21st Century - African Literature

• Africa


  • Second largest continent at almost 12 million square miles

  More than a thousand languages

  Multicultural continent
• Egypt


  One of Africa's earliest civilizations, established more than 5000 years ago
• Religions in Africa

  • Polytheistic

  Christianity (14th century)

  Islam (17th century)
• Islam


  Came to Northern Africa in the early 17th Century
• Christianity


  Was brought to Ethiopia in the early 14th Century
• African Literature


  Body of traditional oral and written literatures in Afro-Asiatic and African languages together with works written by Africans in European languages
• Oral literature / Orature


  Oral in nature
• Periods of African Literary History

  • Pre-Colonial

  Post-Colonial

  Post-Independence
• Oral Literature


  • May be in prose or verse

  Prose is often mythological or historical and can include tales of the trickster character

  Shows African way of life; farming, superstitions, nature, climate, hunting, social interaction, etc.

  African moral values
• Griots


  African storytellers and praisers who use oral techniques in telling stories
• Types of Praise Songs

  • Love

  Work

  Children

  Mythical heroes
• Traditional African Storytelling


  • It is a communal experience

  Repetition is an important part of storytelling

  Storytelling fulfills purposes beyond being just a form of entertainment

  Tone is a vital part of the storytelling
• Call and Response


  Technique in oral narratives performed with a leader giving the "call", and followed by the rest of the group giving the "response"
• Written Literature


  The writings on Africa started in the middle ages when Arabic was introduced
• African Post-Colonial


  Does not necessarily mean after the colonial times

  Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal & Belgium were the colonial powers
• African Diaspora


  The African Union (AU) defines the African diaspora as consisting of people of native or partial African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union
• African traditions were described as savage, backwards, uncivilized, demonic

  European language was introduced together with Christianity for "Gold, God, and Glory"
• Wole Soyinka


  Foremost English language poet

  He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986
• Nadine Gordimer


  The 2nd African writer winner of the Novel Prize

  Her 1st Play: The Swamp Dwellers
• Chinua Achebe


  Nigerian novelist and poet

  His 1st novel was "Things Fall Apart"

  Grandfather of African Literature
• Characteristics of African Literature

  • Slave narrative

  Protest against colonization

  Calls for independence

  African Pride

  Hope for the future

  Dissent
• Telephone Conversation is a poetic satire against the degenerated and inhumane condition of black people in society, highlights the impact of racial discrimination.
• Racism is the central theme of the poem. In the poem, the lady behaved in a prejudiced manner toward the dark man.
• Africa

  • second largest continent at almost 12 million square miles. More than a thousand languages.
  • Multicultural continent
• African Literature

  body of traditional oral and

  written literatures in Afro-

  Asiatic and African

  languages together with

  works written by Africans in

  European languages.
• Oral Literature

  Shows African way of life;

  farming, superstitions, nature,

  climate, hunting, social

  interaction, etc.

  African moral values.
• African

  Post-Colonial

  1880s – 1960s

  does not necessarily mean

  after the colonial times.

  • Great Britain, France,

  Germany, Portugal & Belgium.
• African

  Post-Colonial

  African traditions were

  described as savage,

  backwards, uncivilized, demonic.

  European language was

  introduced together with

  Christianity