Literature of Displacement: Forced Migration, Diaspora, Exile In this course we will study postcolonial literature about migration, displacement, exile, and diaspora.  Spurred variously by force, necessity and desire, migrants leave their homes and homelands with regret and with hope.  Writers address the historical forces that propel these migrations: decolonization and neo-colonialism, globalization, warfare, dispossession, political violence, religious conflict, and environmental catastrophe.  They experiment with narrative form and poetic language to explore the experiences of undocumented immigrant workers, exiles, refugees and well-to-do migrants.  We will examine how displacement shapes constructions of identity, history, community and place in texts by writers such as Anzaldua, Ali, Darwish, Diome, Patel, Gomez Pena, Said, Rushdie, and others.

Transforming Identities in Literature This course is designed to develop techniques for reading and writing about literary works through the lens of our chosen theme: the transformation of identities (in terms of race, class, gender, etc.) in literary works.  We will read a range of plays, poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction across temporal and national boundaries, exploring the different critical methods and interpretive tools available to us.  Both the thematic and skill-building arcs of the course will culminate in a reading of Toni Morrison’s novel The Song of Solomon in the context of several different--and sometimes contradictory--critical and theoretical approaches.  Other readings will include Shakespeare’s Othello, Hwang’s M. Butterfly, essays by Virginia Woolf and Durga Chew Bose among others, and short stories by James Joyce, Margaret Atwood, and Octavia Butler.

Race, Capitalism, Decolonization What does race have to do with capitalism and profit, exploitation and dispossession?  Drawing on contemporary fiction, poetry, and theory, we will consider the intersections of race and capitalism in shaping contemporary epistemologies, institutional practices, and lived experiences in local and global contexts. We will explore how present-day formations of race and capitalism are related to histories of imperialism and the global extraction of labor and resources.  Decolonization implies a deep, complex, and multi-faceted process by which the discourses, knowledges, and practices at the core of capitalism and imperialism(s) and their mechanisms of oppression are challenged and dismantled. Please note that, if circumstances require, this course may occasionally be taught remotely.

Race, Capitalism, Decolonization What does race have to do with capitalism and profit, exploitation and dispossession?  Drawing on contemporary fiction, poetry, and theory, we will consider the intersections of race and capitalism in shaping contemporary epistemologies, institutional practices, and lived experiences in local and global contexts. We will explore how present-day formations of race and capitalism are related to histories of imperialism and the global extraction of labor and resources.  Decolonization implies a deep, complex, and multi-faceted process by which the discourses, knowledges, and practices at the core of capitalism and imperialism(s) and their mechanisms of oppression are challenged and dismantled. (Formerly ENAM 0313)

Reading Postcolonial and Indigenous Literature European colonialism and racial capitalism have radically and violently transformed people’s lives across the globe. The effects of racial capitalism continue to be felt, and arguably imperialism continues but in other forms. How have writers responded to the experiences of colonization, racial capitalism, nationalism, development, globalization and migration? In this course, we will discuss writing by indigenous and postcolonial writers such as Chinua Achebe, Chimanda Ngozie Adichie, Mourid Barghouti, J. M. Coetzee, Tstitsi Dangarembga, Frantz Fanon, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Shailja Patel, Raja Rao, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Leanne Betasomosake Simpson, and Wole Soyinka (readings will vary), focusing on colonization, anti-colonial resistance, nationalism, representation, agency and power. The class will include lectures, in-class discussions, writing exercises, and group work.

Reading Postcolonial and Indigenous Literature European colonialism and racial capitalism have radically and violently transformed people’s lives across the globe. The effects of racial capitalism continue to be felt, and arguably imperialism continues but in other forms. How have writers responded to the experiences of colonization, racial capitalism, nationalism, development, globalization and migration? In this course, we will discuss writing by indigenous and postcolonial writers such as Chinua Achebe, Chimanda Ngozie Adichie, Mourid Barghouti, J. M. Coetzee, Tstitsi Dangarembga, Frantz Fanon, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Shailja Patel, Raja Rao, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Leanne Betasomosake Simpson, and Wole Soyinka (readings will vary), focusing on colonization, anti-colonial resistance, nationalism, representation, agency and power. The class will include lectures, in-class discussions, writing exercises, and group work. (formerly ENAM 0270)

