Aufbauseminar Colonial Encounters from Shakespeare to Achebe Di 12.30

In this course, we will discuss and compare several texts imagining colonial encounters, asking how they use the interaction between Europeans and non-Europeans to explore issues of violence and legitimacy, power and identity, desire and exchange. Our earliest example will be The Tempest (early 17th century). Although located in the Mediterranean Sea, Shakespeare's play reflects the discovery and colonization of the New World in various direct and indirect ways. Our second example will be Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (early 18th century), which has been described as -a myth of British imperialism- due to Crusoe's successful colonization of -his- island and his equally successful civilization of the -cannibal- Friday. By contrast, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (late 19th century) offers a far more pessimistic vision of white men in the wilderness. In some respects, it can be regarded as the negative counterpart to Robinson Crusoe, challenging the distinction between the -savage- and -civilized man- established by imperial discourse. We will end the course with a discussion of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (published in 1958, but set in the late 19th century), which describes the colonial encounter from the point of view of a Nigerian tribe, thus offering a -Heart of Darkness from the other side- (Cedric Watts). Apart from close readings, this course will involve discussions of criticism as well as approaches to the field of postcolonial theory. We will also deal with related, non-fictional texts such as travelogues in order to contextualize the novels historically. Please purchase the Norton Critical Editions of the texts by Shakespeare, Defoe, and Conrad, since they contain valuable background material and secondary sources, which will be an essential part of the course reading. To be purchased : (1.) William Shakespeare, The Tempest, ed. Peter Hulme and William H. Sherman (Norton Critical Editions, 2003), ISBN: 978-0393978193; (2.) Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, ed. Michael Shinagel (Norton Critical Editions, 1993), ISBN: 978-0393964523; (3.) Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, ed. Paul B. Armstrong (Norton Critical Editions, 2005), ISBN: 978-0393926361; (4.) Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Anchor Books, 1994), ISBN: 0-385474547. Anglistik V - Anglophone Literaturen/Literaturübersetzen Universität Düsseldorf WiSe 2015/16 Dr. Frank Michael