Engl. 555/755
African Literatures
Spring Semester 2008
MWF 12:00-12:50, Grubbs 312
Instructor: Dr. K. Nichols
Research Resources
African Writers
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Nigeria)
- Nigeria --information about the country of Nigeria.
- Definition of Postcolonial Studies --short definition from The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
- Things Fall Apart Study Guide --excellent study questions; also includes copy of Yeats' poem "The Second Coming" (source of Achebe's title).
- Study Guide: Reading & Study Questions --detailed reading and study questions; includes copy of Yeats' poem "The Second Coming" (source of Achebe's title).
- Teacher's Guide --helpful background and study questions; includes short summaries of Achebe's sequels to this novel.
- Literature Guide --especially helpful sections comparing pre-colonial and colonial historical conditions.
- Reading As A Woman: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart And Feminist Criticism --scholarly article.
- Women in Achebe's World --scholarly article.
- Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Casebook --book review; raises several interesting questions about the novel.
- The Plight of a Hero in Achebe's Things Fall Apart --scholarly article.
- Principle and Practice: The Logic of Cultural Violence in Achebe's Things Fall Apart --scholarly article.
Ama Ata Aidoo, No Sweetness Here and Other Stories (Ghana)
- Ghana --information about the country of Ghana.
- Ama Ata Aidoo: Biographical Introduction --short biography.
- Ama Ata Aidoo: Independence and Disillusionment in Postcolonial Ghana and No Sweetness Here: Implicating Gender Oppression Across a Division of Labor and No Sweetness Here: Colonizing Women and No Sweetness Here: Disillusionment and Independence --helpful excerpts from a student honors project.
- The Discourse of Sweetness in Ama Ata Aidoo's No Sweetness Here --scholarly article.
Mariama Bâ, So Long a Letter (Senegal)
- Motherhood as Seen in Two Works of African Literature --scholarly article on Bâ and Emecheta.
- Journey through the Letter: Mariama Bâ's So Long a Letter --scholarly paper.
Senegalese Poetry (Senegal)
- Léopold (Sédar) Senghor (1906-2001) --biography; concept of Négritude; short selections from his poetry.
- The Poet of Negritude-First Word --short scholarly article on Senghor.
- LEOPOLD SEDAR SENGHOR--An African Whitman --scholarly article.
- David Diop (1927-1960) --biography; concept of Négritude; short selections from his poetry.
- Birago Diop (1906-1989) --biography; concept of Négritude.
- Annette M'Baye d'Erneville --short biography; brief commentary on her poems.
Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel (Nigeria)
- Nigeria --information about the country of Nigeria.
- Wole Soyinka Study Guide --excellent study questions.
- Wole Soyinka on Yoruba Religion --interesting interview.
- Yoruba mythology --short summary of major Yoruban gods (orishas).
- Postscript: Sidi's Image: Theater and the Frame of Culture--scholarly article.
Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Mali)
- Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali --study guide.
- The Real Lion King of Africa: The Epic History of Sundiata, King of Old Mali --comparison of the epic of Sundiata with Disney's The Lion King.
- Mali: Ancient Crossroads of Africa --brief history and geography of Mali.
Afro-Caribbean Writers
Michelle Cliff, No Telephone to Heaven (Jamaica)
- No Telephone to Heaven --good discussion of Cliff's novel.
- Clare Savage as a Crossroads Character --Michelle Cliff commenting on the heroine of her novels.
- In Others' Words: Michelle Cliff's Epigraphical Black Atlantic Structure --excellent undergraduate student essay on No Telephone to Heaven.
- Re-negotiating Racial Identity: The Challenge of Migration and Return in Michelle Cliff's No Telephone to Heaven --scholarly article.
- The Island and the Creation of (Hi)Story in the Writings of Michelle Cliff and Jamaica Kincaid--scholarly article.
Edwidge Danticat (Haiti)
- Oral narrative as short story cycle: Forging Community in Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak! --scholarly article; covers "Nineteen Thirty-Seven."
- Krik? Krak! Tales of a Nightmare --summary of historical background to the events in Haiti in 1937.
- Défilée's Diasporic Daughters: Revolutionary Narratives of Ayiti (Haiti), Nanchon (Nation), and Dyaspora (Diaspora) in Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak! --scholarly article.
- Re-writing the Male Text: Mapping Cultural Spaces in Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak! and Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place--scholarly article.
Popular Culture: Reggae, Calypso, Carnival
- International Reggae, Democratic Socialism, and the Secularization of the Rastafarian Movement, 1972-1980 --scholarly article; includes discussion of Bob Marley.
- Rastafari and Reggae Links --many links.
- Carnival and Calypso Links --many links.
- Lord Kitchener --biography of the famous calypsonian.
- Trinidad Carnival: The Storm before the Calm --good newspaper description of contemporary and historical carnivals in Trinidad.
- Carnival Cannibalized or Cannibal Carnivalized?: Contextualizing the "Cannibal Joke" in Calypso and Literature--scholarly essay on Mighty Sparrow's hit calypso.
Sugar Cane Alley (Martinique)
- Sugar Cane Alley --movie review.
- Sugar Cane Alley: Re-reading Race, Class and Identity in Zobel's La rue cases negres --scholarly article.
Derek Walcott (St. Lucia)
- Derek Walcott, 1992 Nobel Literature Laureate --biography.
Women Caribbean Poets
- Lorna Goodison --biography and critical commentary on her poetry.
- Olive Senior --biography and critical commentary on her poetry.
- 'Colonial Girls' at School by Olive Senior: An Appreciation --Olive Senior poem "Colonial Girls at School" with some commentary.
- Gardening in the Diaspora: Place and Identity in Olive Senior's Poetry --long excerpt from scholarly article.
- Home Is Where the Heart Lies: Nostalgia in the Works of Contemporary Diasporic Caribbean Women Poets --scholarly article on Olive Senior, Lorna Goodison, and others.
- Caribbean Women Writers: Continuities in Postcolonial Poetics --scholarly article on Lorna Goodison, Grace Nichols, and others.
Afro-American Writers
Lorraine Hansberry
- Lorraine Hansberry Links --many links.
Harlem Renaissance Writers
- Langston Hughes links --many links to study aids and scholarly articles.
- Claude McKay links --many links to study aids and scholarly articles.
- Jean Toomer links --many links to study aids and scholarly articles.
- Other Harlem Renaissance Writers links --many links to study aids and scholarly articles.
- Harlem Renaissance Culture links --many links to study aids and scholarly articles.
Charles Johnson
- Charles Johnson Links --many links.
Suzann-Lori Parks
- Suzann-Lori Parks Links --many links.
