Following the decline of Europe’s colonial empires and continuing after the end of the Cold War, national borderlines have been redrawn in many parts of the world and mass migration to other countries has been practiced on an unprecedented scale. This near- permanent condition of geopolitical instability, often accompanied by civil wars and socioeconomic upheavals, has weakened traditional cultural, ethnic, and language barriers and occasioned an ongoing debate about national identity and the modern state. In this course, we will examine the ways in which representative British and Commonwealth authors have grappled with the legacy of national identity in a post-colonial globalizing world. We will review some early definitions of the state from Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, as well as modern analyses by Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983), Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism, 1993), and Anthony D. Smith (various works), before studying in depth the work of modern authors, including George Orwell, Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, J. M. Coetzee, and V. S. Naipaul. Other authors from Indian, Southeast Asian, Australian, and other literatures will be added depending on student interest.Following the decline of Europe’s colonial empires and continuing after the end of the Cold War, national borderlines have been redrawn in many parts of the world and mass migration to other countries has been practiced on an unprecedented scale. This near- permanent condition of geopolitical instability, often accompanied by civil wars and socioeconomic upheavals, has weakened traditional cultural, ethnic, and language barriers and occasioned an ongoing debate about national identity and the modern state. In this course, we will examine the ways in which representative British and Commonwealth authors have grappled with the legacy of national identity in a post-colonial globalizing world. We will review some early definitions of the state from Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, as well as modern analyzes by Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983), Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism, 1993), and Anthony D. Smith (various works), before studying in depth the work of modern authors, including George Orwell, Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, J. M. Coetzee, and V. S. Naipaul. Other authors from Indian, Southeast Asian, Australian, and other literatures will be added depending on student interest.
Following the decline of Europe’s colonial empires and continuing after the end of the Cold War, national borderlines have been redrawn in many parts of the world and mass migration to other countries has been practiced on an unprecedented scale. This near- permanent condition of geopolitical instability, often accompanied by civil wars and socioeconomic upheavals, has weakened traditional cultural, ethnic, and language barriers and occasioned an ongoing debate about national identity and the modern state. In this course, we will examine the ways in which representative British and Commonwealth authors have grappled with the legacy of national identity in a post-colonial globalizing world. We will review some early definitions of the state from Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, as well as modern analyses by Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983), Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism, 1993), and Anthony D. Smith (various works), before studying in depth the work of modern authors, including George Orwell, Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, J. M. Coetzee, and V. S. Naipaul. Other authors from Indian, Southeast Asian, Australian, and other literatures will be added depending on student interest.
Following the decline of Europe’s colonial empires and continuing after the end of the Cold War, national borderlines have been redrawn in many parts of the world and mass migration to other countries has been practiced on an unprecedented scale. This near- permanent condition of geopolitical instability, often accompanied by civil wars and socioeconomic upheavals, has weakened traditional cultural, ethnic, and language barriers and occasioned an ongoing debate about national identity and the modern state. In this course, we will examine the ways in which representative British and Commonwealth authors have grappled with the legacy of national identity in a post-colonial globalizing world. We will review some early definitions of the state from Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, as well as modern analyzes by Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983), Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism, 1993), and Anthony D. Smith (various works), before studying in depth the work of modern authors, including George Orwell, Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, J. M. Coetzee, and V. S. Naipaul. Other authors from Indian, Southeast Asian, Australian, and other literatures will be added depending on student interest.
Short extracts from classic thinkers, including Thomas More, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Machiavelli, and J. J. Rousseau; and modern theorists: Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983), Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism, 1993), and Anthony D. Smith (various works).
We will read the following in their entirety:
George Orwell: Coming Up for Air
Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains of the Day
J. M. Coetzee: Waiting for the Barbarians
V. S. Naipaul: The Enigma of Arrival
Michael Ondaatje: The English Patient
Short extracts from classic thinkers, including Thomas More, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Machiavelli, and J. J. Rousseau; and modern theorists: Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities, 1983), Edward Said (Culture and Imperialism, 1993), and Anthony D. Smith (various works).
We will read the following in their entirety:
George Orwell: Coming Up for Air
Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains of the Day
J. M. Coetzee: Waiting for the Barbarians
V. S. Naipaul: The Enigma of Arrival
Michael Ondaatje: The English Patient
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| Midterm EssayMidterm Essay Midterm Essay |
20 | |
| Final PaperFinal Paper Final Paper |
50 | |
| PresentationPresentation Presentation |
20 | |
| ParticipationParticipation Participation |
10 |
