University of The Gambia

Department of Arts, Languages and Humanities COURSE HANDBOOK

WELCOME REMARKS FROM THE DESK OF THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
On behalf of the Department of Arts and Humanities, I wish to welcome you to the University of The Gambia. It is a relatively new institution that is pushing hard to secure herself a lofty place in the academic world. This is a goal we hope to very rapidly attain if we all demonstrate a steadfast and sustained willingness to federate our efforts. This course handbook is the fruit of such concerted efforts by every single member of the Department and its contents are quite in harmony with what you can find in reputable universities the world over. In a nutshell the new programmes elucidated in this course handbook are unquestionably standard. Meaning, on successful completion of the Bachelors or Masters degree programme, the holder is sure to hold his head high in any academic circle they may find themselves. And as user friendly as it certainly is, we are confident that this course handbook will serve you as a reliable guide in your academic journey through the University of The Gambia. I also wish to assure you of my colleagues willingness to come to your prompt assistance whenever you need it. As a matter of fact, this Department has always maintained a genial lecturer-student relationship; so do not hesitate to ask any lecturer for any form of assistance within the bounds of propriety. I wish to welcome you once again on behalf of my colleagues in this Department, and pray that you fulfil your desire to obtain the Bachelors or Masters degree in this university.

INTRODUCTION
The Department of Arts and Humanities offers a wide range of disciplines in Arts and Humanities leading to the degree of BA and MA. (History and French). The Head of Department (HoD) is elected and serves a two-year renewable mandate. However, The Head can only serve for two terms. The Department is divided into four units with each unit headed by a lecturer selected by the HoD. These units and their heads are as follows: a. English Unit (Rev. Daniel Sahr Junisa) b. French Unit (Dr Pierre Gomez) c. History Unit (Mr Michael Jusu) d. Islamic Studies (Dr Mbye Kebba Kah) This Department has strong inter-departmental collaborative ties with other Departments. The Department, as the University itself, is a nascent one and as such it is developing strengths in the courses it offers. Each year we attempt to improve the quality of our teaching and research. One way we achieve this is that we have vibrant exchange programmes with universities like Cheikh Anta Diop, Gaston Berger (Senegal), Limoges (France), etc. In the Department we are committed to providing a conducive learning environment in which students develop their talents and academic and professional skills. We work hard at looking after our students academic and social interests and have developed the reputation of challenging our students to bring the best out of them. However since we are not based in a campus we have our teething problems such as classroom space, but we endeavour to alleviate the effects of the problems on the students. The Department has a corps of well trained, competent, committed and highly motivated lecturers. We fervently hope that you will benefit from the academic and professional skills offered by the Department and contribute to its further development.

1. a. b. c. d.

Courses offered in the Department: English French History Islamic Studies

2. ASSESSMENT This shall be done by: a. Continuous assessment (test and assignments) = 50% b. Examination = 50% 3. HOURS OF TUITION Two periods per week; each shall be 1 hours long. 4. CREDIT HOURS Each course (successfully completed) shall earn the student three credit hours. 5. DEGREES OFFERED a) Bachelor of Arts in the courses mentioned in the introduction b) Master of Arts in French and History. 6. GENERAL REQUIREMENT COURSES English Composition1 (Writing Skills) Mathematics competencies Basic Mathematics (100 level)2 Information Technology Introduction to Information Competences Technology3 Foreign Language Any language except English Humanistic Tradition Cultural Studies plus one other course outside the students major area. The course may be in History, Literature, Philosophy, Law, Religious Studies (i.e. Islamic Studies, Christianity or any other religion offered Writing Competencies
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3 semester hours 3 semester hours 3 semester hours 3 semester hours 6 semester hours

Students who are English majors shall not take this course. The prerequisite for this course is either a credit in WASSCE English or to pass the University of The Gambia non-credit Use of English course. 2 Students who have a credit in WASSCE Mathematics are not required to take this course, but must take another mathematics course. Students who plan to major in Mathematics shall not take this course and shall take any additional course elsewhere to replace it. 3 Students who pass a competency test are not required to take this course but must take another approved IT or computer related course.

