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Contemporary African Literature
Syllabus
by
Dr. Oguine
Spring 2007
Class Meetings: T & TH: 10:00-11:15AM in Room JH 212
Office Hours: T & TH: 9:00-9:45AM
Office: Arts and Sciences Hall Room 214
E-mail: oguinepr@shu.edu Website: pirate.shu.edu/~oguinepr
Course Objectives:
Contemporary African Literature will help students to develop a greater appreciation of
cultural, thematic, and aesthetic representations in African Literature, starting from a
quick revision of the classic, but concentrating mostly on the contemporary texts from
different countries. Students will also improve their critical thinking skills by engaging
in concrete observations, interpreting facts and fiction, evaluating details, and using
meaningful connections in comparative and contrasting analysis of the texts. There will
be a quick survey of popular critical approaches such as formalist, deconstructionist,
archetypal, historical, biographical, psychoanalytical, and feminist criticisms to identify
Euro-American influences on Contemporary African Literature. One of the main
objectives of this course, therefore, is to equip students who have a flair for literature
with skills to enable them make accurate judgments of both style and meaning in three
genres of African literature – fiction, drama, and poetry. In addition, this course will
guide students in exploring various artistic devices in character development such as
shifting points of view, sarcastic humor, irony, and stream of consciousness; and in plot
development such as suspense, foreshadowing, symbolism, and extended metaphor – all
characteristics of contemporary African literary texts. Finally, this course will also
provide students exciting and challenging learning experiences they can easily apply to
their own speech and creative writing, even after graduating from the university.
Required Texts:
Fiction – West Africa:
Nigeria – Chinua Achebe :
Anthills of the Savannah (1987) portrays modern, independent, post-colonial, urban
Africa. It presents the general social, political, and personal struggles among
Africans, and shows the continuing British and Western economic and cultural
influences.
As an introduction to the course, a brief summary of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
provides, among other features, the historical and cultural basis for studying African
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literature. In addition to illustrating the traditional collective will to die rather than be
subjected to humiliation and dehumanization, it confirms Achebe’s claim that English
language can be tamed to accommodate African world view and the nuances of various
African languages. Okonkwo, the protagonist’s suicide marks the defeat and colonization
of the natives, and the beginning of the struggles for independence in his subsequent
novels. Anthills of the Savannah is, therefore, the climax of mismanagement of
government affairs by the same African leaders that have replaced the colonial masters,
social and economic corruptions among the army officers and the civilian leaders, and a
total collapse of the entire system, leaving a woman, Beatrice, to pick up the pieces of all
the things that have fallen apart.
Ghana – Yaw O. Agyeman: A Big Elephant Has been Killed (2003) presents stories of
ordinary friendships, love affairs, and sexual relationships with the setting in Ghana, and
discussions on poverty, underdevelopment, religious identity, social revolution, and
Africa’s relationship with the West.
Focus:
Students will focus on cultural and historical changes between Things Fall Apart and
Anthills of the Savannah, the gender characterizations in the two texts with the powerful
male figure, Okonkwo, in Things Fall Apart, the dynamic female figure, Beatrice, in
Anthills of the Savannah, and the transliterations of Igbo expressions and proverbs into
English language. Students will be encouraged to discover other elements of fiction, and
the differences and similarities between Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah and
Agyeman’s A Big Elephant Has Been Killed in terms of setting, language and theme.
Fiction – East Africa:
Kenya – Koigi wa Wamwere: I Refuse to Die; my Journey for Freedom (2003) is an
uncensored account of Kenya’s blood-stained past, and how one man withstood the
horrors of colonialism and the corruption of the post independence Kenyan leaders.
Following the publication of this autobiography in October, 2002, wa Wamwere won the
reelection to the Kenyan Parliament, and returned to his homeland, after previously
spending thirteen years in prison.
Focus:
As an introduction, students should focus on a brief commentary on Ngugi’s Devil on the
Cross first written in his native language, Gikuyu, and translated into English by the
author, who claims that writing in English is a sign of intellectual colonization; but when
he sees the limited audience, he translates it into a language that has a wider audience.
Students can explore the differences between Achebe’s and Nguigi’s choices of
languages. The cultural, social, and political similarities and differences between West
and East Africa, represented in their novels, will form interesting and engaging
background for the study of wa Wamwere’s autobiography. His strong determination not
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to stop at exposing the corruption, but to be a part of the government in a position to help
clean it up is highly a mark of an African hero. Students can begin to relate these
experiences to real life situations in America.
Fiction - Southern African:
Zimbabwe – Yvonne Vera: The Stone Virgins (2002) portrays the sister and the aunt as
the women who have the power to give a voice to the next generation, at the background
of the reign of terror in Matabeleland.
