20151 London Program: London from the Outside-In

In discussing Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Edward Said writes of the Bertram estate’s colonial holdings in Antigua, and the few references in the novel itself to these plantations, claiming that the novel demonstrates “the avowedly complete subordination of colony to metropolis.” In this course, we will explore and expand upon this idea, seeking to understand the ways in which London’s cosmopolitan and prominent history depend upon England’s imperial endeavors. This pursuit will also involve representations of the city “from the outside,” such as Samuel Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners and Tayeb Salih’sSeason of Migration. Readings will be diverse in genre, style, and period, attempting to open as many related discourses as possible, as this course is aimed at developing an independent research project. Class time will be equally devoted to the readings, research techniques, and workshopping your ideas. (Theory)

Tim DeMay
2018-2019 Autumn