in the university). Social and Behavioral Psychology, Anthropology, 6 semester hours Science Geography, Political Science, Sociology, or Gender Issues. Economics and Introduction to 3 semester hours Management Tradition Management or Economics of Development4 ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS A candidate who seeks admission to the department must obtain the following: 5 WASSCE/WAEC credits including a credit in both English and Math for Senior Secondary School leavers or its equivalent; In case a candidate does not have a credit in Math he/she must have a credit in one of the science subjects (Agric science, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, etc.); Mature students can be admitted when they are above 30 years old provided they have 8 years work experience subject to Departmental Entry Test; For the Madrassa candidates who want to major in Islamic Studies, an equivalent of WASSCE/WAEC recognized by the General Secretariat for Islamic and Arabic Studies (GSIAS) is needed.

Students majoring in Management Economics should take the course: Economics of Development, while Economics major students should take the course: Introduction to Management.

ENGLISH:
General Requirements a. Use of English (GEL 101, 102, 201, 202) b. LITE. 101: Introduction to the study of Literature I DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENT COURSE LITE. 201: Introduction to Gambian Literature MAJOR: Students majoring in English Language and Literature shall offer the following: i) EL 101: Phonetics and Phonology ii) EL 102: History of the English Language iii) EL 201: Morphology of English iv) EL 301: Advanced Composition v) EL 302: Socio linguistics vi) EL 303: Semantics vii) EL 400: English Syntax viii) LITE 102: African Prose ix) LITE 103: African Drama x) LITE 202: Introduction to Oral and Written African Literature xi) LITE 203: African Poetry xii) LITE 405: Advanced Gambian Literature xiii) LITE 302: Romantic and Metaphysical Poetry xiv) LITE 303: Shakespeare and the Drama of his age. MINOR Students minoring in English Language and Literature should offer the following: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) xi) EL 101: Phonetics and Phonology EL 102: History of the English Language EL 201: Morphology of English EL301: Advanced Composition EL 302: Sociolinguistics EL 303: Semantics LITE 102: African Prose LITE103: African Drama LITE 202: Introduction to Oral and Written African Literature LITE 203: African Poetry LITE 405: Advanced Gambian Literature

 ELECTIVES Students majoring or minoring in English Language and Literature in English shall offer any three of the following: i) LITE 401: Chaucer and some Greek Plays ii) LITE 402: The Iliad iii) LITE 403: Comparative Literature iv) LITE 404: Literary Theory and Criticism v) LITE 301: Non African Drama vi) LITE 104: Drama Creative Writing and Acting vii) LITE 204: Drama Society

Course Descriptions
EL101 PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the basic concepts of Phonetics and Phonology and the sound system of English. The course is restricted to the Traditional Descriptive module since it is designed for students studying English Language as a major/ minor and as a teaching subject. The data and examples are drawn from English language but students are encouraged to think about their indigenous languages as they go through the course. The course examines the following topics in detail: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k) Definition of Phonetics and Phonology. The branches of Phonetics. Differences between Phonetics and Phonology. The Airstream Mechanisms. The Organs of Speech. The Sound System of English. Manner of articulation Phonemes Supra-segmental features The English Syllable Exercises in transcription.

