University of Hong Kong

This course introduces the literature of Africa by way of its Nobel Prize-winning authors and their work, and examines the major issues surrounding it. It begins by questioning the very meaning of the term “African literature,” before examining some of its most salient features and issues such as its complex relationship with colonialism that made languages of Europe become the literary languages of Africa; the various forms of narration in Africa; colonialism and resistance; the tension between traditionalism and the African novel; as well as the complex relationship between African continental and diasporic literature. It also looks at major contemporary African literary Movements and their historical significance.