ABSTRACT

This volume reflects one of the new areas of English Studies as it broadens to take in non-western literatures, and places more emphasis on the contexts and broader notions of `writing'. In discussing writing from and about Africa, this collection touches on studies in black writing, colonialism and imperialism and cultural development in the third world. It begins by providing a historical introduction to the main regional traditions, and then builds on this to discuss major issues, such as oral tradition, the significance of `literature' as a western import, representations of Africa in western writing, African writing against colonialism and its themes and politics in a post-colonial world, popular writing and the representation of women.

chapter |9 pages

Introduction

part I|55 pages

Writing and History: A Survey

chapter 1|18 pages

North African Writing

chapter 2|15 pages

West African Writing

part II|197 pages

Issues and Problems

chapter 9|15 pages

Oral tradition as history

chapter 10|19 pages

Popular writing in Africa

chapter 11|23 pages

African writing and gender

part III|22 pages

Selected Documents