HLE 203 - Beyond the Sunny Paradise: Caribbean literature and politics

Course Units: 1.0

This survey course offers an interdisciplinary study of Caribbean literature focusing on the political history of the region from 1898 to the present. Besides the literary texts, films and substantive readings will contribute to an examination of four main topics: Legacies of Colonialism; Race and Ethnicity; Constructed Identities; and the Caribbean Diaspora. Students will be exposed to the rich and often overlooked literary production by Caribbean writers, drawing lines of comparison and contrast among writers from several of the islands, and identifying the common literary elements and devices shared by them. The course seeks to promote a reflection on how Caribbean intellectuals explore and deal with issues of self-determination and the construction of identities. CC: HUL, LCC, HUM, WAC, JCHF, JLIT ISP: AFR, LAS