REFERENCES
Daven Port, M & Hannahs S.J. (2000) Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology Blackwell. Fromkin, V, Rodman, R. & Hyans, iv. (2003) An Introduction to language Thomson Heinle

Harris, J (1994) English sound Structure. Blackwell. 4lass, R C199 Roach. P (2001) English Phonetics and Phonology Cambridge University press Cambridge Yule. G (1985) The study of Language. Cambridge University Press Cambridge

GEL 101, 102, 201, 202: Use of English

Great concern has continued to be expressed about the falling standard of English in all the tiers of the education system in West Africa in general and The Gambia in particular. This situation, it is believed, is largely responsible for the perceived low standard of education in the West Africa sub-region. In view of this, The Use of English course is designed for those with a deficiency in the WASSCE/GCE English language examination. The aim of the course is generally to drill students in the use of the language in order to achieve communicative competence which will be a great asset to them in furthering their education in this very important medium of instruction in The Gambia. Course Outline:

GEL 101: Use of English

1- General introduction to Use of English: language skills, grammatical structure, lexis, comprehension, summary 2 - Words and word classes Nouns and pronouns Adjectives and adverbs Prepositions and conjunctions Spelling 3- Definite and indefinite articles 4- Vocabulary development 5- Registers: agriculture, building, road and transportation, journalism, aviation, judiciary, politics and government, education, medicine, sports, etc. 6- Punctuation and capitalization

GEL 102: Use of English

1- Essay and letter writing. 2- Phrases Noun phrases Verb phrases Adjectival phrases Adverbial phrases Prepositional phrases 3- The paragraph: devices of coherence/logical construction, discourse strategies/thematization, etc

GEL 201: Use of English

1- Error identification and correction 2- Listening comprehension a. Note taking during lectures and from written texts b. Note taking from audio-visual equipment c. Listening comprehension skills 3- Reading comprehension skills a. The outline note b. Summary writing c. Techniques of reading comprehension

GEL 202: Use of English

12345American English and British English Spoken English: vowels, diphthongs, consonants, stress and intonation Non-sexist language SMS Clauses a. Noun clauses b. Adjectival clauses c. Adverbial clauses d. Infinitival clauses Words and word-forms a. Denotation and connotation b. Antonyms, synonyms, homonyms, homophones and acronyms c. Suffixes and prefixes, etc Variety of English and levels of usage Types of writing: narration, description, exposition, argumentation, reports, letters, memoranda, minutes, speeches, book reviews Direct and indirect speech

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EL102 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

a) b) c) d) The Middle English Period, a period of Great changes. The Renaissance 1500-1600 and the English language. The Appeal to Authority 1600-1800. The Nineteenth Century and after.

REFERENCES
Barber, C (1993[2006]) The English language: A historical Introduction Cambridge University Press Baugh, A.C and Thomas C (2000). A History of the English Language. Routledge.

EL 201 : MORPHOLOGY OF ENGLISH

The aim of this course is to familiarise students with the morphological patterns that make up the internal structure of English words, with a view to enabling them to describe the various morphological processes involved in the derivation of words in English and other languages including their mother tongues. This course should also help students to identify word forms and functions in various contexts.

COURSE OUTLINE
This course will examine the following: 1. Definitions of Morphology Morphemes Morphs Allomorphs 2. Types of Morphemes

3. Morphological Description and Its Constraints 4. Morphological Processes Not found in English 5. Word-Formation Processes 6. Word Classes ( Forms and Functions )

REFERENCES:
1. Fromkin V. & Rodman R. --- An Introduction to Language. Harcourt Brace . U.S.A

2. Katamba, Francis --- Morphology. London: Macmillan , 1996. 2. 3. Quirk & Greenbaum ---- A Unversity Grammar of English. London: Longman, 1990. Yule, George ---- The Study of Language. Cambridge, CUP, 1999.

