West African Literatures and Cultures in French
FREN 302
Fall 2024
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
RL&L 302 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: African Studies, African Studies Minor |
This course explores major texts in modern and contemporary Francophone African literature by delving into four major themes that traverse the recent cultural, literary, and political history of Francophone West Africa.
The course starts by investigating the relationships between orality and literature through the lens of often-intersecting debates around tradition and modernity; the focus will then shift to articulations of nation, liberation, and the promises of independence, war, and memory, and finally the ruptures and continuities of the post-colonial, neoliberal present.
By spending significant time with primary sources that span over a century of literary and cultural production from and about Francophone Africa, students will have a deep understanding of the urgencies animating writers wrestling with the weight of the colonial past, the violence of decolonization, the brightness of independence, and the uncertainty of the present. A thorough engagement with some of the most important authors of the last 60 years (e.g. C. H. Kane, B. Diop, Y. Ouloguem, M. Condé, among others) will allow us to deep-dive into the possibilities of literary expression, as well as questions of belonging, nation, and evolving ideas of "Africa." |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AFST-MN)(FRST-MN)(FRST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
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