Lecture

African Literature: Overview

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In course

HUM-261: Contemporary Africa

Ce cours devra permettre aux étudiants de développer une réflexion critique autour des grandes questions qui animent l'Afrique d'aujourd'hui. ...

Description

This lecture introduces the positioning of sub-Saharan francophone African literature in history, focusing on aesthetic issues, colonial literature, and the representation of black culture. It explores the works of key writers such as Leopold Sedar Senghor and Aime Cesaire, discussing themes of identity, politics, and postcolonial literature. The lecture also delves into the evolution of literary movements, the impact of European colonial rule, and the emergence of cosmopolitan voices in contemporary African literature.

Official source

Related concepts (10)

Postcolonial literature

Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries, originating from all continents except Antarctica. Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the decolonization of a country, especially questions relating to the political and cultural independence of formerly subjugated people, and themes such as racialism and colonialism. A range of literary theory has evolved around the subject.

Postcolonialism

Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. The field started to emerge in the 1960s, as scholars from previously colonized countries began publishing on the lingering effects of colonialism, developing a critical theory analysis of the history, culture, literature, and discourse of (usually European) imperial power. As an epistemology (i.

List of literary movements

Literary movements are a way to divide literature into categories of similar philosophical, topical, or aesthetic features, as opposed to divisions by genre or period. Like other categorizations, literary movements provide language for comparing and discussing literary works. These terms are helpful for curricula or anthologies. Some of these movements (such as Dada and Beat) were defined by the members themselves, while other terms (for example, the metaphysical poets) emerged decades or centuries after the periods in question.

Literary theory

Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, moral philosophy, social philosophy, and interdisciplinary themes relevant to how people interpret meaning. In the humanities in modern academia, the latter style of literary scholarship is an offshoot of post-structuralism.

Fiction

Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.

Related concepts (10)

Postcolonial literature

Postcolonialism

List of literary movements

Literary theory

Fiction