Unit name | Introduction to Francophone African Literature |
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Unit code | FREN20043 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Ruth Bush |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of French |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The course will introduce students to major francophone African writers of the past eighty years. Students will study a selection of literary texts, from negritude poetry of the 1930s, to novels responding to decolonization and its aftermath, and the recent flourishing of what has been termed "Afropolitan" or "Afropean" writing in French.
Students will consider literary responses to the complex legacies of colonialism and the ongoing effects of globalization in sub-Saharan Africa. They will develop and question their ability to engage with diverse fictional representations of an often mis-represented continent. Areas of enquiry will include: the relationship between oral and written narratives, literature's role in political activism, the decolonization of the French language.
Aims:
Successful students will:
1. Be able demonstrate knowledge of the complex relationship between literary texts and political/historical contexts in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Be able to use and think critically about key terms such as authenticity, colonization, decolonization, nation, postcolonial.
3. Be able to demonstrate a good understanding of different critical approaches to reading African literature and the theoretical debates surrounding these approaches.
4. Be able to evaluate and analyse relevant material from a significant body of primary and secondary source materials at a high level.
5. Be able to respond to questions or problems by presenting their independent judgements in an appropriate style and at a high level of complexity.
Teaching will be via seminars, which will include short lectures, student presentations and class discussion.
2 x 2000 Word Essays 50%/50% testing ILOs 1-5