ENGL 478: Post-Colonial Studies – Post-Apartheid South African Literature

Fifty years of oppression under the South African apartheid system inspired an impressive corpus of protest literature, but how have writers responded to the collapse of the racist regime and its replacement with a democratic constitution? This course focused on a selection of South African writing since 1994, including poetry, short stories, novels and a play. Texts were discussed both in the context of South Africa’s historical legacy and its current cultural and political realities.

Final Paper: “The Dead Tell Tales: Death and Narrative in Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow”