African Literature and Human Rights
Professor Emilie Diouf
ENG 172B-1 M, W&Th
12:00-12:50, Rabb 119
Office hours: Rabb 230
Thursday 1-3pm and by appointment
Office Phone: 781 736 2161
Email:
Course Description:
Human Rights has long been central to American and European thinking about Africa, from past debate on the ethics of the Atlantic slave trade and the inequities of colonization to present questions about the rights and status of African emigrants. This course focuses on Anglophone and Francophone African literature—novels, plays, poems and films—in order to explore the question of human rights in the context of colonization, postcolonialism, and global rights movements. The course takes stock of the recent surge of interest in the relation between literature and human rights and gives students the opportunity to consider if and how literature raises awareness of human rights and thus contributes to the alleviation of human suffering. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this course combines literary and theoretical texts to equip students with concepts and knowledge potentially useful in practical work in humanitarian assistance programs, development programs, or disasters. The course begins by exploring how African literary texts represent African humanness, beginning with the first generation of African writers like Chinua Achebe and Leopold Sédar Senghor. It then traces Africa’s place in the rise of a global human rights movement in the late 20th century, focusing on excision, apartheid, genocide, and transitional justice; authors include Antje Krog and Boubacar Boris Diop. The course ends with a focus on contemporary writers of the African Diaspora who examine the relationship between Human Rights and natural disasters: e.g. Niyi Onsundare’s poetic testimony on Hurricane Katrina.
Learning Goals:
At the end of this course students will be able to
· demonstrate an ability to evaluate different perspectives on Human Rights in African cultural production;
· identify the techniques African writers use to articulate humanness;
· articulate the relation between literature and ethics;
· critically understand key concepts and debates pertaining to the role of literature in moving readers to engage issues of justice and equality;
· research independently and present interpretations of a variety of human rights issues specific to the African continent and its diaspora;
· gain an increased understanding of and respect different cultural traditions.
Required Texts:
Achebe, Chinua.There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra. New York: Penguin Press, 2012.
Diop, Boubacar Boris, and Laughlin F. Mc.Murambi: The Book of Bones. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006.
Krog, Antjie.Country of My Skull. Johannesburg: Random House, 1998.
Films:
Haile, Gerima, Teza. Nigod-Gwad Productions, 2008.
Sembene Oumane. Molaade. Senegal, Film Doomireew.
Joseph Gaï Ramaka, Karmen Geï. France and Senegal, Arte France Cinéma, Canal+Horizons, 2001
Sissako, Abderrahmane. Bamako. Mali: Chintguity Films, Mali Images, 2006. 115min.
Additional Reading Materials will be posted on LATTE
AM Ibrahim “LGBT rights in Africa and the discursive role of international human rights law” African Human Rights Law Journal (2015) 15, p.263-281
Achebe, Chinua. “Africa and her writers.”The Massachusetts Review, vol. 14, no. 3, 1973, pp. 617–629.
Beckers, Elizabeth. “Feminist and Human Rights Discourses on Female Genital Excision.” In Rising Anthills: African and African American Women Writing on Female Excision 1960-2000. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2010.
Burke, Roland. “The Politics of Decolonization and the Evolution of International Human Rights.” In Decolonization and the Evolution of International Human Rights. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010.
Chanock, Martin. “Human Rights and Cultural Branding: Who Speaks and How.” InCultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa. Ed. Abdullahi A. An-Na'im. London: Zed Books, 2002. Print.
Fanon, Frantz. “On Violence,” in The Wretched of the Earth. Paris, 1961.
Leary, Virginia. “The effects of Western Perspectives on International Human Rights.” InCultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa. Ed. Abdullahi A. An-Na'im. London: Zed Books, 2002.
Maathai, Wangari. “Konyeki Na Ithe, or Konyeki and His Father,” in Unbowed: A Memoir. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2006.
Mbembe, Achille. “Necropolitics.” Public Culture, 15 (1) 2003: 11-40.
Murray, Rachel. “Historical Overview: Human Rights in the OAU/AU,” in Human Rights in Africa: From the OAU to the African Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Na'im, Abdullahi. A.A and Jeffrey Hammond. “Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in African Societies,” inCultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa. Ed. Abdullahi A. An-Na'im. London: Zed Books, 2002.
Ngūgì. wa Thiong’o, “Europhone or African Memory: the challenge of the pan-African intellectual in the era of globalization,” in Thandika Mkandawire, African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, Dakar and London: CODESRIA Books and Zed Books, 2005, pp.155-164.
Ngūgì, wa Thiong’o, and Micere G. Mugo.The Trial of Dedan Kimathi. Heinemann Educational Books, 1976.
Ojaide, Tanure. “Deploying Modern African Literature: Toward the Environment and Human Rights.” In Contemporary African Literature: New Approaches. Tanure Ojaide. Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2012.
