African 300: Lusophone Literature in Translation

This course studies literature in translations, music, film, and contemporary art from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. We will read essays, novels, poetry, look at the dance group Fenomenos do Semba, watch recent films, listen to music (Mayra Andrade, Pongo, Azagaia, et al.) and look at contemporary art by Kiluanji Kia Henda and others. All of these countries fought liberation wars to win their independence from Portugal fifty years ago. That is relatively recently. What forms of popular culture and expressive practices are artists in these placing producing today? What books are people reading? What sort of cultural scenes do they have? What is nightlife like? And what is their relationship to the different languages spoken in their countries, from Shangaan, to Kriolu, to Umbundu?