Municipal Fictions

In this course we will explore colonial and postcolonial municipal spaces in the literatures of the global South. Municipal spaces are often imagined as places where nothing happens. But municipality and/or small urbanisms have been represented from the 19th through the 21st centuries in canonical, popular, and pulp fictions as well as visual cultures and genres. Close reading of texts by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Linh Dinh, Premchand, Mongo Beti, Bama, and Tamil pulp fiction reveal the intrigues, entanglements, and encroachments of modernity. Theoretical readings include critical theory of place and postcolonial theory. 3 hrs. sem.