Back to selection
53967-01 - Research seminar: Beyond Delta, Desert and Diamonds: Reading Botswana (4 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2019 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Christiane Schlote (christiane.schlote@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Botswana has been called an 'African Miracle' (Samatar 1999) and is often referred to as an exceptional economic success story. At the same time, these praises have been increasingly qualified and critiqued. In this seminar, which will also include a visit to the library and archives of the Basler Afrika Bibliographien, we will discuss literary and cultural responses to 'Botswanaphilia' (Picard 1987) and explore the wealth and diversity of Botswana literature in English, which Wazha Lopang (2016) has described as follows: "Batswana writers are continuously creating and recreating themselves in their search for what it is to be a Motswana. This in the long run will enable the Western world to appreciate more what the country has to offer besides the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert." Other foci include China-Africa relations, conservation, development, hydropolitics, indigeneity, postcolonial tourism and safari narratives. |
| Learning objectives | Students will be introduced to key texts and formal elements of Botswana literature in English and the socio-cultural, historical and geopolitical circumstances they are situated in. |
| Bibliography | Students should acquire the following texts: Unity Dow, "The Screaming of the Innocent" (2002), Bessie Head, "When Rain Clouds Gather" (1969) and Alexander McCall Smith, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" (1998). Copies of Dow and McCall Smith will be available at the 'Labyrinth' bookstore, Nadelberg 17, Basel. Theoretical and additional primary texts will be made available on ADAM. |
| Weblink | ADAM |
| Admission requirements | For MA and PhD 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: 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: 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, optional seminar paper |
| 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 |