Focus:
Students should focus on Vera’s symbolism and descriptions which evoke the experience
of intense and delicate sensations, and the juxtaposition of balance and natural beauty,
violence and peace, suffering and endurance, sadness and joy, real and unreal, and life
and death. What type of feminism is Vera advocating in The Stone Virgins?
Short Stories:
West Africa:
Senegal - Mariama Ba: So Long a Letter (1980) translated from French: In letting one
woman eloquently tell the anguish of her heartbreak in a Muslim society, Ba suggests
that all women have important stories to tell so that their plight should be given a voice.
North Africa:
Egypt – Ashley Markar: Egyptian Poetry and Stories (2003) depicts a Christian
woman’s voice in predominantly Arab society in contrast to Ba’s voice, especially in
family members’ relationships and the funeral rituals in “Mina’s Funeral” (2001).
Focus:
Students will focus on sharp contrasts and similarities between Ba’s manipulation of
gender roles in the context of muslim society as a victim, a religious feminist, by showing
sympathy and forgiveness to her adversaries; and Marker’s portrayal of sarcastic
humorous, complementary gender roles, and reverence to religion. Both of them have
references to American influences in their characterization and in resolving conflicts.
Students will be encouraged to explore psychoanalytical traces in Ba’s story that are
indicators of her real life problems that must have led to her suicide. They should
examine some nuances of French language in Ba’s story, and intrusions of Arabic
language in Markar’s stories.
Drama:
South Africa – Fugard et al :“Sizwe Bansi Is Dead” – is a social parody on Ford Motor
Company in South Africa about the racial tensions between the “masters” and the “boys.”
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Focus:
Students should engage in the controversies over what qualifies as African literature –
must it be written by an African, must it deal with African experience, and must the
writer speak one or more African languages? South African experience is partly the
opposite of American situation and partly similar to it. Let students examine these
similarities and differences.
North Africa –
Algeria – Kateb Yacine: “Intelligence Powder” – explores the connections between
Algerian traditional plays, hence the use of choruses, and written plays for intellectual
analysis. Kateb and Ngugi are advocates of writing for masses and engaging the
audience in their own African languages as a sign of patriotism; and a protest against the
language and theatrical conventions of the colonial masters.
Poetry – Selected Poems from Different parts of Africa: To be complied and posted
on BB Course Documents .
Focus:
Students will focus on Soyinka as a prolific writer, a playwright, a novelist, and a poet
through biographical approach to literary criticism. Because Soyinka and Achebe develop
their creative artistry from traditional oral literature of two different Nigerian languages –
Yoruba and Igbo – they believe literature must be didactic, and not “Art for art’s sake.”
Students should appreciate the sarcastic humor, the intense dramatic and emotional
effects, and the realistic portrayal of real life situations in the above plays as warnings to
African corrupt and oppressive leaders – the type of leaders in Achebe’s Anthills of the
Savannah, wa Wamwere’s I Refuse to Die: My Journey to Freedom, and Vera’s The
Stone Virgins.
Focus:
Students will focus on the universality of thematic concerns and poetic techniques in
diction and free verse in Soyinka’s “Death in the Dawn,” & “Hamlet” (Nigeria),
Ouologuem Yambo’s “When Black Men’s Teeth Speak Out” (Mali), Sipho Sepamla’s
“To Whom It May Concern” (South Africa), Leopold Senghor’s “The Black Woman,” &
“I Am Alone” (Senegal), Breyton Breytenback’s “The Black City” (South Africa),
Bernard Binlin Dadie’s “I Give You Thanks My God” (Ivory Coast), Kofi Awoonor’s
“Night of My Blood” (Ghana), and Jeremy Cronin’s “A Person Is a Person Because of
Other People” (South Africa). Do the poems portray similar or different issues from
those of the plays, novels, and short stories? What defines them as African poems?
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Policies: Excused absences are only those documented and excused by either the
Athletic Department or the Dean for Community Development, Dawn Williams.
Doctor’s notes and so forth are not proof of an excused absence. If you have a significant
medical or family problem that you suspect will occasion more than four absences, speak
with your mentor and/or someone in Dean Williams’ office (x9076) to obtain assistance
and excuses for these classes. I do not have the authority to excuse you. Only these
two offices have that power. Not attending peer review days (see below), even if you
send a hard copy of your paper in your absence, means not completing part of the paper
assignment. In short, attendance on these days carries a double impact on your grade.
Lateness will be acknowledged and factored into your final grade – two times will
amount to one absence which will affect your attendance grade. Therefore attendance
will be taken within the first five minutes of the start of class. Anyone coming after it
will sign a late attendance sheet. I will take lateness as a sign that you are not committed
to this course or to the community that this class represents. If you are late on the day a
paper either draft or final copy is due, your paper will be counted as late, as well. Your
work should be printed out the night before it is due.
