LFU:online

The course introduces you to the postcolonial key concept of the ‘Other’ used in the analysis of African slaves in various plays of the abolition period.

In order to get an overview of African characters in plays, we will also include Edward Young’s Revenge (1721), James Miller’s Art and Nature (1738), Mrs. Weddell’s Incle and Yarico (1742), and Isaac Bickerstaff’s The Padlock (1768). Edward Young’s Revenge is particularly important as it deals with the theme of revenge in William Shakespeare’s Othello. We will take Othello as the actual starting point for the analysis of the African ‘Other’ enabling students to scrutinise, compare, and contextualise the African character in the colonial discourse. At the same time, we will take into consideration Aphra Behn’s short novel Oroonoko (1688) and its dramatic adaptations - Thomas Southerne (1696), John Hawkesworth (1759), Francis Gentleman (1760), and John Ferriar (1788) – as the image of Oroonoko was crucial in the portrayal of African slaves in literary texts. The introduction will address issues of British colonialism, the history of the slave trade/slavery, Restoration Theatre, and the genre of drama in general.

group discussions, presentations

written paper, presentation

Döring, Tobias. Postcolonial Literatures in English. UNI-WISSEN

Anglistik/Amerikanistik. Klett, 2008.

McLeod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester UP, 2000.

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Trans. Constance Farrington. Grove Weidenfeld, 1963.

Said, Edward. Orientalism. 1978. Penguin, 1985

Bhabha, Homi. Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Ed. Cary Nelson, and Lawrence Grossberg. Illinois UP, 1988. pp. 271-313.

Castle, Gregory, ed. Postcolonial Discourses: An Anthology. Blackwell, 2000.

Balme, Christopher B. Decolonizing the Stage. Theatrical Syncretism and Post-

Colonial Drama. Clarendon, 1999.

Gilbert, Helen, and Joanne Tompkins. Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice,

Politics. Routledge, 1996.

Gilbert, Helen, ed. (Post)Colonial Stages. Critical Views on Drama, Theatre &

Performance. Dangaroo Press, 1999.

Barthelemy, Anthony G. Black Face, Maligned Race. The Representation of Blacks

in English Drama from Shakespeare to Southerne. Louisiana State University Press, 1987.

Worrall, David. Theatric Revolution. Drama, Censorship and Romantic Period

Subcultures 1773-1832. Oxford UP, 2006.

Boulukos, George. The Grateful Slave. The Emergence of Race in Eighteenth-

Century British and American Culture. Cambridge UP, 2008.

Dellarosa, Franca. Slavery on Stage. Representations of Slavery in British Theatre,

1760s-1830s. Edizioni dal Sud, 2009.

BA 2015: positive completion of compulsory module 10

Teacher Training Programme BA 2015: positive completion of compulsory module 13

Due to substantial differences in the allocation of ECTS-Credits in various curricula (teacher training program - BA/MA English and American Studies), the requirements for this course vary. Information will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the course