Module manager: Dr Brendon Nicholls
Email: b.l.nicholls@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as an Elective
Africas of the Mind will explore how African literature reveals what we might call 'the political organisation of the psyche'. You will consider the problems associated with applying European assumptions to African contexts, and the explanatory limitations that politically suspect approaches involve. Students will move on to read literary and cultural texts with a situated, historically-sensitive and interdisciplinary approach. The module will gauge the imaginative possibilities of African understandings of the human subject. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module seeks to introduce students to African and postcolonial thought, and the imaginative strategies of African Literature. Students will deepen their political, cultural and historical knowledges by critically exploring carefully chosen literary and cultural texts. Students are invited to contribute to discussion in weekly two-hour seminars, and to offer an introductory class presentation on a self-chosen literary text from the syllabus.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Interpret a range of African literary and cultural texts and their contexts.
2. Evaluate a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary sources around psychoanalysis and African postcolonial thought.
3. Analyse African literary and cultural texts in critically-informed contexts.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
4. Conduct independent research, gathering information from a range of sources, and engaging in good academic practice.
5. Produce independent arguments demonstrating advanced proficiency in critical thinking and writing skills.
6. Demonstrate nuanced political awareness of cultural diversity.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 280 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300 | ||
The students write a shorter first essay, building their confidence for the final assessment, with feedback offered in writing and in person before they embark on their final essay. Feedback will address both the technical elements of academic writing and the conceptual elements of the students’ chosen summative assessment.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 30 |
| Coursework | Essay | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 30/04/2025
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