Ethnic Studies
Thinking the nation, (dis)locating postwar Englishness
(Lit 560)
In this class we’ll
look into how postwar Englishness imagines and re-configures itself in a
context of global movement and exchange. Drawing on a body of established
theories of nationhood, nationalism and cosmopolitanism, we’ll examine
Britain’s responses to a climate of late-20C uncertainty caused by decolonisation,
international (cold-war and war-on terror) politics and the processes of
economic globalisation. What will frame our inquiries and our readings of
literary and cultural texts (novels, films, documentaries, newspaper stories
and more) is the suggestion that the dispersed ways in which Englishness is
codified, experienced and written about in the late 20C and early 21C are
articulated in terms of its global involvement with other cultures and races.
They are ambivalent responses to perceived “external” threats (colonials,
immigrants, terrorists, European allies etc) and are always powerfully
inflected, to this day, through the nation’s colonial history. With the help of
philosophers (Arendt, Balibar, Agamben, Brown), sociologists (Gilroy, Hall) and
cultural and literary theorists (Bhabha, Ahmed, Brah), we’ll unpack and
critically evaluate Britain’s postwar disavowal of its imperial past, the
intense racialization and cultural diasporisation of the national collective,
the culture of victimhood and the powerful expressions of English exceptionalism
that have shaped the nation’s limits and self-image in its post-imperial phase.
In our attempt to untangle England’s representational strategies of empowerment
and survival, we’ll read crime stories and espionage literature, we’ll watch popular
films and listen to refugee testimonies and radio broadcasts—and more in
between.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of
this class, students will have
·
a
clear understanding of the globalising forces that have impacted discourses of
Englishness since WWII, and which are responsible for causing the tensions,
ambivalences and possibilities that have shaped it to the present
·
a
critical appreciation of the relationship between ethnicity, nation(alism),
race and culture
·
an
enhanced ability to read literature and culture in an interdisciplinary context
with extended references to cultural theory, political philosophy, history and
postcoloniality.
·
refined
their abilities in critical thinking and analytical writing
Assessment
Students will be
required to participate in class discussions and oral or written tasks, give
presentations and write a research paper of around 4,000 words (around 13
pages) in a relevant area of their choice at the end of the semester. They will
be expected to demonstrate ability to understand and critically evaluate key
concepts in their readings of literary and other cultural texts.
1. Class participation (taking part in
class discussions,
coming to class prepared, not missing presentations
without good reason, engaging with the material) 20%
2. Portfolio (presentations, projects,
reports) 30%
3. Final essay 50%
