Dr. Shobna Nijhawan                                                                  Office hours:

Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics                      Tu 2.30-3.30

Office: Ross S570                                                                          Th 1.30-2.30 and

Email: shobna@yorku.ca                                                                 by appointment

Phone: (416) 736-2100 ext. 88725

 

 

 

AP/HND 3710 3.0 (Winter 2012)

Contemporary Literatures of the South Asian Diaspora

Thursdays 2.30-5.30 (ACE 004)

 

 

This course investigates the phenomenon of South Asian diaspora in historical, postcolonial, and global contexts. Through an analysis of literary expressions of South Asian writers living in Canada, the US, the Caribbean and Europe, it discusses concepts and theories of diaspora studies. The combination of narrative and interdisciplinary scholarly writing familiarizes students with the social features of diaspora and the cultural expressions of the diasporic condition. All readings are in English.

 

 

Course structure and requirements

 

The class meets once a week for three hours. The course involves interactive lecturing, presentations, group work and discussion through close reading of the course materials.

 

The final grade will be calculated as follows

 

Attendance and Participation                       15%

Presentation                                                5%

2 tests    (15% each)                                   30%

Midterm                                                     15%

4 Journal entries (5% each)                         20%

Final paper                                                  15%