Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville English Department recently approved four new classes that will be offered beginning in the fall semester. One of the classes will be a course in postcolonial literature and the other three will be courses in gay studies.

Amanda Tucker, assistant professor of English for the UWP Humanities Department, will be teaching the postcolonial literature class. Students attending this class will be reading postcolonial literature, which is defined as writing from countries and locations that were once under the domain of European imperialism, such as Australia and Ireland. More typically, postcolonial literature describes writing from Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia. Students will be reading works from all of these places.

Although the course curriculum is subject to change, students taking the postcolonial literature class will be reading Nobel Prize-winning writers like Derek Walcott and Wole Soyinka. Writers such as Jamaica Kincaid, Bharati Mukherjee and Brian Friel are also on the syllabus for the class.

The UWP English Department hired Tucker in 2008 with the expectation that she would develop classes in the area of postcolonial literature. The department has wanted to offer courses in this subject for several years, not only because of the great range of countries, traditions and values that the literature teaches, but also because of the subject's growing importance and popularity. In October, Tucker began the approval process, and the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee accepted the class in April.

"The literature course exposes students to some absolutely fantastic writers and texts that are commonly left out of American, British and even world literature classes," said Tucker. "Also, this course offers a broad understanding of international relations through literature. We will be reading writers who are preoccupied with questions about the construction of race and culture, the distribution of power and the possibility of social equality. Ultimately, this course aims to make students more conscientious and informed global citizens, which is a necessity for everyone in our contemporary movement."

Beginning this fall, the post-colonial literature class will be offered in the fall semester of every year.

Tucker is currently working on a book manuscript that looks at the intersection between the Irish and postcolonial studies, particularly as it relates to immigration and diaspora. The project examines a range of writers, some of who participated in Europe's imperial endeavors, but more commonly worked against them. She has been doing archival research in Ireland, namely Belfast and Dublin, for the manuscript. Tucker also has published essays and forthcoming essays on transnational feminism and cosmopolitanism in modern and contemporary Irish literature.

J. Keith Hale, assistant professor for the UWP English Department, will be introducing two gay studies classes to UWP this fall and a third in the spring. Student interest prompted the English department to approach Hale, who has extensive background in this area, about developing courses in this area.

"More than 30 colleges and universities in the United States offer gay studies minors and another 16 offer certificates in gay studies. Hundreds more offer courses of the topic," said Hale. "Until now, UWP has not offered any courses in gay studies, and after discussing the issue with my colleagues, I decided to propose three courses instead of just one with the eventual goal of offering a certificate program in gay studies. The English department strongly supports adding the courses not only to better serve our current students, but also to make our course offerings more attractive to potential students."

One of the new courses is an introduction to gay studies that focuses on the treatment of same-sex relationships in cultures around the globe and throughout history. The course will also cover contemporary issues and popular culture, including gay and lesbian cinema.

The second course that is offered is an upper-level class in gay and lesbian literature for young adults. The class has the same structure as other young adult literature classes, but will focus on books written about gay teenagers or teenagers that have homosexual family members or friends.

"Many gay and lesbian issues come up in pubic schools today, yet few teachers have any training on how to handle these issues," said Hale. "My hope is that future teachers who take this course will have a better understanding of the problems faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and other students who are facing anti-gay bullying. When teachers understand the problems, they are better able to offer the assistance that could keep some kids alive through the bullying that occurs in secondary schools."

The last class offered will be another upper-level course in gay and lesbian literature. This class will focus on classical homosexual-themed works, such as the "Calamus" poems by Walt Whitman, that are often overlooked in other literature courses. It will also focus on contemporary works, such as "Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx.

Two of the classes, Introduction to Gay Studies and Lesbian Literature for Young Adults, will be offered every fall semester beginning in the fall. Beginning this spring, Gay and Lesbian Literature will be offered every spring semester.

Hale has published four books on various aspects of gay studies. He has edited a collection of letters by a poet that had been sealed for 80 years because of their homosexual themes. That edition, titled "Friends & Apostles," was published by Yale University Press. Hale has also published an account of homosexuality in Turkey and the Balkans titled, "In the Land of Alexander," and a book about gays in the military called "Tom Allegiances." His fourth book is a novel titled "Clicking Beat on the Brink of Nada." Hale has also published essays on Dickens, Rumi, Sa'di, Hafiz, David Garnett and gay Philippine literature, as well as an interview with Bono.

Anyone interested in learning more about the new classes at UWP may contact Tucker at (608) 342-6104 or tuckeram@uwplatt.edu, or Hale at (608) 342-1946 or halejk@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Amanda Tucker, assistant professor of English, UWP Humanities Department, (608) 342-6104, tuckeram@uwplatt.edu; Keith Hale, assistant professor of English, UWP Humanities Department, (608) 342-1946, halejk@uwplatt.edu Written by: Morgan Spitzer, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, spitzerm@uwplatt.edu