African 303: The Films and Novels of Ousmane Sembène

This course explores both the films and the novels of Ousmane Sembène, who is perhaps the most important artistic voice of postcolonial Africa. Widely viewed as the “grandfather” of African cinema, Ousmane Sembène actually began his career as a prolific writer, and he adapted several on his writings to the screen. Therefore, one of the main aims of this course is to uncover the relationship between written word and visual text: is there such a thing as a literary cinema and, can we also talk about a cinematic writing? The modules of the course will follow three themes that emerge in Sembène’s work: power, identity, and historical trauma.

Readings:

• The Black Docker (1956)
• God’s Bits of Wood (1960)
• Tribal Scars (1962, short-stories)
• The Money Order (1965)
• Xala (1973)

Films:

• Borom Sarret (1963)
• Black Girl (1966)
• The Money Order (1968)
• Xala (1975)
• Ceddo (1977)
• Guelwaar (1992)
• Faat Kiné (2000)
• Mooladé (2004