ENG 333: Undisciplining British Literature
TTR: 12:00-1:15
SAKAM D101
Course Description:
The world was wide in the 19th century, and this was deeply reflected in “British” literature. The Romantics (1787-1837) and Victorians (1837-1901) engaged deeply with the world, although most often in hierarchical and violent ways, through relationships of domination such as slavery, empire, and settler-colonialism. This was not always a one-sided relationship, however, as non-Western perspectives often wrote back to the British or otherwise engaged with them, thus making their way into a diverse body of literature. This class will read and understand “British” literature in a more global context, considering both British and non-Western perspectives, thus decolonizing what we understand as “British literature” more generally. In other words, we will undiscipline British literature.
As it is impossible to capture the breadth of world relations in the 19th century, this class will touch on British relationships with the Caribbean, Africa, India, Canada, and Hawai‘i, among others. Throughout the course we will place non-Western perspectives in conversation with Western ones as we seek to gain a more global understanding of 19th-century “British” literature. In order to give you a sense of the breadth of literary genres and forms in the period, we will read a wide range of texts: novels, slave narratives, memoirs, poetry, travel narratives, and short stories. For example, we will read early Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau next to Jane Austen, Bengali feminist Rokeya Hossain next to Jane Eyre, and travel writer Isabella Bird next to Queen Lili‘uokalani. Through this, we will consider dominant themes of the period such as race and racialization, imperialism and colonialism, gender and sexuality, class and labor.
As part of our undisciplining practice, students will find and present an ‘ōlelo no‘eau (Hawaiian proverb) and relate it to our reading for the day. At the end of the semester, they will write their own “wise saying” based on our class. Students will also take on a research project with a writer from One More Voice, a digital archive that seeks to foreground the voices of people from the British colonies.
Required Texts (please obtain hard copies)
- Jane Austen, Persuasion (1817) Penguin
- Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince (1831) Penguin
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (1847) Penguin
- Dinah Mulock Craik, The Half-Caste (1851) Broadview Press
- Mary Seacole, The Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole (1857) Penguin
Students will also be asked to purchase a course pack with readings by Samuel Kamakau, Rokeya Hossain, Ann Pratt, Isabella Lucy Bird, Queen Lili‘uokalani, Alexander Liholiho, Olive Schreiner, Sol Platjee, Olaudah Equiano, Saidiya Hartman, and Emily Pauline Johnson/Tekahionwake, among others.
Possible Assignments:
- ‘Ōlelo no’eau presentation, short essay, and write your own (15%)
- Scholarly source annotation and analysis (15%)
- In-class close readings (15%)
- One More Voice Research Project (30%)
- Reading Quizzes (15%)
- Participation (5%)
- Final exam (in-person) (5%)