Listed in: First Year Seminar, as FYSE-132
Monika Brodnicka (Section 01)
Framed by realities such as colonialism and liberation, diverging religious traditions, and cultural differences, Francophone African literature expresses people’s character and engagement in times of adversity and harmony. It recounts stories of survival and death, of adaptation and rigidity, of rebirth and loss of self, almost in the same breath. Yet, in this multiplicity, there is an implicit question uniting the threads of these stories: What does it mean to be authentically African and why is this meaning so important? Throughout the semester we will try to decipher the various themes presented in the readings and answer the underlying question regarding African identity and its ties to spirituality, through the prisms of magic and realism. We will be using different literary genres, from a tale of initiation, a novel, a biography, to an autobiography, to accomplish this task.
Fall semester: Professor Brodnicka.
How to handle overenrollment: Dean will handle this.
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: An emphasis on reading, oral presentations, and group work through both written and project-based assignments.
Course Materials