Cellphones must be turned off prior to the start of class. Each time your phone goes off
in class will negatively affect your Attendance and Participation grade.
Attendance with Participation is also crucial to course success. FOUR unexcused
absences may result in failure according to English Department’s policy.
Participation means contributing to discussion, whether on the electronic discussion
boards, in class, or in small groups during class. The essence of participation is
preparedness and courage. Do the work due on the date and offer us your ideas, and you
will go far in your evolution as a critical reader, writer, and thinker. Not to participate is
to miss a substantial aspect of this course, to forgo a significant opportunity to improve
your skills at the same time that your classmates are seizing that opportunity. You are
not alone in having questions, opposing viewpoints, observations, or objections raised by
the reading and by discussion, so we want to share your views.
Safe Space: Our classroom is a safe space, which means that everyone is obliged to listen
and respond respectfully to everyone in the class. You do not have to agree with
everything you hear, but we are all expected to direct disagreement as well as agreement
to the ideas and not the person addressing them. That applies to comments written on
papers as well as spoken in class.
Blackboard: We will be using our blackboard site extensively throughout the semester.
Course syllabus, all course assignments, sample essays, and sample power point
presentations will be listed under Assignments. We will be using the Discussion Boards
for discussions both in and out of class; and presentation in electronic discussion counts
towards your Attendance with Participation grade. Writing assignments will also
emphasize sound principles of English. To this end, students will be taught how to use
the steps of the writing process—prewriting, thesis-based outlining, drafting, peerreviewing and revising – to develop their ideas. To prepare students for college-level
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interpretation and literary criticism, they are required to use their reading texts as the
basis for their literature assignments.
All written assignments are to be composed on the computer using 12-pt. font, justified
on the left using standard margins (at top, bottom, and left and right sides), and doublespaced. Your name, my name, the course number, the type of paper, and the date that it
is due should appear double-spaced in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. All
assignments must have a title of your own creation based on the operative words in each
essay question, and MLA pagination with your last name and the page number at the top
of the right-hand corner of each page. I will not accept any multiple-page assignment
that is not stapled. Mechanical errors weaken the effectiveness of your argument and
therefore lower your grade, so proofread carefully. I will not accept electronic forms of
your written work unless it is a BB Discussion Board, or a Digital Drop Box
assignment. Hard copy only, so I can write enough comments to enable you
improve on your rewrites.
Late Assignments and Presentations: Late assignments will be penalized by one grade.
A late paper can therefore drop from a B to a C. Papers that are not handed in because of
an excused absence (see Attendance with Participation) may be handed in at the start
of the next calendar day without penalty. If you are going to be absent, excused or
otherwise, you can still get credit for the work due by sending it through a classmate to
the class for which it is due.
Plagiarism: English Department Plagiarism Policy document will be distributed and
explained to students on the first day of class.
Evaluation Criteria:
Strong emphasis will be on originality and creativity with credible interpretations and
connections between style and meaning. Credit will also be given to students who can
apply the elements of stylistics studied in this course to their own writing and oral
presentations. Incorporating how historical encounters between Europe and Africa have
affected African contemporary literature in students’ arguments will be highly rewarded,
because it is a central factor in defining African literature.
Grade Percentages:
Fiction paper 30%
Drama paper 15%
Poetry paper 10%
Research project 25%
Presentation & Attendance 20%
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Weekly Schedule
Week 1: Tuesday – Jan. 9: Introduction of course, syllabus, and required texts.
Homework: Study the handouts on Map of Africa, African cosmology and
African world view posted on Blackboard Course Documents for next class
discussions.
Thursday – Jan. 11: Class discussions on the homework topics.
Homework: Study the handouts on Critical Approaches to Literary Criticisms,
a brief summary of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and the language
debate.
Week 2: Tuesday – Jan. 16: Lecture followed by discussions of homework topics,
relating them to introduction of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah.
Homework: Read chapters 1-6 of Anthills of the Savannah and complete the BB
brief summaries with major points left out of the summaries.
Thursday – Jan. 18: Individual presentation of the major points, defending the
choices and relating them to African world view, historical experiences, and
literary approaches to the study of African Contemporary Literature.
Homework: Read chapters 7-12 of Anthills of the Savannah and complete the BB
brief summaries with what you consider as major issues that have been left out.
Week 3: Tuesday – Jan. 23: Group presentations of homework topics, focusing on
characterization, colonization, and corruptions.
Homework: Study the remaining chapters 13-18 of Anthills of the Savannah and
complete the BB brief summaries with any major issues left out.
Thursday – Jan. 25: Lecture on overview of Anthills of the Savannah, relating it
to African cosmology, world view, contemporary universal issues, Western,
influences on the novel, and elements of fiction. Refer to BB handout.