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EL 301 : ADVANCED COMPOSITION (Prerequisite GEL 101 and 102)

Students opting for this course should have completed the Use of English Courses at Levels 1 and 2, which should have adequately prepared them to further develop their Writing Skills, which is the main focus of this course. Activities will be based on the writing and analysis of expository prose using various models, with emphasis on the use and understanding of varieties of rhetoric modes and devices aimed at enhancing their creative writing skills. This course will treat the following: 1. Effective Sentences 2. The Writing Process 3. Methods Of Development Exposition (Example, Comparison and Contrast, Analogy, Classification, Definition. Cause and Effect ) Description Narration Explanation of a Process Argument 4. Writing Styles Tone Use of Figurative Language

REFERENCES
1) Eko, Ebele . Effective Writing, Ibadan: Heineman, 1987. 2) Peter Sheal . Advanced Level Writing Skills for Colleges and Universities. London: Longman 1991. 3) Pink, M. A. & Thomas, S. E. . English Grammar, Composition and Correspondence, London: Macmillan 1990. 4) Levin, Gerald et al . Prose Models. Third Canadian Edition 5) A Canadian Writers Reference -- Second Edition

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EL302 SOCIOLINGUISTICS
This course aims at introducing students to the basic concepts of Sociolinguistics i.e. the relationship between language and Society and the relevance of this to the study of English Language and to their work as English Language Teachers. The course examines in detail the following topics: a) Definition of Sociolinguistics b) Language as used in society (e.g. Standard Language). c) i) Monolingualism. ii)Bilingualism. iii)Multilingualism. d) i) Dyglossia. ii) Code-Switching iii) Isogloss. e) i) Pidgin and Creole Languages.

REFERENCES
Chambers. J (2003) Sociolinguistics theory. Blackwell Trudgil. (1998) Dialectology. Cambridge Press. Coulmas. F (1996) The Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Blackwell. Yule. G (2000) The study of Language. Cambridge University Press.

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EL401 ENGLISH SYNTAX

The course aims at examining a number of topics in English Grammar including categories, phrases and clauses. It looks briefly at grammatical theories i.e. Traditional Grammar, Structuralism, Generative Grammar under this following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Word clauses, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, propositions. Phrases Clauses Sentences

REFERENCES
1) Fromkin, V. Rodman and Hyams N. (2003) An Introduction to Language. Thomson Heinle. 2) Lyons. J (1968) Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge University Press. 3) Quirk. R and Greenbaum, S.A University Grammer of English. Cambridge University Press. 4) Yule, G. (1985). The Study of Language. Cambridge University Press.

LITE 101: Introduction to the study of Literature 1

This course is designed to introduce students to the main genres of literature i.e. prose, poetry and drama. It seeks to expose students to the distinguishing features of each genre, the tools of literary appreciation and critical reading of works. It aims at providing students with techniques in assessing, analyzing and evaluating a work of art within certain contexts.

LITE 102: African Prose

This course seeks to expose students to the themes and literary devices used by African writers to put their works together. It will also deal with the peculiarities of African prose which contribute to the traits of such works (e.g. Theme, Style, Use of the Vernacular, Settings etc.). Texts to be studied will be chosen from writers all over the continent.

LITE 103: African Drama

In this course students will be exposed to themes, style and the use of vernacular in this genre. The course will also prepare students for actually staging one of the plays they would have studied. It is expected that this staging of the play will make students understand it the more and make them realize that plays are meant to be acted. 13

LITE 104: Drama Creative Writing and Acting COURSE DESCRIPTION

PLAY ANALYSIS: Interpreting a prescribed text with an emphasis on plot structure, character development, conflicts and resolution. ACTING: Practical workshops in acting, Character and improvisation skills. VOICE AND SPEECH: Exercises and techniques to physically work on and improve the voice and release it from habits; exploring and interpreting character through voice intonation and speech rhythms. WRITING: Ideas, techniques and exercises that guide students in how to create and write their own stories.

PERFORMANCE: Play rehearsal with students assigned to roles and with the aim of performing the play (or scenes from it) at the culmination the course.

