This course is a seminar that surveys African literary and cultural production from the 20th century to the present. We begin with the assumption that literary and cultural production are rooted in the socio-political and historical realities of the societies from which they emanate. We read African historical development vis-à-vis literary and cultural texts to underscore the major themes, trends, and ideas that constitute African literature. Our survey accounts for the different geographical regions of sub-Saharan Africa as well as the various genres and forms of cultural production.
Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to identify major themes, movements, and debates in African literature and cultural production from the twentieth century to the present; analyze literary and cultural texts in relation to their specific sociopolitical and historical contexts; compare how different regions of sub-Saharan Africa and different genres (fiction, drama, poetry, film, music, and visual culture) articulate questions of colonialism, nationalism, language, gender, class, and power; and apply key postcolonial and critical concepts to develop clear, well-supported interpretations in discussion and writing.
Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to identify major themes, movements, and debates in African literature and cultural production from the twentieth century to the present; analyze literary and cultural texts in relation to their specific sociopolitical and historical contexts; compare how different regions of sub-Saharan Africa and different genres (fiction, drama, poetry, film, music, and visual culture) articulate questions of colonialism, nationalism, language, gender, class, and power; and apply key postcolonial and critical concepts to develop clear, well-supported interpretations in discussion and writing.
- Primary Instructor: Mathias Iroro Orhero