In this seminar we will read prose fiction and poetry from Britain and Nigeria, dating from the early 20th century to the present. The course explores how literary texts respond to the environmental effects of the global trade of two key commodities: coal and oil. We will aim to develop an understanding of how the effects of processes of commodity extraction and trade can shape the content and form of literary texts.
This seminar will complement the seminar "Researching (in) the Global South" (HM 2.2) and students who choose to take both courses may benefit from synergies between them. This is, however, not required or necessary.
We will read the following novels, long poems, short story and poetry collections:
Ellen Wilkinson, Clash (1929)
Lewis Jones, Cwmardy (1937)
Tony Harrison, V (1985)
Ken Saro-Wiwa, selections from A Forest of Flowers (1986)
Ogaga Ifowodo, The Oil Lamp (2005)
Plus various other poems and short stories, as well as theoretical texts.