Reading and Writing African Gender

In this course, we will examine ways that gender and literary genre figure in postcolonial African writing, and in its reception. We will closely read novels by four significant women authors: Mariama Bâ (Senegal), Zoe Wicomb (South Africa), Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe), and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria). We will also read short, lesser-known texts, such as Richard Rive's “Riva” and Binyavanga Wainaina's “The Missing Chapter,” that question boundaries of gender, genre, and sexuality.