Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, Ontario
EN 222: Texts and Representations
J. Coplen Rose
Office: 3-127 Woods Bldg.
Office Hours: Mondays 10:30-11:30
E-mail: rose7240@mylaurier.ca
Course Location: ART 2C16
Lecture Times: M/W/F 9:30-10:20
Fall 2014
Course Description:
English 222: Texts and Representations explores the relationship between literary texts and other
media such as film and photography. This course will approach its subject through a number of
theoretical positions, including postcolonialism, gender studies, nationalism, and class.
Stemming from the broad international focus on South Africa as a result of Nelson Mandela’s
passing, this course seeks to provide both a deeper understanding of the country’s current
condition, but also provide students with a basic foundation in fields such as postcolonialism and
reconciliation studies. The texts selected for this course will help trace historical developments in
South Africa from the 1980s through to the present day, outlining key events such as the State of
Emergency, the transition, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Course materials
include literary, poetic, dramatic, and cinematic responses to the oppression of colonized
subjects and evoke theories that can be applied to literature from around the world. Advancing
this goal, one section of the course will apply postcolonial models to Canada, comparing South
Africa and Canada as settler colonies both seeking to address historic injustices through
reconciliatory processes such as truth commissions. In doing so, English 222 will encourage
students to evaluate ways that literature and other forms of media create a dialogue that can
instigate social change, convey political ideologies, or help to heal past injuries.
Course Objectives
● To encourage students to apply theories about writing, gender, power, censorship, and
postcolonialism to the course material.
● Build an understanding of the interconnections between literature and other types of
media.
● To help students further develop their writing skills in order to create concise and clearly
articulated essays.
● To develop a knowledge of literary forms of resistance, subversion, and subjectivity.
● To consider how adaptations or different mediums modify the reception of a work.
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Breakdown of the Course Grade
1. Attendance and Preparation:
2. Short Presentation:
3. Reading Responses:
4. Research Essay:
5. Final Exam:
10%
10%
10% (2 Responses at 5% each)
40%
30%
1. Attendance and Preparation
This grade is based on regular attendance in the course and appropriate preparation for each
lesson. This requires that you arrive having read the prescribed readings for the week, as well as
having taken some time to reflect upon the subjects we will be discussing in the lectures. This
grade will also reflect whether or not you bring the necessary materials to class, such as the
course text, and actively participate in discussion.
2. Short Presentation
Beginning in the second week of the course each student will take turns giving a short
presentation on a key concept, term, or historical event related to the course readings for the
week. This should only be a brief presentation and not exceed five minutes. Power point will be
permitted, but please limit your presentation to one or two slides. The purpose of this exercise is
to provide some additional information pertaining to the topic being covered in the course. It is
strongly encouraged that you present the information using point form notes instead of reading
off of a sheet of paper. Depending on class size, it is likely you will work in groups of two to
develop this short presentation. A sign-up sheet with presentation topics will be circulated in
week one of the course. If you missed attending the opening lecture, please sign up with me as
quickly as possible.
3. Reading Responses
At two points throughout the semester there will be assigned reading responses to course
material. These assignments are intended to encourage students to think critically about the
readings and to develop a response based on theories discussed in class. This exercise is also
intended to help students prepare for the essay by helping to highlight major trends and concepts
they see appearing repeatedly throughout the course. There will be two papers assigned, each
worth 5% of the final course grade. Papers should be in MLA format and be approximately 2
pages (500 words) in length. Students are encouraged to use this exercise as a way of testing
concepts or ideas for their essay. Reading responses should reflect upon the required readings in
the week the exercise is due. Late papers will be penalized 2% per day, including weekends.
4. Research Essay
The research paper should respond to the key concepts in the course. The essay must be
approximately 5 to 6 pages (1250 - 1500 words) in length and follow proper MLA style. Topics
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for the essay will be distributed in the second week of the course and students are to choose one
topic/question from the list and respond to it directly. The essay should have an engaging title, a
clear thesis statement, a defined body where the argument is supported, as well as a conclusion.
Additionally, the essay should draw on secondary sources outside of course readings. A
minimum of one secondary source that does not appear in the course readings must be used in
the essay. Students may also use as many sources from the course readings as they wish. If
students have any questions concerning the essay and its components, please do not hesitate to
contact me. Late papers will be penalized 2% per day, including weekends.
