Universität Wien

135814 KO Mapping "African-Diasporic" Literary Voices in the Austrian Cultural Scene (2023S)

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 13 - Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work
MIXED
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

The course will be held in a hybrid format (changing between onsite sessions and online sessions )!

  • Thursday 02.03. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 09.03. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 16.03. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 23.03. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 30.03. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 20.04. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 27.04. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 04.05. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 11.05. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 25.05. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 01.06. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 15.06. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 22.06. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG
  • Thursday 29.06. 11:15 - 12:45 Hybride Lehre
    Seminarraum 2 Sensengasse 3a 1.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this Konversatorium, we will start a long-term conversation on and with writers/slam poets/literary voices of African descent in Austria. Who are they? Which topics cut across their works? What genres are dominant in their creative works? What are the reasons behind the choice of their primary language(s) of writing/performing: English, German, Arabic, Amharic, Igbo, Swahili, French, etc.? How to address self-perception exemplified in: 'Ich bin ein österreichischer Schriftsteller' [ I am an Austrian writer] as the Congolese born, now Graz-based Fiston Mwanza Mujila 'jokingly' said during the second African Literatures' Days in Graz in May 2022? What roles do institutions and initiatives such as the Forum Stadtpark, Weltwortreisende: Transnationale Grazer Literaturtage, and the Grazer Poesieautomaten (Graz), Afri-Eurotext, The Vienna African Writers Club, The Austrian Commission for Unesco (see the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions), the PEN platform Literatur*Grenzenlos (Vienna), literary periodicals like Lichtungen, literary competitions, literary prizes and scholarships such as the Grazer Stadtschreiber*in scholarship, the Elias-Canetti scholarship, and the Exilliteraturpreis (can) play in their reception and visibility? What are their strategies to occupy the literary and cultural scene in Austria? To what national, regional, and international networks do they belong? How many translations/adaptations of their works exist and where do these circulate? Are they present in their countries of 'origin'? Politically speaking, how do they plant African-Diasporic memories in Austria?
This conversation is envisioned as a long-term process. We will start with an inventory of these voices in Austria before narrowing the course down to paying closer attention to the works of selected African-Diasporic voices in the Austrian literary scene from a comparative perspective.
Goals
1. To design a map of the who is who of the African-Diasporic literary scene in Austria
2. To do comparative case studies of the literary œuvre of selected writers
3. To draw the attention of my co-teachers to the relevance of ‘other(ed)’ voices in the Austrian literary scene
4. To develop a consciousness of the ties between literature and migration, integration/participation, intercultural and intercontinental communication
5. To foster a reflection on literature festivals, literary institutions, and academic discourse
Methods
1. ACTIVE reading of texts, research, and ACTIVE participation in class
2. Group work throughout the semester
3. Group research and oral presentations/reports on selected topics
4. Class excursion to the African Literature Days in Graz (May 6-7, 2023)
Content
Reading and in-depth analysis of selected literary works, articles, book chapters, video material, and pieces presented at poetry slam contests in English, French, and translated from Arabic and Amharic; meet the author sessions, class excursion to the African Literature Days in Graz, May 6-7, 2023.

Assessment and permitted materials

Expectations on Students and breakdown of the final grade
1. Regular and ACTIVE participation in class and participation in the class excursion
2. Submission of a short report on the class excursion (20%)
3. Group research and group oral presentations on an author’s work (30%)
4. Critical reading, thinking, handling, and writing
5. The readiness to go the extra mile
6. Submission of a 10 pages essay at the end of the semester (50%)
Recommendations for the style sheet: https://complit.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_complit/Curricula/Richtlinien_zur_Abfassung_literaturwissenschaftlicher_Arbeiten.pdf

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Expectations on Students and breakdown of the final grade
1. Regular and ACTIVE participation in class and participation in the class excursion
2. Submission of a short report on the class excursion (20%)
3. Group research and group oral presentations on an author’s work (30%)
4. Critical reading, thinking, handling, and writing
5. The readiness to go the extra mile
6. Submission of a 10 pages essay at the end of the semester (50%)
Recommendations for the style sheet: https://complit.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/p_complit/Curricula/Richtlinien_zur_Abfassung_literaturwissenschaftlicher_Arbeiten.pdf

Examination topics

Content
Reading and in-depth analysis of selected literary works, articles, book chapters, video material and pieces presented at poetry slam contests in English, French, and translated from Arabic and Amharic; meet the author sessions, class excursion to the African Literature Days in Graz, May 6-7, 2023.

