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This course explores the emergence of freedom as an ideal in Africa during and after the movements for national liberation. We will examine the people’s ongoing struggle to achieve social justice after colonial independence as a quest for meaningful freedom. To understand the emergence of this ideal and the nature of the people’s struggle, we will consider complex narratives (film, fiction) of major importance and read social theory (history, economics, sociology). The seminar’s scope is pan-African and covers the historical period of the 1950s to the present day. Areas of particular narrative interest include introspective gaze and intimate self, gender dynamics, national experience, globalization, and spirituality.
Required Reading:
Armah, Ayi Kwei. Fragments. Heinemann, 1995. ISBN: 978-0435901547. or Per Ankh edition, 2006. ISBN: 978-2911928109. Either edition will work.
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Purple Hibiscus: A Novel. Algonquin Books; reprint 2012. ISBN: 978-1616202415.
Tansi, Sony Labou. Life and a Half: A Novel. Indiana UP, 2011. ISBN: 978-0253222879.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Penguin, 1994. ISBN: 978-0385474542.
Other readings will be uploaded to Box@UA the link of which will be shared with registered students.
