This course explores literary works connected to the British imperial and postcolonial orbit. We cast a historical look at writing produced under imperialism, as well as examining writing generated in the immediate aftermath of independence and in the twenty-first century. The course is organised chronologically and also geographically. The first half concerns literary titles from continental Africa, dating from the early twentieth century through to the 1970s. The second half of the course explores literature of the black diaspora (UK, Canadian and US) and centres on twenty-first century material.