Module: Empire Writing & Postcolonial Literatures

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Empire Writing & Postcolonial Literatures
Module Code	LIT1027 (ITS: EL206)
Faculty	English	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

This module examines the construction of colonial discourses, as revealed by contemporaneous cultural production, and the emergence of postcolonial responses in the wake of decolonisation. Drawing on colonial discourse analysis and the field of postcolonial studies, the course addresses the links between culture, empire, and postcoloniality – in particular it seeks to unpack the ways in which colonial spaces and peoples were represented within discourses borne of the European expansionist project, and how these spaces and peoples have sought to ‘write back’ through a series of rearticulated postcolonial cultural lenses.

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of colonial discourse analysis.
2. Explore the links between political narratives of power and cultural production
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the key concerns of postcolonial studies
4. Explore the relationship between postcolonial writers and those writers from the colonial period
5. Draw on colonial discourse analysis and postcolonial thinkers to analyse key concepts such race, gender, national identity etc.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	21	Lectures
Independent Study	104	Independent Learning
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	20652	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Eugene McNulty	Module Teacher	Ellen Howley

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Essay	n/a	25%	n/a
Formal Examination	n/a	75%	End-of-Semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Colonial Discourse Analysis

Postcolonial Theory

Early-modern ideas of empire

Empire and Capitalism / Industrialisation

Empire and adventure narratives

Empire and race

Empire and gender

Settler colonies

Postcolonial writers: African, Caribbean, South-east Asia

Ireland and postcoloniality

The post-colony condition: Australia / Canada

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Francis Barker, Peter Hulme, and Margaret Iversen (eds.): 0, Colonial Discourse, postcolonial theory,
Patrick Brantlinger: 0, Rule of Darkness,
Ania Loomba: 0, Colonialism / Postcolonialism,
Edward Said: 0, Culture and Imperialism,
Edward Said: 0, Imperialism,
Gayatri Spivak: 0, In other worlds,
Steve Spencer, Race and Ethnicity: 0, Culture, identity and representation,
C.L. Innes: 0, The Cambridge Introduction to Postcolonial Literature in English,
Benita Parry: 0, Postcolonial Studies: A Materialist Critique,
Robert J. C. Young: 0, Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None