AFR 208(S) Writing Africa from Beyond: The Novel of the Diaspora*

In this course we will read a series of novels written, across the postcolonial generations, about "Africa" from locales outside of the continent. The condition and constitution of Africa," contested so fiercely and for so long by Africans, Africanists, and (neo-)colonialists, forms the pivotal line of inquiry for the reading of these texts. Who writes Africa? What do those various locations of enunciation and ideological investment mean? How does it affect the ways in which the fiction of/about Africa is written? These are some of the central issues which this course will explore through the novels of writers such as Buchi Emecheta, Ben Okri, and Patrick Chamoiseau. These authors, like others such as Nouredine Farah and Amitav Ghosh (The Calcutta Chromosome is a novel, set in colonial and postcolonial India, in which north Africa, surprisingly, features pivotally), will be read for their capacity to throw into question how "Africa" is conceived and understood through literature. In addition, we will engage a number of theorists who take up the issue of diaspora.
Format: seminar. Requirements: two written essays, (10 pages each), one class presentation per student, compulsory attendance, and consistent participation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20).Preference is given to Africana Studies concentrators.

Hour: FARRED