UNISA's Department of English Studies Seminar on J.R.R Tolkien
Join the Department of Literary Studies in English Senior Lecturer, Dr Jamie McGregor as he presents in a thought-provoking and insightful online seminar on the questions of Race and Humanity in the works of J.R.R Tolkien, organised by the University of South Africa's (UNISA) Department of English Studies. Presenters: Nick Groom (University of Macao), Michéle duPlessis-Hay (North West University), Jamie McGregor (Rhodes University), Julie Pridmore (UNISA)
Why you should study a Literary Studies in English Degree
There are compelling reasons to study English at Rhodes: the university is located in a region known for its diverse and rich literary-cultural traditions; the department enjoys an excellent reputation; the curriculum is responsive to students’ needs and interests; prescribed reading balances the traditional and the new, the local and the international; courses focus on the skills of careful analysis and contextual interpretation; postgraduate students are involved in teaching activities and research presentations; and the academic environment is supportive, pleasant and stimulating.
"The department is comparatively small which fosters close relationships among students as well as between students and lecturers/tutors. This is undoubtedly the best part of studying English literature at Rhodes. The Department also has a comprehensive curriculum which gives students the chance to discover where their literary interests lie. I love the freedom students have to pursue their interests rather than being boxed into a set curriculum."
The Department of Literary Studies in English at Rhodes seeks to develop critical and imaginative thought. The curriculum situates the study of individual works and authors within a general inquiry into cultural history and literary understanding, and exposes students to a variety of analytical orientations. Both in its teaching activities and research activities, the department is guided by the over-arching goals of social enrichment and justice.
The department has a lively culture of learning pursued through lectures and small-group discussions, as well as through research seminars and colloquiums. It regularly hosts visiting academics and writers, and maintains strong links with cognate departments and institutes such as the National English Literary Museum in Grahamstown.
While the undergraduate courses are wide-ranging, postgraduate courses and staff research focus on the fields of Early Modern to Romantic literature, World literature, and African literature.The core curriculum is also supplemented by various student activities, including the poetry collective, Cycle of Knowledge and the Honours year field trip to Olive Schreiner's sarcophagus on Buffelskop in Cradock.
There are compelling reasons to study English at Rhodes: the university is located in a region known for its diverse and rich literary-cultural traditions; the department enjoys an excellent reputation; the curriculum is responsive to students’ needs and interests; prescribed reading balances the traditional and the new, the local and the international; courses focus on the skills of careful analysis and contextual interpretation; postgraduate students are involved in teaching activities and research presentations; and the academic environment is supportive, pleasant and stimulating.
Our courses cover a range of periods, genres and styles, from the early modern in England through to the global present, with a specific focus on Africa. Literature gives significance to human experience, providing a record of intense intellectual and emotional engagements with life. We teach students to analyse and understand the logic of literary meaning, to argue coherently and convincingly, and to write clearly.
In addition, students encounter:
a curriculum that is responsive to their needs and interests;
prescribed works that balance the traditional and the new, the local and the foreign;
lectures that provide a systematic approach to the study of literary works;
tutorials that develop the skills of analysis and contextual interpretation;
postgraduate students who are involved in teaching;
a learning environment that is supportive and stimulating.
We are housed in the middle of campus within walking distance of the main library and have a vibrant and diverse teaching and research community. A short history of the department is available .
Courses
This section contains general material such as book lists, timetables and activities the department has planned for the academic year. For more specific course content, students are encouraged to join RUConnected and to enrol in their respective courses.
Undergraduate Courses 2023
Postgraduate Courses 2023
Honours
Semester 1 Course Co-Ordinator: Dr Thando Njovane Email:t.njovane@ru.ac.za
Semester 2 Course Co-Ordinator: Dr Deborah Seddon Email: d.seddon@ru.ac.za
Is crime fiction the new 'political novel' in South Africa? Why did the apartheid censors disapprove of crime fiction more than any other genre? Crime fiction continues to be a burgeoning literary category in post-apartheid South Africa, with more new authors, titles and themes emerging every year. This book is the first comprehensive survey of South African crime fiction. It provides an overview of this phenomenally successful literary category, and places it within its wider social and historical context. The authors specialise in both literary studies and print culture, and this combination informs a critical analysis and publishing history of South African crime fiction from the nineteenth century to the present day.
A Survey of South African Crime Fiction
Sam Naidu
From the outset, South Africa's history has been marked by division and conflict along racial and ethnic lines. From 1948 until 1994, this division was formalized in the National Party's policy of apartheid. Because apartheid intruded on every aspect of private and public life, South African literature was preoccupied with the politics of race and social engineering.<br>
Since the release from prison of Nelson Mandela in 1990, South Africa has been a new nation-in-the-making, inspired by a nonracial idealism yet beset by poverty and violence. South African writers have responded in various ways to Njabulo Ndebele's call to "rediscover the ordinary."
The Columbia Guide to South African Literature in English
Dirk Klopper
How do individuals, who are part of a community, respond to the stranger as a stranger: i.e. without simply positioning this outsider in opposition to the community in which they are located? How may individuals receive something unknown and therefore surprising into their world without compromising it by identifying it in the terms of that world? In this study, Mike Marais traces the various ways in which Coetzee's fiction, from Dusklands through to Slow Man, repeatedly poses such questions of hospitality. It is shown that the form of ethical action staged in Coetzee's writing is grounded not in the individual's willed and rational achievement, but in his or her invasion and possession by the strangeness of the stranger.
Secretary of the Invisible The Idea of Hospitality in the Fiction of J.M. Coetzee
Mike Marais
Literary Studies in English
Testimonials
"The department is comparatively small which fosters close relationships among students as well as between students and lecturers/tutors. This is undoubtedly the best part of studying English literature at Rhodes. The Department also has a comprehensive curriculum which gives students the chance to discover where their literary interests lie. I love the freedom students have to pursue their interests rather than being boxed into a set curriculum.
Kate Jennings
MA candidate (2021)
“Perhaps the most important aspect of my experience in the Department was the feeling of being seen. As a scholar of colour exposed to works as varied as the contemporary South African text, Thirteen Cents and Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, I did not feel alienated by the coursework. I have learnt an immense amount about myself and the world in the diverse literary landscape provided in the Department.”
Ntokozo Wandile Mbokazi
former student (Honours 2020)
“My academic writing improved in leaps and bounds through the attentiveness and advice of my supervisor. I was able to form personal relationships with my lecturers, and they inspired me to persevere and work hard.”
Kayleigh Perumal
MA graduate (2021)
“The Department’s lecturers, most of whom are renowned scholars in different areas of expertise, are characterized by their approachability, professionalism, and guidance.”
Innocent Akili Ngulube
PhD candidate 2017-2019
I have been able to explore a wide of range of interests and immerse myself in various genres of literature, researching everything from African science fiction to American psychedelic literature. The environment is calm and supportive and, with a small student body, there is ample opportunity for direct contact with tutors and lecturers. Although the workload can be intense and expectations are high, there are always readily available academic resources to ensure that the best quality writing can be produced.
