ENGL 131
Studies in Postcolonial Literatures
Description: Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Enforced requisites: courses 10A, 10B, 10C. Strongly recommended: course 130. Survey of how colonialism and decolonization have shaped literary and cultural expression, with specific emphasis on regional or thematic concerns. Topics may include literatures of Africa and African diaspora, environment and empire, Caribbean contact zones, or literatures of indigenous Pacific. May be repeated for credit with topic or instructor change. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Professor D'Aguiar was one of my favorite professors I had during my time at UCLA. He is an extremely friendly Professor and is very outgoing. He has an admirable passion for literature and poetry on top of an outgoing personality that makes the classroom environment a safe place for everyone. It is hard for me to imagine that a single student had a bad time in this class. There are a lot of opportunities to meet your fellow classmates by working on group projects with them and you are also assigned in-class group projects to keep everyone interacting with one another as well. Overall, Professor D'Aguiar is an extremely understanding, friendly, passionate person who is an amazing addition to the UCLA English Department's staff. He genuinely enjoys teaching and he wants to see all of his students succeed. In terms of how the class is set up, there are 3 papers you have to submit and one of the papers was part of a group project so it was much easier than the other two. Both papers weren't hard! Only a short paper, a medium length paper, and the group assignment. To be perfectly honest, the way Professor D'Aguiar set up this class was perfect for studying postcolonial literature. There were no specific prompts so it allowed students to really come up with their own takeaways from the readings which was awesome as it provided great flexibility in the class. You should take this class with Professor D'Aguiar, you won't regret it, and it was honestly exactly the type of classroom environment I love being in. Flexible, interactive, engaging, safe, and not overwhelming.
Fall 2021 - Professor D'Aguiar was one of my favorite professors I had during my time at UCLA. He is an extremely friendly Professor and is very outgoing. He has an admirable passion for literature and poetry on top of an outgoing personality that makes the classroom environment a safe place for everyone. It is hard for me to imagine that a single student had a bad time in this class. There are a lot of opportunities to meet your fellow classmates by working on group projects with them and you are also assigned in-class group projects to keep everyone interacting with one another as well. Overall, Professor D'Aguiar is an extremely understanding, friendly, passionate person who is an amazing addition to the UCLA English Department's staff. He genuinely enjoys teaching and he wants to see all of his students succeed. In terms of how the class is set up, there are 3 papers you have to submit and one of the papers was part of a group project so it was much easier than the other two. Both papers weren't hard! Only a short paper, a medium length paper, and the group assignment. To be perfectly honest, the way Professor D'Aguiar set up this class was perfect for studying postcolonial literature. There were no specific prompts so it allowed students to really come up with their own takeaways from the readings which was awesome as it provided great flexibility in the class. You should take this class with Professor D'Aguiar, you won't regret it, and it was honestly exactly the type of classroom environment I love being in. Flexible, interactive, engaging, safe, and not overwhelming.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - I didn't really have to go to her office hour or anything to pass her Postcolonial Literature course. She is just plain amazing, so inspirational. I can't say for her other courses but you won't regret taking her postcolonial literature course. We had to do a creative assignment which you can create your own Spotify playlist, write a pitch for a movie, or etc., and I had so much fun with it. I really appreciated her creating a Google doc for the class so that all classmates can communicate with each other without a problem. Again, Dr. Goyal is an amazing professor. Take herrrr!
Winter 2020 - I didn't really have to go to her office hour or anything to pass her Postcolonial Literature course. She is just plain amazing, so inspirational. I can't say for her other courses but you won't regret taking her postcolonial literature course. We had to do a creative assignment which you can create your own Spotify playlist, write a pitch for a movie, or etc., and I had so much fun with it. I really appreciated her creating a Google doc for the class so that all classmates can communicate with each other without a problem. Again, Dr. Goyal is an amazing professor. Take herrrr!
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2013 - I took English 131 with Professor Sharpe and although the class was called "Literary Transculturation of the Caribbean Contact Zone" it was not as difficult and alienating as it may sounds. Professor Sharpe is a very gracious and extremely knowledgeable person (As all UCLA faculty should be). As a transfer student, I am so glad that I had her for one of my first classes at UCLA. Even though the material can be dense, she incorporated film and music to the class material which made it much more interesting than a 9AM class might otherwise be. She wants her students to develop their opinions and she is interested in what you have to say, she even challenges it. This might sound intimidating but she really gives you interesting perspectives on the material we read which is what literature and the humanities is all about! I recommend that English majors take a class with her because she also brings interesting points from the Gender Studies (she is the chair of that department).
Fall 2013 - I took English 131 with Professor Sharpe and although the class was called "Literary Transculturation of the Caribbean Contact Zone" it was not as difficult and alienating as it may sounds. Professor Sharpe is a very gracious and extremely knowledgeable person (As all UCLA faculty should be). As a transfer student, I am so glad that I had her for one of my first classes at UCLA. Even though the material can be dense, she incorporated film and music to the class material which made it much more interesting than a 9AM class might otherwise be. She wants her students to develop their opinions and she is interested in what you have to say, she even challenges it. This might sound intimidating but she really gives you interesting perspectives on the material we read which is what literature and the humanities is all about! I recommend that English majors take a class with her because she also brings interesting points from the Gender Studies (she is the chair of that department).
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