Modernism, Colonialism and Postcolonialism Part I / revised

Mon 4/6 “Araby,” by James Joyce (Story and Its Writer 404-8). Vocab: career (404), garrulous (406). Describe the narrator’s feelings for Mangan’s sister. How old does he seem to be, and how old might she be? Why does he fail to buy anything at the bazaar, and what significance does this have for him?

Tue 4/7 T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (Packet 53), “The Hollow Men” (Packet 55). Vocab: formulated, malinger, obtuse. How would you describe the speaker of “Prufrock”? In what sense could this be considered a “love song”? How would you describe the voice(s) of “The Hollow Men”?

Wed 4/8 Introduction to colonialism and postcolonialism. William Blake,“The Little Black Boy,” Countee Cullen, “Black Majesty,” Langston Hughes, “The English,” “Africa,” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” (Packet 57-58). How does Hughes depict British colonialists in “The English” and “Envoy to Africa”?

Thu 4/9 Read Louise Erdrick “Dear John Wayne” and Sherman Alexie “Scalp Dance by Spokane Indian” (X 89-90). What does John Wayne represent to the speaker of Erdrich’s poem? What is her attitude toward him and what he represents? Does this make sense to you? Who is the speaker of Alexie’s poem? She claims to be telling “the truth. All of it.” What “truth” does the painter Paul Kane seem to be trying to convey in the painting described in the epigraph? How does the speaker’s “truth” contradict or correct it?

Fri 4/10 Book talks and independent reading

Mon 4/13 “The Smallest Woman in the World,” by Clarice Lispector (Story and Its Writer 505-9). Vocab: pygmy, tepid, miasma (506), insuperable (508), sallow (509). Consider the range of reactions to “Little Flower.” What do they imply about these people? Why does the explorer feel “sick” in response to her? (There’s a specific reason, but what do you think is behind it?)

Tue 4/14 Rudyard Kipling, “If” and “The White Man’s Burden,” Henry Labouchere, “The Brown Man’s Burden” (X 61-63). Summarize the arguments of “The White Man’s Burden” and “The Brown Man’s Burden.” Independent reading.

Wed 4/15 Introduction to Heart of Darkness
Things to watch for and think about as you read Heart of Darkness:
• How does Marlow portray Africans, African culture, and Africa?
• How does he portray Europeans, European culture, and colonialism?
• What euphemisms does he use for colonialist enterprises?
• What do we learn about Kurtz as the book progresses? About Marlow? Does Marlow seem like a reliable narrator?
• What different meanings does the idea of the “heart of darkness” take on in the course of the novel?
• How are images of darkness, whiteness, and light used?

Thur 4/16 Heart of Darkness, pp. 185-89 (“. . . one of Marlow’s inconclusive experiences”). Vocab: ascetic (185), diaphanous, august (186), lurid (187). How does the anonymous frame narrator describe Marlow in relation to other seamen? What images does he use to describe Marlow’s conception of meaning? What do these suggest about the story we’re about to read? Position Essay Assigned

Fri 4/17 Book talks and Independent Reading