Universität Wien

143356 KU Afriphone Literatures: From Oral to Written Texts in African Languages (2020W)

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 14 - Orientalistik, Afrikanistik, Indologie und Tibetologie
Continuous assessment of course work
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. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Lecture schedule:

Oct 6 Introduction: Defining African literature
Oct 13 The debate: What is the best language for African literary production?
Oct 20 Towards a Afriphone literary agenda in the 21st Century
Oct 27 Guest Lecture
Nov 3 Oral Narrative Performance: myths, Legends, folktakes, proverbs and riddles/jokes
Nov 10 Spoken and sung texts of the Dagaaba of West Africa (I)
Nov 17 Spoken and sung texts of the Dagaaba of West Africa (II)
Nov 24 Oral genres from other cultures in Africa
Dec 1 Afriphone writing (I): Ngugi wa Thiongo
Dec 8 No Class (Holiday)
Dec 15 Afriphone writing (II)
Dec 22-Jan 5 No class (Christmas)
Jan 12 Afriphone writing (III)
Jan 19 Connecting Afriphone literature to other kinds of literarture
Jan 26 Summary/Exams

  • Tuesday 06.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 13.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 20.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 27.10. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 03.11. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 10.11. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 17.11. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 24.11. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 01.12. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 15.12. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 12.01. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 19.01. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10
  • Tuesday 26.01. 09:00 - 11:00 Inst. f. Afrikawissenschaften, Seminarraum 4 UniCampus Hof 5 2M-O1-10

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this seminar course, we trace the gradual re-orientation of African literature from the dominant 20th Century Europhone African literatures in formal curricula to a fast establishing 21st Century movement towards emphasis on Afriphone African literatures, i.e., spoken, sung, and written texts in African languages. We will analyze indigenous oral narrative genres like folktales, myths, legends, proverbs, praise songs, dirges, and lullabies across various African languages before outlining the emerging written texts of new Afriphone novelists, poets, and playwrights in various parts of Africa.

This course aims:
1. To enable students to reflect on the parametres for the definition of ‘literature’, in general, and ‘African literature’, in particular
2. To get students to think of the diglossia/multiligual situations in Africa with respect to literature
3. To enable students to be able to discuss intellectually the literary/cultural production scenario with respect to variables such as access to population groups including class, gender and social/educational status

Class interaction will be in the form of lectures.

No previous study on Africa is required.

Students who graduate from this course are prepared to pursue more advanced discussions on African literatures and the question of language in literary expressions.

Assessment and permitted materials

Active participation during all class sessions will be the key. The course will be assessed as follows:
o Written final exam (or essay if there are COVID restrictions): 100%

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Examination topics

Reading list

o Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization, 1991. Proceedings of the International Symposium on African Literatures. Lagos, Nigeria.

o Debate exchanges between Chinua Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
http://abagond.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/ngugi-wa-thiongo-the-language-of-african-literature/

o BBC video interview with Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-23367692

o Do not put African writers in a box:
http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/The%20World%20Today/2013/OctNov/WT0513WaNgugi.pdf

o Bayo Ogunjimi and Abdul-Rasheed Na'Allah. 2005. Introduction to African Oral Literature and Performance. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press

o Bodomo, A. B.and Manolete Mora. 2007. Documenting spoken and sung texts of the Dagaaba of West Africa. Empirical Musicology Review, 2(3): 81-102. https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/28815/EMR000028a.pdf;jsessionid=45625CEB56E4269071A4D08E896419CD?sequence=37

o Bodomo, A. B. 2017. Parallel text: a theoretical and methodological strategy for promoting African language literature in the twenty first century. In: Translation: A Transdisciplinary Journal, Issue 6, September 2017, p. 36-52.

o Senayon Olaoluwa: “The Being That Animates All Things”: Cannibalization, Simulation, and the Animation of Oral Performance in Ngugi's Wizard of the Crow. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 55/4 , 2014, pp. 389-405.

Association in the course directory

SAL.KU

Last modified: Mo 05.10.2020 12:49