gender is (and has been) differently understood in different communities and across different historical periods?

South Asian Film Series Fall 2009

The JMU Department of Justice Studies film series is underway! The series showcases 11 South Asian films on the region's contemporary social, political, and cultural issues. Each screening will feature JMU faculty and other regional experts to introduce and discuss the films.

All films are free and open to the public.

Films are screened on Wednesdays starting at 7:00 pm in Burruss Auditorium G44. The full schedule and details are here. Direct questions to jacobsx@jmu.edu.

Former President Carter to Receive Global Nonviolence Award 9/21

In our viewing of the Cameroonian documentary Afrique, je te plumerai (Africa, I am Going to Fleece You) and in future course assignments, we begin to see that struggles for independence are generally also struggles for peace. That is, peoples who seek liberation from foreign domination also seek peace from the violence that is the hallmark of domination.

James Madison University's Mahatma Gandhi Center has recently inaugurated an annual award to honor those who work for global liberation and peace. You can view the Center's goals here.

The the Mahatma Gandhi Award for Global Nonviolence is a tribute to its namesake, Mahatma Gandhi and his work toward the liberation of India from British colonial rule. It is also a recognition of those whose efforts continue Mr. Gandhi's trajectory toward peace.

On September 21, 2009, Former President of the United States and Nobel Peace Laureate Jimmy Carter will visit JMU to receive the 2009 Gandhi Global Nonviolence Award. President Carter's Award Lecture is titled "The Path to Peace in the Middle East" and reflects his efforts in that arena.

I encourage all of you who can get tickets to attend this important event--for both its historical importance and because its themes intersect with those from our course. You can read details from the University Office of Public Affairs here.

Harrisonburg International Festival: 9/26

If you are new to JMU, you may not yet be aware of Harrisonburg's increasingly rich cultural diversity. The city hosts an annual International Festival to honor both diversity and unity with dual emphases on family and community. The festival is free to the public and offers food, music, dance, artists, vendors, storytellers, activities for all ages, a multi-language area, and a cultural fashion show featuring traditional dress from sites across the globe. Typically, about 6,500 people attended this wheel-accessible, rain-or-shine event.

I encourage you to attend this year's festival on September 26th as part of our course aims to foster a sense of community and global citizenship. See the International Festival's web page here for more details on volunteer opportunities and Festival itineraries.

I hope I'll see you there!

Replacing Hieroglyphics for Babies with Afrique, je te plumerai

Thank you all for your willingness to read new materials and to engage in our current discussions of oral literatures and issues of translation.

As I announced in class, the university bookstore has been unable to procure copies of Hieroglyphics for Babies. We will view and discuss the Cameroonian documentary Afrique, je te plumerai (Africa, I am going to fleece you) next week on the days originally slated for Hieroglyphics.

I have amended the required readings and films lists on this blog to reflect the change. Please remember to bring your film viewing worksheets to class on those days.

Course Description and Objectives

Description:

This course will introduce students to key African, Indian, Caribbean, Central American, and South American oral and written narratives from about 3000 BCE to the present day. While paying special attention to historical specificity, we will consider the ways in which literatures from various sites around the world suggest varied and dynamic relationships among power, violence, gender, race, ethnicity, and identity formation before, during, and since the imperial incursion. In this context, we will consider the specific material conditions necessary to precipitate organized resistance, as well as the various forms resistance may take. The resulting key questions we will keep before us are: in what ways have power and violence shaped contemporary notions of “the world”? What are some potential responses to past injustices? In what ways can we envision ourselves as productive citizens of our world community? Readings and films are from or depict Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malaysia (formerly British Malaya), Martinique, Mexico, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Palestine, South Africa, The United States, and Tanzania.


Objectives:

This course is part of the Cluster Two, Arts and Humanities, General Education requirement. After completing this course, students should be able to perform the following tasks outlined in the General Education guidelines:

1. Generate increasingly nuanced questions (interpretations, ideas) about literature and explain why those questions matter.

2. Use appropriate vocabulary and tactics to analyze specific literary expressions of culture and the relationship between the reader, the author, and text.

3. Define ways that texts serve as arguments and identify rhetorical and formal elements that inform these arguments.

4. Recognize appropriate contexts (such as genres, political perspectives, textual juxtapositions) and understand that readers may interpret literature from a variety of perspectives.

5. Articulate a variety of examples of the ways in which literature gives us access to the human experience that reveals what differentiates it from, and connects it to, the other disciplines that make up the arc of human learning.

