Black and Asian Writing in English (Online)

Course information

Course description

This short course will explore the diverse history of English literature and the multicultural nature of British society, and London specifically.

Example course structure:

• Week one: We will learn about the history of the transatlantic slave trade and think about how eighteenth-century ideas about race naturalised such practices. We will read extracts from a selection of slave narratives, for example the memoirs of Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince and Frederick Douglass, and we'll think about how these writers contributed to the Abolition Movement in Britain.
• Week two: We will explore the legacies and aftermaths of Britain's involvement in the slave trade through Samuel Selvon's Lonely Londoners. This session will focus on the political context of the Windrush era as well as the development of Caribbean Nationalism, the Caribbean Arts Movement and how Selvon's text is important for these.
• Week three: We will examine the British Asian community in London. Monica Ali's Brick Lane re-writes the migrant narrative from the experience of British Asian women. Considering ideas of public space, protest, and religious identity, we will look at how Ali's novel represents the powerful voice of contemporary BAME literature.