Engaging Contemporary South African Literature (virtual)

Dear GSU students (undergraduates and graduates),

We are writing to inform you about a virtual study abroad course on contemporary South African writing that we are teaching in the English department this Maymester. The material we will be studying will bring in a close examination of South African history and politics, which may be of interest to you. While a virtual study abroad (which has been necessitated by the restriction on travel due to the pandemic) may seem to be a contradiction in terms, we believe that our virtual program gives you the opportunity to learn a great deal about the country, even from afar.

In the course, we will read five contemporary works from South Africa and meet with each of the authors in a virtual environment. If you have had the chance to meet an author in person before, you have a sense of how meaningful that interaction can be. The literature comes to life in a powerful way when you have the chance to hear their words about the context and the process of their writing. We will also be including opportunities to engage with some of the English students at the University of Western Cape, so that you can learn about the South African experience from the perspective of students like yourself.

If you would like to get a sense of the most authors we will meet, you can look at the following clips on iCollege:

Sindiwe Magona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK7nJ7xstwA&t=31s

Thando Mqgolozana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2tcuLp7gRU

Kobus Moolman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wFoJh-NKVU

Koleka Putuma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGdqcEKlGhw

Undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines are invited to take this course as an elective. Students will sign up for the Literature or the Creative Writing sections of the class. Note that the creative writing section is only open to students in the English department’s Creative Writing program or any other student who has extensive experience with creative writing (with approval from Dr. Beth Gylys). Attached please find a flyer with a link to the course registration. The cost of the course (in addition to tuition) is $252. 54, but you can apply for the International Education Fund (IEF) grant to defray that cost.

The deadline to register for the class and to apply for the IEF is Feb. 15^th.

Please feel free to email either Dr. Schatteman [email protected] or Dr. Gylys [email protected] if you have questions or seek further information.