Postcolonial Literature and the City In this course we will examine a number of novels from the 20th and 21st centuries that are about life in the city, taking a global and trans-national approach.  We will explore formations of urban life alongside transformations in the novel as a genre.  We will put these novels of city life in dialogue with critical theory—that is, theories of culture and society that have as their aim human emancipation (for example, Marxism, feminism, critical race studies, and postcolonial studies).  The novels we read will reflect important literary movements such as realism, modernism, and postmodernism.  (Not open to students who have taken ENAM 0447) (Rec)

Literature of Displacement: Forced Migration, Diaspora, Exile We will study contemporary postcolonial literature and theory about migration, displacement, exile, and diaspora.  Spurred variously by force, necessity and desire, migrants leave their homes and homelands with regret and with hope.  Writers address the historical forces that shape these migrations: decolonization and neo-colonialism, globalization, warfare, dispossession, political violence, religious conflict, and environmental catastrophe.  These writers experiment with narrative form and poetic language to explore the experiences of undocumented immigrant workers, exiles, refugees and well-to-do migrants.  We will examine constructions of identity, history, community and place in texts by Anzaldua, Ali, Darwish, Diome, Patel, Gomez Pena, Said, Rushdie, Spivak, and others. (Diversity)

Postcolonial Literature, Migrants and the City In this course, we will analyze postcolonial literature that portrays the lives of migrants in cities. Postcolonial novels such as Brick Lane by Monica Ali, Love Enough by Dionne Brand, Brother by David Chariandi, The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, Carnival by Rawi Hage, The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon and A Free Man by Aman Sethi present counter-hegemonic narratives and visions of the city. They show that the city, indelibly marked by relations of Empire and the product of racial capitalism, is also a battleground for decoloniality: a delinking from colonial knowledge practices. To map this insurgent knowledge in postcolonial novels of the city, we will focus on four prominent themes that also serve as analytical categories: mobility, labor, conviviality, and protest.

The Empire Writes Back: Politics and Literature from Postcolonial Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia A hundred years ago, Britain ruled about a quarter of the world’s population, and the British Empire covered approximately a quarter of the earth’s land surface.  Though most of the colonies have won formal independence, the effects of global imperialism continue to be felt, and arguably Empire has taken on other forms.  In this seminar we will discuss fiction, poetry, and drama by postcolonial writers such as J. M. Coetzee, Derek Walcott, Daljit Nagra, Wole Soyinka, Mahashweta Devi, Jean Rhys, Arundhati Roy, Edward Said, and Frantz Fanon, addressing questions about the nature and effects of colonization, anti-colonial resistance, representation, agency, and power.

Postcolonial Literature and the City In this course we will examine a number of novels from the 20th and 21st centuries that are about life in the city, taking a global and trans-national approach.  We will explore formations of urban life alongside transformations in the novel as a genre.  We will put these novels of city life in dialogue with critical theory—that is, theories of culture and society that have as their aim human emancipation (for example, Marxism, feminism, critical race studies, and postcolonial studies).  The novels we read will reflect important literary movements such as realism, modernism, and postmodernism.  (Not open to students who have taken ENAM 0447)

Postcolonial Literature and the City In this course we will examine a number of novels from the 20th and 21st centuries that are about life in the city, taking a global and trans-national approach.  We will explore formations of urban life alongside transformations in the novel as a genre.  We will put these novels of city life in dialogue with critical theory—that is, theories of culture and society that have as their aim human emancipation (for example, Marxism, feminism, critical race studies, and postcolonial studies).  The novels we read will reflect important literary movements such as realism, modernism, and postmodernism.  (Not open to students who have taken ENAM 0447) (Diversity)

Yumna Siddiqi

Reviews and ratings for Yumna Siddiqi at Middlebury College.Yumna Siddiqi teaches Literature of Displacement, Reading Literature, Race Capital Decolonizatin and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Yumna Siddiqi good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Professor Siddiqi, was so lovely. Her class could be long and boring at many times, but she is really such a good person. I found the readings to be engaging but the writing was boring. It's a good J-term class if you want minimal homework, be prepared to sit through 3 painful hours of class per day though. 

This class was fun. It was a nice review from taking AP English Lit in high school. I felt prepared for the class, writing wise. My only complaint is that Professor Siddiqi was unorganized at times. There were times where she'd send us emails confirming class time and location the day of, which was pretty nerve racking. Our first paper was written in a bluebook, and our second one was written online, because she could not be with us in person for class. I found lectures to be long and boring. Overall, good class, just boring and kind of unpredictable at times.

I think that this course was alright as an FYS. We had many readings for each class, and discussions felt a little weird but I enjoyed one of the books a lot so I think that made it worth it. I was never really interested in postcolonial literature, but I have found the basic principles useful in my studies of French later on. 