In my post-colonial lit. class, I assign one of my own stories among the other readings in the first week, mostly so they can get to know me a little better, but it’s also pretty relevant to the course material and helps set them up for what’s to come.
It’s always sort of interesting when a few of them decide to write papers on their professor’s story (seems like a brave choice to me!), and every once in a while, they actually come up with an argument that surprises me:
Draft thesis: In “Oceans Bright and Wide” by Mary Anne Mohanraj, we see the lives of women being controlled by the men in society. The women in society represent the lives of the colonized while the men represent the colonizers controlling society.
I mean, I don’t *think* that’s what I was doing when I wrote that story? But I can see where they’re coming from, and they should be able to find sufficient evidence to make the argument, I think, for a 100-level class. Kind of fun. 