Homework: Study Yaw O. Agyeman’s A Big Elephant Has Been Killed, focusing
on social issues, underdevelopment, religious issues and Africa’s relationship with
the West with the setting in Ghana.
Week 4: Tuesday – Jan. 30: Lecture on homework study topics.
Homework: Complete the reading of Agyeman’s novel.
Thursday – Feb. 1: Individual presentation on elements of fiction, and similarities
and differences between Achebes’s Anthills of the Savannah and Agyeman’s A Big
Elephant Has Been Killed in terms of setting, language and theme.
Homework: Read the individually assigned chapters of Koigi wa Wamwere’s I
Refuse to Die.
Week 5: Tuesday – Feb. 6: Graded individual presentation of chapters of I Refuse to Die
assigned as homework, focusing on biographical and psychoanalytical
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approaches to literary criticism.
Thursday – Feb. 8: Group work: Students should examine similarities and
differences between Agyeman’s and Koigi’s novels and relate them to
contemporary issues in America.
Homework: Continue to read chapters of Koigi wa Wamwere’s I Refuse to Die.
Week 6: Tuesday – Feb. 13: Lecture on Wamwere’s novel with a brief summary of
Ngugi wa Thiongo’s views on writing in native language instead of English.
Homework: Complete the reading of Wamwere’s novel.
Thursday – Feb. 15: Class video show on the setting of African Fiction texts.
Homework: Explore African Feminism in Yvonne Vera’s The Stone Virgins,
Mariama Ba’s, So Long a Letter, and Ashley Markar’s “Mina’s Funeral.”
Week 7: Tuesday – Feb. 20: Lecture on homework topics, connecting them to African
Fiction essay topic one, focusing on MLA thesis-based documentation style.
Homework: Choose ONE of the TWO fiction essay topics and draft a thesisbased MLA essay of 6-8 pages. Post your draft on BB Digital Dropbox before
6:00PM on Friday, Feb. 23, 2007.
Thursday: Feb. 22: Further discussion on fiction essay, both in class and as
homework.
Week 8: Tuesday – Feb. 27: Peer review for students unable to post their drafts in
Digital Dropbox.
Homework: Revise the returned Digital Dropbox draft into a final fiction essay.
Thursday – Mar. 1: Fiction Essay with its draft due in class. Class video show of
the setting of African Drama.
Homework: Spring Recess Assignment - Complete the reading of Fugard et al’s
“Sizwe Bansi Is Dead” and Kateb’s “Intelligence Powder” from Modern African
Drama.
March 5-10 – Monday-Friday: Spring Recess – No Classes.
Week 9: Tuesday – Mar. 13: Class video show of the play, “Sizwe Bansi Is Dead.”
Drama essay topic.
Homework: Start drafting the drama essay, comparing and contrasting the two
plays, focusing on the cultural, linguistic, and dramatic elements in them. Which
play is more effective and relevant to you?
Thursday – Mar. 15: Group work on drama essay draft.
Homework: Post your drama essay draft of 6-8 pages in Digital Dropbox before
Saturday, March 17, 12: noon.
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Week 10: Tuesday – Mar. 20: Peer review for students unable to post their drafts in
Digital Dropbox.
Homework: Revise the returned Digital Dropbox drama draft into a final copy.
Thursday – Mar. 22: Drama Essay with its draft due in class. Introduction of
African poetry as a product of oral literature in form and functions. Discussions
on elements of poetry and poetic techniques with examples from selected poems
posted on BB.
Homework: Study the poems and select any three that appeal to you most for
class presentation next class. Focus on poetry discussions on universality of
thematic concerns, poetic techniques in diction, and figures of speech.
More poetry readings and drafting of poetry essay.
Week 11: Tuesday – Mar. 27: In-class graded poetry essay presentation.
Homework: BB Discussion forum for posting and peer review of
poetry essay introduction, using the rubric posted on discussion forum.
Complete the poetry essay.
Thursday – Mar. 29: Poetry Essay, 6-8 pages, with its BB peer review due in class.
Week 12: Tuesday – April 3: Discussion on research project and methodology.
Students select their research topics from the class list of topics.
Homework: Students start to collect documents and data for research.
April 5-7: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, University closed.
Week 13: Tuesday – April 10 & Thursday April 12: In-class graded presentation of
research draft so far.
Homework: Research draft in progress.
Week 14: Tuesday – April 17: Peer review of completed research draft, 8-10 pages,
hard copy in class.
Homework: Revise the research draft into a final research paper.
Thursday – April 20: Final Research Paper with its peer review due in
class.
Week 15: Tuesday – April 24: All rewrites of previous essays for higher grades due
in class (optional). Discussions on returned research paper.
Thursday – April 26: Returned rewrites and conferencing. The last day of
classes.