230140 African English Fiction (S) (WiSe 2016/2017)

The West African countries Ghana (1957) and Nigeria (1960) were among the first African states to gain political independence with others soon following suit. In this politico-cultural context a new species of African fiction emerged which served as an imaginary reclamation of the pre-colonial and colonial past as well as a critical reflection of the post-colonial present.
The class will focus on all three historical periods with one example from Nigeria highlighting the multi-levelled fabric of a pre-colonial society (Achebe, Things Fall Apart), another one from Zimbabwe tracing the growth of a teenage girl in a colonial environment (Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions) and two 21st century varieties of an increasingly globalized African literature both at home (Abani, Graceland) and in a contemporary evironment of migration between Nigeria and the U.S. (Adichie, Americanah).

Literaturangaben

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. London (Heinemann) 1957
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions. London (The Women´s Press) 1988
Chris Abani, Graceland. New York (Picador) 2004
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah. New York (Anchor Books) 2013