LITE 201: Introduction to Gambian Literature

This course will attempt to fill a vacuum and to bring a contribution to written African Literature. For this reason, the concept of emergence seems, at a first glance, to depict Gambian Literature in English and within, the idea of nation. The characterization as Emerging Literature, referring consequently to an incomplete process appears naturally as a deformation of the present reality of Gambian Literature. We would examine the content of this concept (emergence) and appreciate its operative value. The emergence of a written literature as a result of exterior factors is achieved through the development of writing basically: the school and formal education, the press, the use of books, etc. These factors would be identified and analysed. They could create the enabling condition for the emergence of local literature, but could also be an obstacle to this literature by transmitting, for example, exterior colonial models which may block the constitution of Gambian identity. That is why we will depart from a reflection on the concept of emergence and its opposite counter-emergence to a study of literary writings present in the Gambian press The Gambia Echo, The Nation, Ndanaan and The Daily Observer. This will allow us to demonstrate how, progressively, Gambian Literature was able to extract itself from Euro-centrism and classical British literature. Eventually, in our final analysis we will look closely at this gap by comparing the poetic expressions of the thirties, modeled entirely, in their form and in their content, on English literature, and the recent productions which are of a completely different tone and style, with nonnegligible consequences on the use of English. Does Gambian national literature exist? This is the difficult problem that we would attempt to resolve in this course.

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References
DIBBA (Ebou) Chaff on the wind London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1986, 203p, ISBN 0333412788 GREY-JOHNSON (Nana) The Magic Calabash Banjul: Observer Publish Co., 1998,161p. PETERS (Lenrie) The Second Round London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1965, 193p, ISBN 0435009226 SAHO (Bala K.) The Road to my Village Helsinki: Trittum Oy, 1994, 80p, ISBN 9529695039 SALLAH (Tijan) When Africa Was a Young Woman Calcutta: Writer Workshop Publication, 1980, 56p. SILLAH (Baaba) When The Monkey Talks Banjul: Doineh Publishing & company, 2003

LITE 202: Introduction to Oral and Written African Literature

In this course students and the lecturer will examine Oral African Literature which takes the form of short stories, songs and traditional African Poems. They will also establish why it is difficult to write short stories which are however popular in African Oral Literature. The contribution of the griot, songster and story teller to African Oral Literature will also be established. The reason why it had hitherto been difficult to write down African Oral Literature will also be examined. Reference will be made to anthologies of short African stories and works of writers like Amos Tutuola, Okot pBitek, Mariama Ba and some Ibo stories told in Chinua Achebes novel: Things Fall Apart.

LITE. 203: African Poetry

This course is designed to expose students to themes and literary devices used by African poets and poetesses. Poems by writers from different parts of the continent will be studied. The differences between African and Non African Poetry will be made clear. Emphasis will be laid on written African poems.

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LITE 204: Drama and Society

Theatre acts as a mirror, reflecting society and yielding significant information about major issues and concerns of an historical period. The focus is always on human beings, their suffering, their pain, frustrations, hopes, joys and their laughter. COURSE DESCRIPTION To analyze a prescribed play: intellectual emotional, moral and aesthetic values expressed by the playwright, as well as understanding the social, economic and political climate of the writer, the period and environment. To identify specific ideas and issues exposed through the play, to serve as a basis for students own research materials. To prepare materials in order give a public talk (at the end of the course) on the issues explored through the play. Practical workshops to develop skills in charismatic public speaking.

LITE 301: Non African Drama

This course is designed to expose students to Ancient and Modern Non African Drama. The differences between the two and the aims of each will be made clear e.g. to teach and entertain. Therefore the themes and styles of different Non African dramatists will be explored. Drama by Shakespeare and his contemporaries will not be examined in this course. The latter will be treated in a course of its own.

LITE 302: Romantic and Metaphysical Poetry

Since Non African Poetry is of a wide variety, this course seeks to examine the two types of poetry mentioned above. The two are outstanding types in Non African Poetry. The themes and styles used in them will be thoroughly examined. More Non African poems will be studied in the course: Survey of world Literature later in the year.

LITE 303: Shakespeare and the Drama of his age

This course is designed to expose students to works of art by Shakespeare and his contemporaries like Webster, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe. The themes and styles of these writers will be examined. It is expected that at the end of this course students will realize that Shakespeares style and his themes were completely different from those of his contemporaries.

