BBL 4306 LITERATURE OF MALAYSIA LITERATURE of MALAYSIA

Lecturer/Instructor  Dr. Ida Baizura Bahar Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication 

Course Reference  REQUIRED READINGS AND MATERIALS:  (See attached course outline)  Novels  Short Stories  Poetry  Drama  Autobiography

You are responsible for the following:  Test  Assignments  Final Examination

MAJOR TOPICS FOR BBL 4306  Overview of Malaysian Literature in English  Colonial vs Postcolonial Condition  Language, Literature, Nation  Multiculturalism  The Language of MLIE  Diasporic and non-diasporic writers  Issues of identity  Personal narratives  The Role of MLIE

Introduction to the course Course synopsis (see handout) This course covers an overview of literary Malaysian writers in different genres, and in-depth understanding of selected texts.

Topic 1  OVERVIEW OF MALAYSIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH  Introducing Malaysian Literature in English  What is MLIE? New Literatures in English? Commonwealth Literature in English?  How does Quayum define MLIE? (refer to reading)  The status and role of the English language in Malaysia, MLIE as ‘sectional literature’  How does MLIE fit into the bigger Malaysian literature?  Can translated works be accepted within MLIE?

Topic 1  MLIE’s achievements  Who are the older generation of writers?  Who are the younger generation of writers?  MLIE’s challenges  What are the challenges faced by MLIE?  MLIE’s prospects and future  What are the prospects and future of MLIE?

Topic 2 Colonial vs. Postcolonial Condition: Resisting or Reconciling? (reading: Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s “A View of Our Own: Ethnocentric Perspectives in Literature”)  How would you define the post-colonial world, or the post-colonial condition?  What does the author mean by ‘decolonising the means of imagination’?  What should be the most ‘democratic’ art form?  What is meant by ‘linguistic hegemony’?  How has the African mind been imprisoned?  “… the collective peasant has become a foreigner in his own country.” Discuss this statement, in relation to our own Malaysian context.

Topic 3  Language, Literature, Nation  National language and national literature  Ethnic or Sectional literature

Topic 4 Multiculturalism  What does it mean to be Malaysian?  How is ‘Malaysianness’ captured in MLIE?  Should the use of Malaysian English be part of what is defined as MLIE?  How does the cultural landscape of a story help make it Malaysian? he state of the nation in terms of ethnicity, race, gender & class.

Topic 5 The Language of MLIE -NARRATIVE STYLE -MALAYSIANNESS IN MLIE

Topic 6 Diasporic and non-diasporic writers -writing in English from home -writing away from home

Topic 7  Issues of identity:  -Hybridity  -Urban and Rural  -Tradition and Modernity

Topic 8  Personal Narratives:  Nostalgia and history  Memoirs and biographies

Topic 9  The Role of MLIE:  Identity, Race, Gender and Class  Racial identification, integration  Women’s positions and  Cultural stereotypes  Economic status and ethnicity

Topic 10  Critical Works  What has been the focal points/views in the analysis of MLIE  Who are major critics of MLIE?

Assignment and Examination Course work 70% Final Exam 30%