Back to selection
44990-01 - Research seminar: Postcolonial Literatures and Human Rights (4 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2016 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Christiane Schlote (christiane.schlote@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | In his study, "Human Rights: Confronting Myths and Misunderstandings", Andrew Fagan calls the claim that we live in an age of human rights in no uncertain terms "the foremost myth in need of correction", especially since "the age of human rights remains a relatively rarefied property of the privileged few". In this seminar, we will explore the concept of human rights as "an idea, a set of discursive norms, a legal practice, and a political claim" (McClen-nen/Schultheis Moore) and its relation to literature through a close reading of pioneering theo-retical studies from the emerging field of human rights literary criticism and through a detailed analysis of selected postcolonial works in a variety of genres (such as drama, fiction and memoir) and with a particular focus on African writers' literary and cultural engagements with the politics of human rights, environmental ethics and humanitarian aid. |
| Learning objectives | Students will become acquainted with key concepts and discourses in human rights literary criticism and acquire competence in interdisciplinary theoretical approaches to literature. |
| Bibliography | Students should acquire the following texts: Mourid Barghouti, "I Saw Ramallah", and Helon Habila, "Oil on Water". Theoretical and additional primary texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | For MA students only |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) Modul Culture and Society (Master's degree program: African Studies (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul English & American Literature (Master's degree subject: English (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul Literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Forschung (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul Literaturtheorie (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul Research in Anglophone Literary and Cultural Studies (Master's degree subject: English) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Regular and active participation, reading assignments, oral presentation |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |