Lecturer in charge: Dr Norval Edwards [Room 3 – Old Arts Block]

This course offers an introduction to the West Indian novel, by survey lectures and by detailed study of six novels. Course readings and lectures are organized around comparative analysis of issues such as the emergence of West Indian fiction in the context of political and cultural nationalism; the West Indianization of the novel form; the relationship between language and literature; the politics of race and gender; the emergence of West Indian female writers; culture and identity; popular culture, desire, and the erotic; diaspora, imagination and community. Throughout, we will pay close attention to the variety of styles and genres employed in West Indian fiction.

Prerequisite: E10B

Instruction: 2 lectures, 1 tutorial per week

Evaluation:Two 5-6 (typed) page essays + tutorial assignments 40%
Regular attendance and vigorous participation in tutorials are also required
Final 2-hour examination (2 answers) 60%

Prescribed Texts:
Hopkinson, Nalo. Midnight Robber (Time Warner pb)
James, Marlon. John Crow's Devil (Akashic pb)
James, C.L.R. Minty Alley ( Mississippi pb)
Kincaid , Jamaica . The Autobiography of My Mother (Farrar, Straus & Giroux pb)
Naipaul, V.S. The Mystic Masseur (Picador pb)

Highly Recommended Texts:
King, Bruce. West Indian Literature (Macmillan pb)
Ramchand, Kenneth. The West Indian Novel and Its Background (Heinemann pb)