African Literatures

Code:

MAF046

Acronym:

LA

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Cultural Studies

Instance: 2023/2024 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of History, Political and International Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in African Studies

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MAF	4	study plan	1	-	6	41	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The main goal of the curricular unit is to provide students with a global view of the diversity of literatures from Africa. To this end, a minimally representative set of texts, written in English or translated into this language, of various
genres (including oral literature) and of various linguistic, cultural and national spaces will be studied. The period of time covered will also be extended, including texts from the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial period. Some of the themes that mark African literatures, such as the colonial clash, the conflict between tradition and modernity, the African identities, the post-independence disillusion, and gender issues will be discussed.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the course, students should be able to formulate, supported in the literature, a personal discourse about the topics covered.

Working method

Presencial

Program

I. Introduction: Theoretical problems
II. The pre-colonial literature
1. The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories (Ghana)
2. Contos Populares de Angola, by Héli Chatelain (Angola)
III. The colonial literature
1. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa (1789) (Nigeria)
2. Leopold Sedar Senghor, Poemas (Senegal)
3. Chinua Achebe, Quando tudo se demorona (1958) (Nigeria)
4. Luandino Vieira, Luuanda (1964) (Angola)
IV. The postcolonial literature
1. Theater: Wole Soyinka, Death and the King’s Horseman (1975) (Nigeria)
2. Novel: Assia Djebar, Fantasia: an Algerian cavalcade (1985) (Algeria)
3. Poetry: Chris Mann, South Africans: A Set of Portrait-poems (1996) (RSA)

Mandatory literature

Killam, Douglas & Rowe, Ruth, ed.; The companion to African literatures, Oxford: James Currey, 2000
Manu, S. Y.; The four stories of Ananse, Accra: Afram Publications Ghana, 1998
Héli Chatelain; Contos populares de Angola
Equiano, Olaudah; The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or, Gustavus Vassa, the African written by himself, Edited by Angelo Costanzo. Peterborough, Ont, 2002
Senghor, Léopold Sédar; Poemas, Arcádia, 1977
Achebe, Chinua; Quando tudo se demorona, Mercado de Letras, 2008
Luandino Vieira; Luuanda. ISBN: 972-44-0443-9
Soyinka, Wole; Death and the King’s Horseman, Critical Edition by Simon Gikandi. New York: Norton & Company, 2002
Djebar, Assia; Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, Quartet Books, 1985
Mann, Chris; South Africans: A Set of Portrait-poems, University of Natal Press, 1996

Comments from the literature

The works of theoretical orientation and the more specific bibliography for each topic will be indicated in the course documents.
Minimum bibliography will be available in the same space, in pdf format.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Teaching will seek to foster individual inquiry, critical thinking and problem solving, and will try to prevent lectures from being just expositive. In this sense, students will be encouraged to have an active participation in the sessions,
either through the presentation and discussion of previously prepared small papers, or through the involvement in the
debate of theoretical-practical subjects and commentary on texts.
The evaluation will be continuous, taking into account the students' qualified intervention in the classes and an
individual research work on one of the program's issues.

keywords

Humanities > Literature

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Trabalho escrito	75,00
Participação presencial	25,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	72,00
Frequência das aulas	20,00
Trabalho de investigação	70,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

75% attendance with duly justified exceptions

Calculation formula of final grade

Research paper - 75%; work in class - 25%

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to the regulations.

Classification improvement

According to the Regulations.