Linguistic, Literary and Translation Studies

EAAS Empire and After Empire 12 cfu This course will focus on the literature and culture of Great Britain and on contemporary Anglophone literature, focusing on the period of "new imperialism" and its long-term aftermath. We will trace the connections between aesthetic and scion-cultural transformations, using our historically-grounded readings to highlight key theoretical and methodological issues. We will focus, in particular, on literature and empire, literature and the Cold War, Literature in multi-cultural Britain and in a post-colonial context. Texts: Part I J. Austen, “Mansfield Park” H. R. Haggard, “King Solomon’s Mines” J. Conrad, “An Outpost of Progress” J. Conrad, “Heart of Darkness”. J. Conrad, “Lord Jim” or “Nostromo”. E. Childers, “The Riddle of the Sands” T. E. Lawrence, “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” (selections) Excerpts from “Empire Writing” (ed. E. Boehmer): A. Trollope, “Aboriginals”, 20-31 H. Morton Stanley, “The Meeting with Livingstone”, 42-49. Lord Tennyson, “The Defence of Lucknow”, “Opening of the Indian and Colonial Exhibition by the Queen”, 59-63 J. Seeley, from The Expansion of England, 72-79 J. A. Froude, from The English in the West Indies, 112-119. J. Chamberlain, The True Conceptions of Empire, 212-215 R. Kipling, “Recessional”; “The White Man’s Burden”, 272-274. All the texts included in the section “The South African War”, 275-297, J. E. Casely Hayford, “As in a Glass Darkly” and “African Nationality”, from Ethiopia Unbound, 361-368. Part II D. Lessing, “The Golden Notebook” J. le Carré, “Tinker Tailor, Soldier... Spy” or G. Greene, “Our Man in Havana” C. Achebe, “Things Fall Apart” or J. M Coetzee, “Foe”. A. Gurnah, "Paradise" or "Afterlives" Hanif Kureishi, “The Buddha of Suburbia” or B. Evaristo, "Girl, Woman, Other”. D. Olusoga “Black and British” or I. Sinclair, “The Gold Machine” or D. Mitchell, "Cloud Atlas" History & Criticism: E. Said, “Orientalism”, Introduction + chap. 1. P. Brantlinger, “Rule of Darkness. British Literature and Imperialism, 1830-1914”, Cornell. E. Boehmer, "Colonial and Postcolonial Literature: Migrant Metaphors”, Oxford.