Instructor: Nicole M. Gervasio
This course explores representations of violence in contemporary novels, films, and short stories from Africa and the Caribbean. When postcolonial writers decide to represent violence in their countries, they risk reproducing racist stereotypes that permeate international media. And yet, experiences of violence such as civil war, rape, religious fanaticism, and ethnic strife are intimate features of their national histories. How can postcolonial writers undermine the harmful stereotypes and dominant narratives that predetermine their stories in the international public sphere without reproducing stereotypes? In this course, we will take an interdisciplinary and feminist approach to the politics of representing violence to better understand violence abroad. Our readings, paired with options for poetry slams, film screenings, and walking tours in New York City, will also prompt us to reflect critically on violence in our own U.S. culture. We will engage literary representations of historical events ranging from the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and the Rwandan genocide, all the way up to Black Lives Matter.This course counts for one of the two courses required for the university-wide Global Core requirement in addition to fulfilling English major requirements for prose fiction/narrative and comparative/global literature. This seminar will appeal to students interested in human rights, history, political science, African studies, law, and gender and sexuality studies.
Course highlights include:
- Urgent Human Rights Issues | violence against women, human trafficking, systemic racism, homophobia and transphobia, child soldiers, genocide, & terrorism
- Fulfills University Requirements | Global Core, English Major prose fiction/narrative & comparative/global literature
- African & Caribbean Literature | short stories, music videos, films, novels, & art
- Field Trips | Nuyorican Poetry Café, Harlem history walk, Human Rights Watch Film Festival & Human Rights Watch Archives
- World History | Holocaust, Vietnam War, the Rwandan Genocide, Black Lives Matter
- Interdisciplinary Approach | comparative literature, history, art, international affairs, sociology, Africana studies, gender & sexuality
- Innovative Course Design | creative & nontraditional assignments
*The instructor, Nicole Gervasio, is a Mellon Mays Fellow and CULPA “gold nugget” professor (for syllabus, email nmg2138@columbia.edu)
**Make sure to register by May 1; beyond this date, summer courses without minimum enrollment are due to be cancelled.
