Comp Lit. 707.1X, EW6, section code 2559
The West Indian Novel
Instructor: Rennie Gonsalves
e-mail: renniegons@yahoo.com
Tel.: 718-951-5928

General Description of the Course:

This course will introduce the West Indian novel through a careful analysis of six novels, accompanied by a look at the historical background and the critical reception of the work in each case. We will examine how the West Indian novel developed as a result of de-colonization in the 1950s and 1960s, and we will also look at several more recent works. We will focus on reflections of the West Indian social, political, and cultural milieu in the novels, especially regarding issues of language, class, race, and gender. The transplantation of African, Asian and European cultures to the islands, together with their history of slavery, colonization, and de-colonization, produced a unique set of circumstances that has affected the emergence of an indigenous West Indian literature. The West Indian novel has become a prominent, thriving, and internationally recognized part of that literature, as witnessed by the work of such novelists as V. S. Naipaul , Jamaica Kinkaid, and Austin Clarke . The emigration of many West Indians abroad has also played a significant role in the West Indian experience, and this is reflected in several of the novels that we will read. In addition, there are several female writers among recent West Indian novelists. We will focus especially on how these various factors of background, experience and identity are molded into aesthetic, literary objects—the novels that we will read.

Students will write a one page response paper for each of the novels, due on the day we start reading that novel. In addition, there will be one oral presentation on one of the novels based on a slightly longer response paper (3 to 5 pages). There will also be a term paper and a take-home final. The reading load for this course is quite heavy so students are encouraged to read ahead.

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course you should
-demonstrate a knowledge of several West Indian novels, and of their historical, social, and cultural backgrounds;
-recognize the impact of cultural, economic, political, and social environments upon language, and especially upon the development of the West Indian novel.
-show knowledge of works by female authors and authors of color;
-demonstrate how reading writing speaking, listening, viewing, and thinking are interrelated;
-show knowledge of works of literary theory and criticism ;
-use a wide range of writing strategies to generate meaning and to clarify understanding.
(Course objectives adapted from NCTE guidelines)

Required Texts:

Required Primary Texts:

Required Secondary Text:
Booker and Juraga, The Caribbean Novel in English, Heinemann, 2001.

A variety of other critical essays and background readings on the novels will be assigned.

Course Outline:

1 September 2nd: Introductions, backgrounds, preview of the texts
2* September 9th: In the Castle of My Skin
3 September 16th: In the Castle of My Skin
4* September 23rd: The Mystic Masseur
5 September 30th: The Mystic Masseur
6 October 7th: A Wide Sargasso Sea
7*October 21st: Wide Sargasso Sea
8* October 28th: Wide Sargasso Sea & The Chosen Place
9 November 4th: The Chosen Place
10* November 11th: The Chosen Place
11 November 18th: Salt
12 November 25: Salt
13* December 2nd: Small Island
14** December 9th: Small Island
15*** December 16th: Final Exam Due

Note: key, participation, assignments and grading adapted from Professor Ellen Tremper's sample syllabus

Key
*--response paper due
**--term paper due
***--take-home final due

Participation:
Students must attend regularly, arrive on time and must be prepared to participate, having done the assigned work. Participation will count for 10% of the overall grade for the course.

Assignments:
Papers:
Students will write "response" papers of one to two pages each time we begin a new book.
Students will write one term paper of 7-10 pages, with four books and/or journal articles in the bibliography
Presentations:
Students will make one presentation, based on a response paper, of 5-10 minutes
Class members will respond to student presenter; this response will constitute the beginning of our discussion of the book.

Exams:
Final exam: This will be a take-home final. You will write two essays (you will have a choice of two topics for each of the essays you will write) of 2-3 typed pages each; you will have to write about every book we have read (approximately half the books will be covered in one essay, the other half in the second)

Grading:
Grades will be based on the following percentages:
class participation-10%
7 response papers-30%
term paper-30%
final examination-30%

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria for class participation:
Your class participation will be judged on the basis of your questions to presenters, your respect for other class members' and my points of view (as shown in the way you respond to others' ideas), and your attentiveness to the discussion (people who don't like to speak frequently will not be penalized, but you should make an effort to participate). I also expect that your participation will reflect your having done the reading for each class.

Evaluation criteria for written work and presentations:
From a list by Lewis Hyde, edited by Sue Lonoff, with thanks to Richard Marius's writing handbook.

The Unsatisfactory Paper.
The D or F paper either has no thesis or else it has one that is strikingly vague, broad, or uninteresting. There is little indication that the writer understands the material being presented. The paragraphs do not hold together; ideas do not develop from sentence to sentence. This paper usually repeats the same thoughts again and again, perhaps in slightly different language but often in the same words. The D or F paper is filled with mechanical faults, errors in grammar, and errors in spelling.

The C Paper.
The C paper has a thesis, but it is vague and broad, or else it is uninteresting or obvious. It does not advance an argument that anyone might care to debate. "Henry James wrote some interesting novels." "Modern cities are interesting places."
The thesis in the C paper often hangs on some personal opinion. If the writer is a recognized authority, such an expression of personal taste may be noteworthy, but writers gain authority not merely by expressing their tastes but by justifying them. Personal opinion is often the engine that drives an argument, but opinion by itself is never sufficient. It must be defended.
The C paper rarely uses evidence well; sometimes it does not use evidence at all. Even if it has a clear and interesting thesis, a paper with insufficient supporting evidence is a C paper.
The C paper often has mechanical faults, errors in grammar and spelling, but please note: a paper without such flaws may still be a C paper.

The B Paper.
The reader of a B paper knows exactly what the author wants to say. It is well organized, it presents a worthwhile and interesting idea, and the idea is supported by sound evidence presented in a neat and orderly way. Some of the sentences may not be elegant, but they are clear, and in them thought follows naturally on thought. The paragraphs may be unwieldy now and then, but they are organized around one main idea. The reader does not have to read a paragraph two or three times to get the thought that the writer is trying to convey.
The B paper is always mechanically correct. The spelling is good, and the punctuation is accurate. Above all, the paper makes sense throughout. It has a thesis that is limited and worth arguing. It does not contain unexpected digressions, and it ends by keeping the promise to argue and inform that the writer makes in the beginning.

The A Paper.
The A paper has all the good qualities of the B paper, but in addition it is lively, well paced, interesting, even exciting. The paper has style. Everything in it seems to fit the thesis exactly. It may have a proofreading error or two, or even a misspelled word, but the reader feels that these errors are the consequence of the normal accidents all good writers encounter. Reading the paper, we can feel a mind at work. We are convinced that the writer cares for his or her ideas, and about the language that carries them.
Copyright © 2002, 2003 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Permission is granted to non-profit educational institutions to reproduce this document for internal use provided that the Bok Center's authorship and copyright are acknowledged.

Selected Bibliography

Michael Anthony, In the Heat of the Day, Heinemann, 1996.
Booker and Juraga, The Caribbean Novel in English, Heinemann, 2001.
Aime Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism. Trans. Joan Pinkham, Monthly Review Press, 1972.
Austin Clarke, The Question, McClelland & Stewart, 1999.
Michelle Cliff, Abeng, Plume, 1995.
Michelle Cliff, No Telephone to Heaven, Plume, 1996.
Zee Edgell, Beka Lamb, Heinemann, 1987.
Zee Edgell, Time and the River, Heinemann, 2007.
Frantz Fanon. The Wretched of the Earth, Grove Press, 1968.
E. M. Forster. Aspects of the Novel, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1954.
Michael Gilkes, The West Indian Novel, Twayne, 1981.
Glyne A. Griffith, Deconstruction, Imperialism, and the West Indian Novel, The Press UWI, 1996.
Wilson Harris, The Eye of the Scarecrow, Faber and Faber, 1965.
Merle Hodge, Crick Crack, Monkey, Heinemann, 2000.
C.L.R. James, Beyond A Boundary, Duke University Press, 1993.
Jamaica Kincaid, The Autobiography of My Mother, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1996.
Bruce King, ed., West Indian Literature, Macmillan Education Limited, 1995.
George Lamming, The Emigrants, University of Michigan Press, 1994.
George Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, University of Michigan Press, 1991.
Claude McKay, Banana Bottom, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1961.
Earl Lovelace, Salt, Persea Books, 1998.
Edgar Mittelholzer, Corentyne Thunder, Heinemann, 1977.
V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr. Biswas, Vintage Books, 2001.
V. S. Naipaul, The Mystic Masseur, Vintage Books, 2002.
V. S. Naipaul, Half A Life, Knopf, 2001.
Caryl Phillips, Crossing the River, Vintage Books, 1995.
Kenneth Ramchand, Best West Indian Stories, Nelson Caribbean, 1982.
Kenneth Ramchand, The West Indian Novel and its Background, Heinemann, 1983.
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, Norton, 1966.
Samuel Selvon, A Brighter Sun, Longman Drumbeat, 1952.
Eric Williams, Capitalism & Slavery, The University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

Statement on Academic Integrity:

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.

Statement Regarding the Center for Student Disability Services:

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with him/her.

Statement about the State Law Regarding Non-attendance Because of Religious Belief:

We will of course comply with the law, a statement of which you can find in the BC Graduate Bulletin.