English Literature: Black British Writers [ LGERM2826 ]

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An introductory knowledge of English literature and a good proficiency in English (advanced level, B2 + in terms of the Common European reference framework).

The lecturer will have a choice between one or several authors of the Older Period (the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century - e.g. William Shakespeare), or a more recent writer (e.g. T.S. Eliot, Toni Morrison, Caryl Phillips). The course will examine how the literary perception of this writer has changed in the course of time, and how his or her impact on literature and society has likewise developed.

The aim of this course is to help the student acquire a scholarly method to read and examine literary texts written by one or several authors, to analyze their impact, and to situate these texts in their historical, sociological and generic context. At the end of the course, the students will be able to read and write research papers in the field by relying on the literary and scholarly knowledge they have acquired. The course is also indirectly meant to increase the students' lexical skills. Their analyses will therefore have to reflect a command of the English language that corresponds to their level (Masters), as well as a good grasp of the various cultural concepts discussed in the course.

Oral and/or written exam. When the course is organized as a seminar, active participation (oral presentation, discussions, term paper) is taken into account.

Interactive lectures. Students actively participate in the seminar.

Term paper and in-class presentations.

This year the course GERM2826 will focus on the representation of the
Congo in (post)colonial literary texts. As Congolese history has
fascinated and been denounced by a large number of English- and
Dutch-speaking authors, we will adopt a comparative approach. This module will be organized in close collaboration with Dutch Literatures LGERM 2882. Some creative texts in French by Belgo-Congolese writers (Bofane a.o.) will be included so as to counter some of the representations in Dutch and English.

After a historical, anthropological and sociological contextualization of
the Congolese situation, the memory and present of a nation, this course
will examine how writers like Conrad, Doyle, Casement and Twain attacked Leopold II's exploitation of the country. Conversely, it will deal with
the first Flemish texts about the Congo (Buysse), fictional discourses
(Walschap, van Aken) of the colonial and postcolonial period (Geeraerts,
Claus) paying close attention to how these texts have been read in the
Belgian context.

The second part of this course will deal with the works of contemporary
authors writing about the Congo in English (Naipaul, Kingsolver, Bennett,
Proctor) and Dutch (Joris, Van Reybrouck, Mortier). We will explore
several critical approaches to these texts and examine how they relate to
colonial history, exile, interculturality and political instability. Last
but not least, we will discuss the processes of (de)fictionalization
(short story, novel, graphic novel, reportage, non fiction, testimony) and
ideologization at the core of these texts.

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Teaching material : Secondary literature linked to the topic of the course. Reading of the selected literary works and of critical studies.