Summer 2021
Online
July 12-August 8
Omotola Okunlola
3 credits
Fulfills Literature, Comm B, Elementary
This course will explore the ways that African women writers and critics (re)define and (re)present female subjectivities and identities in their writings. Focusing on questions of gender, sexuality, body, and resistance, the course will introduce students to the sociocultural processes that shape the experiences of African women and how these are addressed in African women’s writings. It will also explore how African feminists develop theoretical and conceptual frameworks that are grounded in the African worldview in a bid to advance the cause of African women. Some of the theories that we will examine include: Motherism, Stiwanism, Nego-feminism, Snail-paced feminism, and African Womanism. In addition to representative literary texts, we will also consider recent films from the continent. Possible readings/films are included below.
Primary Texts
Mariama Bâ. So Long a Letter. Portsmouth (NH): Heinemann, 1981. (Novella)
Noviolet Bulawayo. We Need New Names. New York: Reagan Arthur Books, 2013. (Novel)
Ama Ata Aidoo. Anowa. Accra: Longman, 1970. (Drama)
Lola Shoneyin. So All This While I Was Sitting On An Egg. Ibadan: Ovalonion House, 1998. (Poetry)
Films
Atlantics. Dir. Mati Diop.
Pumzi. Dir. Wanuri Kahiu.