Module Information

Africa is a huge continent, embracing a vast array of cultures. Consequently, this module can only act as an introduction to the different regions and to sample the variety of writing. The module will engage African literature in the postcolonial era, focusing upon texts from male and female writers, novelists and poets, from East, West and Southern Africa. It will consider general theories of postcolonialism, and those theories that are more focused upon regions, or thematic concerns such as language, gender, imprisonment and politics. The module will cover writers from Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa, considering the immediate aftermath of independence in many countries, the “peculiar institution” of apartheid, and contemporary concerns such as immigration, AIDS and the drug culture. The module will offer opportunities for students to range beyond the set texts in their literary engagement and research.