The Class as Learning Community

Class attendance and informed participation in class activities is crucial. This class is a learning community, and a key element in fostering community is member responsibility to both the self and the community. Each class member must assume responsibility for his or her learning and support the learning of others. Assuming responsibility means preparing for class, asking for help, responding to classmates, and respecting differences. These expectations also apply to me as your instructor.

a. I expect you to arrive on time and stay until each class meeting’s conclusion. Arriving late or leaving early disrupts everyone’s learning.

b. If you do not attend class, you miss a crucial element of the community learning experience that is a key premise of this course and, conversely, the class misses your unique contributions. Whatever the reason for an absence, the missed learning experience is irreplaceable. If you miss class, you are responsible for obtaining notes, handouts, and assignments from classmates and not from me. More than three recorded absences (one week) will lower your final course grade by one letter. More than six recorded absences (two weeks) will lower your final course grade to an F.

c. The classroom community can best learn if everyone participates. I expect you to attend each class prepared to contribute productively to discussion and other class activities. Preparation is your reflection on the assigned readings. Productive participation includes, but is not limited to:

· Informed responses to discussion questions related to the readings.
· Thoughtfully answering questions posed in class discussions.
· Sharing your unique perspective or knowledge of course material with the class.
· Posing questions or offering comments that demonstrate your comprehension and reflection on assigned readings.

Course Policies

1. Assignment Format: All written work must be typed, double-spaced, printed legibly in black ink, and follow MLA style. Use only The MLA Handbook, 6th edition or later, hard copy, available in the JMU library, in all area bookstores, and online. Online MLA style guides are usually incorrect. Unreadable or improperly formatted papers will receive an F.

2. Due Dates: All written work is due in class at the start time. See me before the deadline if you do not understand any assignment or run into any other sort of difficulty. If you will be unable to submit your work at the assigned place or time, make pre-deadline arrangements with me to submit it early. Work is submitted when I receive it in-hand, not when it arrives in my mailbox or under my office door. I will accept one late assignment at the start time of the next class meeting and dock the assignment one full letter grade.

3. The JMU Honor Code: The Code applies to all work completed in this class. Handing in work constitutes your pledge of academic honesty. Plagiarism will result in failing the course and referral for disciplinary action by the Honor Council and the College of Arts and Letters.

4. Students With Disabilities: If you have a diagnosed disability, it is your responsibility to notify the Office of Disability Services and me so that we can work together to meet your learning needs.

5. Academic Support: I encourage all students to access the academic support services available on campus.

6. Office Hours: I will always be in my office, Keezell 406, during posted office hours unless otherwise announced. Please feel free to drop by or make an appointment to see me during those times.

7. Inclement Weather: Class meets if the university is open. If I am unable to get to campus, I will notify the class via email and by having a notice posted outside our classroom door.

Course Readings and Films

Required Texts:



Danticat, Edwidge. Krik? Krak! Random House/Vintage, 1992.






Lahiri, Jhumpa. Unaccustomed Earth. Random House/Vintage, 2009.






Márquez, Gabriel García. Love in the Time of Cholera. Random House/Vintage, 2007.





Morrison, Toni. A Mercy. Random House/Vintage, 2008.




Mwangi, Meja. Carcase for Hounds (coursepack). Your coursepack price = photocopy cost + $1, thanks to the author's extremely generous charge of only $1 in royalties per copy. I hope you will thank Mr. Mwangi for supporting the worldwide study of African literature.



Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King’s Horseman. Norton, 2002.





Required Online Readings (see schedule):

1. Kipury, Naomi. “The Sun and the Moon.” Available online thanks to Jens Finke's Traditional Music and Cultures of Kenya.

2. Neruda, Pablo. “The United Fruit Co.” Available online thanks to The Ashville Poetry Review.


Required Photocopied Readings (provided; see schedule):

1. Chesaina, C. “Hare and Kipsongut,” The Man Who Never Attended Public Gatherings,” and selected Kalenjin proverbs.

2. de Landa, Diego. Selection from Relación de las cosas de Yucatán (Account of Things in Yucatán).

3. Fanon, Frantz. Selection from The Wretched of the Earth.

4. Kipury, Naomi. “The Girl Who Married a Crow,” “The Greedy Man Who Almost Went Hungry,” and selected Maasai proverbs.

5. Neruda, Pablo. “The Beggars.”

6. Tlali, Miriam. “Fud-u-u-a.”


Recommended Text: The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition or later.

Required Films (Reserved at Carrier Library; see schedule):

Afrique, je te plumerai (Africa, I'm going to fleece you). Directed by Jean-Marie Téno (videotape #6236).

Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). Directed by Alfonso Arau (DVD #5158).




In the Name of Liberation: Freedom by any Means. Directed by Jon Blair (DVD #957).



Monsoon Wedding. Directed by Mira Nair (DVD #1893).





Witness to Apartheid. Directed by Sharon Sopher (videotape #324).