5. Final Exam
The final exam will consist of short answer questions and short essays. Students will be asked to
select from a list of short answer options, for example giving a definition and explaining the
significance of a term from the course. In addition to the short answer questions students will
also be asked to complete a short essay on material from the course. There will be a selection of
three questions and students will be asked to select one and write a response.
Texts:
1) Country of my Skull by Antjie Krog (Broadway)
2) Crush-hopper by Mandisa Haarhoff (Course Pack)
3) Disgrace J.M. Coetzee (Vintage)
4) Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer (Course Pack)
5) Selected First Nations Poetry and Short Stories by Armand Garnet Ruffo, Thomas King, and
Louise Halfe (Course Pack)
6) Tsotsi by Athol Fugard (Grove Press)
Films
1) Tsotsi by Gavin Hood
Weekly Reading/Viewing Schedule
Week
Dates
Topics/Unit/Readings/Screenings
1
Sept 5
2
Sept 8-12
Introduction to EN 222 and Explanation of
key terms.
September 8th – Further introduction to the
course with online samples of Mzi
Mahola’s poetry. Read “The
Disempowerment of First North American
Native Peoples and Empowerment Through
Their Writing” in Course Pack.
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Assignment/Tests
Due
Sign Up Sheet for
Presentations
3
4
5
6
7
Playwright turned
Novelist: Fugard’s
Portrayal of
Apartheid Urban
Johannesburg
Sept 15-19
Gangsterism and
the Crisis of
Violent Crime
Sept 22-26
Digitally ReThinking South
Africa after
Apartheid
Sept 29-Oct 3
Moving Towards
Freedom
Oct 6-10
Joy, Fear, and the
Transition
Oct 13-17
Oct 20-25
Forgiveness,
Reconciliation, and
the TRC
8
Oct 27-31
Nationalism in
Post-Apartheid
South Africa
9
Nov 3-7
Indigenous Short
Stories: Historical
Narratives,
Forgiveness, and
the Canadian
Context
September 10th and 12th – Athol Fugard’s
Tsotsi
Athol Fugard’s Tsotsi and Jonathan
Kaplan’s Introduction to Tsotsi
Reading Response
#1 Due on
September 17th.
Gavin Hood’s film adaptation of Tsotsi and
“Mdlwembe” Music Video by Zola
Essay Topics
Distributed on
September 24th.
“Oral History” and “The Moment Before
the Gun Went Off” by Nadine Gordimer
“A Lion on the Freeway,” “A Soldier’s
Embrace,” and “Once Upon a Time” by
Nadine Gordimer
University Fall Reading Week, No Classes
Antjie Krog’s Country of my Skull
 “They Never Wept, the Men of My
Race”
 “None More Parted than Us”
 “Two Women: Let Us Hear It in
Another Language”
 “Letters on the Acoustics of Scars”
Antjie Krog’s Country of my Skull
 “Mother Faces the Nation”
 “It Gets to All of Us – from Tutu to
Mamasela”
Thomas King’s “Joe the Painter and the
Deer Island Massacre” (Course Pack)
“Poem for Duncan Campbell Scott” by
Armand Garnet Ruffo (Course Pack)
Thomas King’s “Borders” (Course Pack)
Poetry Selections from Louise Halfe
(Course Pack)
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Reading Response
#2 Due on October
8th.
Essay Due on
November 5th.
10
11
12
13
Nov 10-14
Moving Beyond
the TRC:
Alternative Forms
of Forgiveness
Nov 17-21
Beyond the
Transition and the
TRC: Sowing the
Seeds of Tomorrow
Nov 24-28
Poetry and Voice
in the New South
Africa: Gender,
Ethnicity, and
Identity
Dec 1-3
J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace
Mandisa Haarhoff’s Crush-hopper (Course
Pack)
Conclude with Haarhoff’s Crush-hopper/
Exam Preparation
Accessible Learning
Students with disabilities or special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible Learning
Office for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review
the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.
Academic Misconduct
Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism, Turnitin.com. Students
may be required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for
plagiarism.
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