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LITE 401: Chaucer and Some Greek Plays

In this course the following will be studied: (i) The Prologue to Chaucers Canterbury Tales (ii) The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer) (iii) The Greek plays: Antigone and Oedipus Rex. The aim of this course is to expose students to 14th century and Greek Literature which are solid foundations of Literature written thereafter. The styles and themes of authors of these periods will be thoroughly examined for their literary values.

LLITE 402: Comparative Literature

In this course works with similar themes but different approaches will be studied. Two examples are: (i) The Greek Play: Oedipus Rex and Ola Rotimis Play: The Gods are not to blame (ii) Shakespeares play: Macbeth and Wole Soyinkas play King Baabu The aim of this course will be to let students see the richness that lies in even diversity.

LITE 404: Literary Theory and Criticism

The literature in English course will end with this aspect. Students will employ the literary theories that would have been learnt up to this point and those that would not have been taught to evaluate works o art and pieces of writing. Examples will be taken from prose, Poetry, Drama, Short stories, Magazines and newspapers. It is expected that this kind of evaluation will help students to write the English Language appreciably well.

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. V. S. Pritchett: The Living Novel, New York, 1946. E. M. Forster: Aspects of The Novel, Edward Arnold, London, 1949 F. R, Leavis: The Great Tradition, Ghatto and Windus, London, 1948. Dorothy Van Chent: The English Novel: Form and Fiction, Rinshort, New York, 1953. Ian Watt: The Rise of the Novel, Ghatto and Windus, London 1957 Wayne Booth: The Rhetoretic of Fiction, Chicago, 1961 E. Philip Stevick, The Theory of the Novel, New York, 1967. Eustace Palmer: Studies on the English Novel, African universities Press, Ibadan, 1986. Oliver Clinton and Stephanie Sills, eds: Contemporary Black Drama, New York: 17

10. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter: The Norton Introduction to Literature, shorter seventh Edition,, W.W. Norton and company, USA, 1973. 11. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter: The Norton Introduction to Literature, shorter seventh Edition, W.W. Norton and company, U.S.A, 1973

Lit. 405: Advanced Gambian Literature

This course provides students with a broad based background in Comparative Literature. It will prepare them for advance study and research in several areas related to Gambian Literature. It comprises the study of Geocriticism (literary representation and interpretation of space) and the idea of nation in Gambian literature. a. Geocriticism: with regards to this aspect, we will look at story space (the spatial environment or setting of any of the storys action), discourse space (the narrators current spatial environment) and Semantically charged space (considerable function and relevance acquired by spatial elements in relation to characters and events). Other areas of study include oppositions of settings such as city vs. country, civilization vs. nature, house vs. garden, transitional space vs. permanent space, and public space vs. private space. Often, all these spaces are very clearly associated with certain attitudinal stances and value judgments. b. The Idea of Nation: here we will examine the difficulties, contradictions, and complexities of determining which texts constitute the degree zero of national writing. The Gambia, being a link between the Anglophone and the francophone worlds, (by its position inside Senegal), it is pertinent to be attentive to the resemblances and the differences brought about by the geographical situations and the historical circumstances.

References
DIBBA (Ebou) Fafa London: Macmillan Educational Ltd., 1989, 118p GREY-JOHNSON (Nana) I of Ebony Banjul: Vinasha Consulting and Product Agency, 1997, 292p, ISBN 9983990512 PETERS (Lenrie) Katchikaly Great Britain: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1971, 75p, ISBN 043590633 ROBERTS (Gabriel J.) The Goosieganderan Myth London: Vantage Press, 1988, 164p, ISBN 0533077613 SALLAH (Tijan) Before The New Earth Calcutta: Writers Workshop publication, 1988, 91p. THOMAS (Charles W. Sarr) The Memorandum Banjul: Toplink Communications, 2000, 75p.

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