Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

None

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

In consonance with the overall aims of the degrees offered in the SML to build on skills gained at Stage 1:
- To provide students with knowledge of the social and political history of the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
- To introduce students to the critical analysis of a range of novels in Caribbean literature.
- To introduce students to theoretical approaches to the question of cultural identity in the Caribbean context.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module consists in the study of three novels by key writers from Guadeloupe and Martinique, and combines discussion of the socio-historical context of literary production with theoretical and literary approaches to the colonial situation in the French Caribbean.

Lectures and small group teaching activities will introduce students to the knowledge and skills required for the study and comparative analysis of the novels in their contexts.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

- Knowledge of the history of French colonisation and departmentalisation of the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
- Understanding of theoretical approaches to the historical and political realities in the Caribbean and the movements of ‘Négritude’, ‘Antillanité’ and ‘Créolité’.
- Critical understanding of Caribbean culture and literature and the ways in which a Caribbean cultural identity is constructed in the writing.

Intended Skill Outcomes

- Developing critical and analytical skills, learning to construct coherent arguments and to use textual evidence to support them.
- Developing linguistic skills in reading in the target language, both standard reading and close analytical reading.
- Presenting and discussing ideas orally in seminars.
- Developing research skills, using appropriate sources (books, journals and electronic sources).
- Organising private study.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures will allow definition of the scope of the syllabus, give an introduction to a body of knowledge relating to the emergence and development of Caribbean literature, and provide analytic frameworks within which to understand the selected novels.

Small group teaching will give students the opportunity to closely examine extracts from the novels, allowing for detailed discussion and analysis as well as revisiting and reinforcing knowledge from the lectures. These sessions will encourage students to engage with both primary and secondary materials and develop their independent thinking and critical analysis.

Independent Study time will be devoted to reading primary works, studying required passages in close detail, preparing seminar contributions and reading and note-taking from secondary critical sources.

Teaching material will be available primarily through Canvas and through the Robinson library, and students will develop their independent learning skills and research techniques.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Both assessments (essay and commentary) enable students to work independently, develop writing skills and time management skills, and demonstrate the ability to produce a reasoned and structured argument based on evidence from the literary texts.

The commentary allows students to demonstrate their ability to produce a close reading and critical analysis of a specific extract from the novels and to show their understanding of how the passage relates to the wider issues addressed in the module.

The essay encourages students to work independently and to study in depth a particular aspect of the issues addressed in the module. The essay will also enable students to develop skills in bibliographical work, footnoting and referencing.

General Notes

N/A