Course Description
Study of orality as a major form of literary and knowledge production in Africa. Also focuses on the institutional carriers of orality (storytellers). Readings in English translation. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of the material under discussion to the contemporary world.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students are expected to lead and coordinate the work
groups of undergraduate students; this means an active
participation in each class by elaborating on points mentioned
by undergraduate students; they will introduce the theoretical
and methodological discussion topics. They will familiarize
themselves with a specific African cultural/literary system, or
with a specific genre (epic, myth, etc.). A longer presentation
should document this level of familiarization.
Athena Title
Oral Literature in Africa
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
ENGL 1102
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The goal of this class is to convey to students the centrality of oral art as a form of literary and knowledge production in Africa, with special emphasis on the relevance of these cultural productions to the contemporary world. The relevance of oral communication led anthropologists to labeling African societies as "oral societies." The course will give a survey on word art in Africa as well as on criteria for generic discrimination and taxonomy. Besides introducing traditional genres such as proverbs, tricksters, myths, and legends, the course will also address the question of orality at our era of globalization. African societies, by being constantly referred to as societies of oral tradition,or "oral societies," are wrongly thought of as static and immutable. So-called popular culture (i.e., African modern songs/world music) uses old aesthetic principles to voice modern concerns with new artistic styles. A closer look at selected texts belonging in popular culture should help measure and appreciate the capacity of "oral societies" to accommodate permanent changes. Furthermore, popular genres in Africa help understand how and why the African perception and conception of literature is dynamic, changing not only in time, but also in space. This introductory course should finally contribute to a better understanding of Europhone African literature, a derivative of orality. It is to be expected that the course contributes to broadening the students' understanding of literature, a discipline dealing with verbal art, be it written or oral. Participants are required to come well prepared to class, because every meeting will centre on discussions based on the assigned reading or research topic.
Topical Outline
The course will cover the following domains: 1. General introduction to word art in Africa 2. Well-speaking and early socialization of children 3. Institutional distribution of word processing 4. How to discern genres in oral literature? 5. Oral performance and social setting 6. The main generic categories (trickster, myth, song, etc.) 7. Heroic texts 8. New forms of orality by content and genre (pop music, film, political statements, commercials, etc.) 9. Impact of orality on modern written literature 10. First steps in doing field research: The production of "edited" texts, translation will be discussed in detail, along with questions of fieldwork and ethics of research. Unlike written literature, the texts discussed in oral literature courses are always the result of editing. Therefore, an awareness for the responsibility of editors of oral texts is capital. All reading materials will be available in English.
Syllabus