239887 West-African Anglophone Fiction (S) (SoSe 2013)

Ghana was the first African state to gain political independence in 1957 with Nigeria (and others) soon following suit. In this political context a new species of African fiction emerged which functioned as both an imaginary reclamation of the pre-colonial past and a critical reflection of the colonial and post-colonial present.
The class will focus on two historically crucial periods: the immediate beginnings of the new fiction in the 1950s and 1960s with an example from Nigeria (Chinua Achebe, "Things Fall Apart") and one from Ghana (Ayi Kwei Armah, "The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born") and two contemporary varieties of an increasingly globalized African fiction with an example from 21st century Nigeria (Chris Abani, "Graceland") and a novel featuring the experiences of an eleven-year-old Ghanean immigrant to the UK (Stephen Kelman, "Pigeon English").

This class is designed to complement the course "Language Contact in West Africa" by Prof. Dr. Anne Schröder (Friday 10 - 12).

Literaturangaben

Chinua Achebe, "Things Fall Apart": London (Heinemann) 1957
Ayi Kwei Armah, "The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born": London (Heinemann) 1968
Chris Abani, "Graceland": New York (Picador) 2004
Stephen Kelman, "Pigeon English": London (Bloomsbury) 2011