Unit information: Building the Nation; Post-colonial Fiction from Angola to Mozambique in 2009/10

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Unit name Building the Nation; Post-colonial Fiction from Angola to Mozambique
Unit code HISPM1008
Credit points 20
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Emeritus Professor. Brookshaw
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

None
Co-requisites

None
School/department Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
Faculty Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will study the histories of Angola and Mozambique from 1975 through to the present, focusing on the processes whereby they became independent from Portugal in 1975, the civil wars of the 1980s and 90s, the ensuing peace agreements, and their differing transitions from one-party rule to multi-party politics. The second part of this unit will pay particular attention to representative works of fiction from the same period within the context of the histories of both countries, and of other postcolonial literatures, placing particular emphasis on the role of literature in nation building.

Aims:

  • To acquaint students with the contemporary histories of Angola and Mozambique, within both a local and a global context;
  • To acquaint students with representative fictional texts produced in these countries;
  • To introduce students to a range of theoretical questions relating to emerging literatures, and the role of literature in building a sense of nation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be familiar with the main issues surrounding the political histories of Angola and Mozambique over the last four decades.
  • They will have gained a familiarity with the main features of literary fiction as it has evolved in those countries over the same period.
  • They will be familiar with some of the theoretical issues relating to these and other emerging literatures.

Teaching Information

Weekly 1.5 hour seminars

Assessment Information

1 x 5000-word essay or 2 x 2500 word essays.

Reading and References

  • P. Chabal, The Postcolonial History of Lusophone Africa.
  • P. Chabal, D. Brookshaw et all, The Postcolonial Literature of Lusophone Africa.
  • M. Couto, Sleepwalking Land.
  • L. Momple, Neighbours.
  • Pepetela, Mayombe.
  • Ondjaki, Good Morning, Comrades!

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