Reading list

Reading list (No worries! To be read/shared in groups!)
Introductory Reading
Bazuaye,Yomi. 2018. "Afropea A Map of the African Diaspora in Europe." http://afropean.com/afropea-a-map-of-the-african-diaspora-in-europe/
(03.01.2023)
Brancato, Sabrina: Afro-European Literature(s): A New Discursive Category? In: Research in African Literatures, 39 (3) 2008, pp. 1-13.
Chevrier, Jacques. 2004. 'Afrique(s)-sur-Seine : autour de la notion de ‘migritude'. Notre Librairie 155156, 96100.
Christiansen, Elke / Englert, Birgit: "Zimt duftet in Wien". Ishraga Mustafa Hamid im Gespräch mit Elke Christiansen und Birgit Englert. In: Stichproben. Wiener Zeitschrift für kritische Afrikastudien 1(2) 2001, pp. 87-95.
Craith, Mairead Nic: "Migrant" writing and the re-imagined community: discourses of inclusion/exclusion. In: German Politics and Society, 33 (1) 2015, pp. 84-99.
Etwebi, Ashur: Tarek Eltayeb: Kommunikation in Echtzeit. Interview. In: Iowa Writing University, 2010, https://writinguniversity.org/content/tarek-eltayeb-kommunikation-echtzeit-0 (last access: 03.01.23.)
Garrido, Felipe Espinoza/Koegler, Caroline/Nyangulu, Deborah/Stein, Mark U. 2020. "Introduction. African European Studies as a Critique of Contingent Belonging." In. Garrido/Koegler/Nyangulu/Stein (eds.). Locating African European Studies: Interventions, Intersections, Conversations. New York: Routledge.
Grabovszki, Ernst: Österreich als literarischer Erfahrungsraum zugewanderter Autorinnen und Autoren. In: Schmitz, Helmut (ed.): Von der Nationalen zur Internationalen Literatur: Transkulturelle Deutschsprachige Literatur und Kultur im Zeitalter globaler Migration. Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, 2009, pp. 275-292.
Innes Lyn/Stein, Mark U. (eds.) 2008. African European. Special Issue, Wasafiri: The Magazine of International Contemporary Writing 23/4.
Kebede, Mihret: Die Anhörung des Schweigens. In: Kessé, Emily Ngubia (ed.): Stille Macht. Silence und Dekolonisierung; Silence, Wissen und Machtstrukturen. Berlin: w_orten & meer, 2018, pp. 89-114.
Kieselbach, Sabine: Fiston Mwanza Mujila: "Für mich ist Literatur eine Brücke zwischen Afrika und Europa". Interview. In: DW, 2017, https://www.dw.com/de/fiston-mwanza-mujila-für-mich-ist-literatur-eine-brücke-zwischen-afrika-und-europa/a-39565787 (last access: 03.01.2023.)
Lichtungen. Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Zeitkritik. Schwerpunkt: Afrikanische Präsenz in der österreichischen Literatur. 167, 2021.
Mwanza, Fiston Mwanza (Hrsg.) 2021. Kontinentaldrift. Das Schwarze Europa. Heidelberg: Wunderhorn.
Sultanija, Iva / Hofbauer, Luis: Sound of Silence Mihret Kebede. Radio-Interview. In: Radio Grille, 2022, https://cba.fro.at/545871 (last access 03.01.23.)
Van Deventer, Allison/Thomas, Dominic. 2011. 'Afro-European Studies: Emerging Fields and New Directions.' In: Behdad, Ali/Thomas, Dominic (eds.): A Companion to Comparative Literature. Malen, MA: Wiley, 335356.
Selected works by African-Diasporic writers in Austria
1. Chiebonam Nnebedum, Precious. 2022. Birthmarks. Gedichte. Englisch. Deutsch. Haymon: Innsbruck.
2. Eltayeb, Tarek. 2007.Das Palmenhaus. Schiler: Berlin.
Eltayeb, Tarek. Städte ohne Dattelpalmen. 2020. Edition selene: Wien.
3. Mujila, Fiston Mwanza. Tram 83. 2016. Librairie Générale Française: Paris.
Mujila, Fiston Mwanza. 2022. La danse du vilain. Éditions Flore Zoa: Dakar, Yaoundé.
4. Mustafa Hamid, Ishraga. 2017. Das Weibliche der Flöte. Löcker: Wien.
Mustafa Hamid, Ishraga. 2014.Gesichter der Donau: Lyrik und Prosa. Wien: Löcker: Wien.
5. Sakin, Abdelaziz Baraka, Orth, Günther (übers). 2021. Der Messiah von Darfur: Edition Orient: Berlin 2021.

Association in the course directory

MA M1

MA Afrikawissenschaften: SAL.T1, SAL.T2

Last modified: Th 04.07.2024 00:13