Osundare. Niyi. Excerpts from City Without People: The Katrina Poems. Boston: MA: Black Widow Press, 2011.
Senghor, Leopold Sédar. “Ethiopia: At the Call of the Race Sheba.” In Leopold Sédar Senghor: The Collected Poetry, edited and translated by Melvin Dixon, 41-45. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991.
Web based Human Rights resources:
Human Rights Studies Online, https://search-alexanderstreet-com.resources.library.brandeis.edu/huri
Find primary and secondary sources on major human rights violations and atrocity crimes worldwide from 1900 to 2010.
Amnesty International, Africa Report 2016-2017, https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/report-africa/
Derechos: Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa, http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/afr/
Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/africa
African Union, https://au.int/
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, http://www.achpr.org/
Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, http://www.ihrda.org/
Campus Events Relevant to the Course:
Reversing the Gaze: African(ists) Perspectives on Europe"
Panel I. Migration
Wednesday, January 24, 12-2pm Rapaporte Treasure Hall
Panel II. Civil Society/Human Rights
Tuesday, March 13, 12-2pm Rapaporte Treasure Hall
Panel III: Political Economy; Trade; Cooperation; Climate Justice
Date and Place: TBA
Course Policies and Procedures
Success in this course requires ninehoursof work for every threehoursof in class time. Students will use that time to read, write reading responses, papers, view films, and prepare presentations.
Grade Breakdown:
We will develop a grading rubric together in class for each assignment.
Thoughts and Questions– 25%
Close Reading Essay – 20% (proposal 5%)
Research Paper –30% (proposal 5%; annotated bibliography 10%, final version 15%)
Participation – 10%
Presentation – 15%
Assignments:
There are four major assignments in this course:
Thoughts and Questions (TQ): These are fairly formal and should shed light on one or two aspects of theassigned texts. The goal is to share your insights on the texts and films by exploring a point of interest and questions. TQs should be 300 words in length and are due on LATTE by 10pm on Wednesdays. Your ideas and insights will be based on information from the text, calling upon specific examples to illustrate your point. Your grade will be based on the quality and depth of your insights and on the use of specific textual evidence.
Possible starting places for your post include discussing how components of the text such as the form, setting, narrative voice, imagery, or symbolism point to the author’s politics, the social and cultural context of the text. As we move on into the later weeks of the course, you may even wish to direct your responses toward identifying patterns between texts, and asking what the significance of these patterns might be. Because TQs pertain to the week’s readings and are less useful after class discussion has been completed, late submissions will not be accepted. Each TQ will be worth 6 points and you will receive all 6 points as long as you write a satisfactory one. If you receive less than 6 points for the log, I will provide you with a reason and let you know how to improve. Please check the grade book on LATTE to see how you are doing.
Close Reading Essay: This is a short paper (4-6 pages) that analyzes a text from the following historic African literary magazines:
· Black Orpheus, issues published between 1957- 1961http://search.library.brandeis.edu/BRAND:BRAND_ALMA21201554820001921
· Drum, Issues from 1951-1958:http://catalog.crl.edu/record=b2843599~S1
1951https://dds.crl.edu/crldelivery/25331
from 1951-1958:https://dds.crl.edu/crldelivery/4912
Presentation: Each student will give one presentation and lead class discussion (15 minutes) in connection with the assigned reading or film. A week before presenting, the student will meet with me to discuss the reading and outline ideas for the presentation. The presentations will serve to inspire ideas for the research paper.
Researching Human Rights in African Cultural Production (12 pages): Building progressively from TQs and presentations, this paper gives you the opportunity to further develop your research and writing skills by practicing inquiry to discover for yourselves lesser known works that grapple with human rights issues in African literary texts, film, music, photography, and other art forms.
Assignment Due Dates:
Feb 28th Close Reading Essay
March 8th Paper Prospectus for Researching Human Rights in African Cultural Production
March 29th Annotated Bibliography
April 18th Drafts Workshop
April 30th Final Version
Course Requirements:
Attendance. Attendance and active participation at all class sessions are mandatory and will be taken on LATTE. If you have to miss a class because of religious observance, illness, family events, and emergencies, please let me know in advance if possible. You will not be penalized for illness, but you must provide a doctor’s note for your absence. If you miss more than 2 classes, your final participation grade for the course will be lowered by a full letter grade per absence. Missing more than 4 classes will results in failing the class. Three late arrivals (arriving at or after 12:10) will be counted as one absence. Let me know in advance if, due to some specific issue, you need to leave early or arrive late on a certain day.
Laptops and mobile devices: In order to avoid distraction, laptop computers will not be allowed unless a special request is made to me in person. Use of cell phones in class for talking, texting or reading/writing email is also prohibited. If I see you using your phone during class, you will be asked to desist, and it will be counted against your attendance grade for that day.
Late Work will be penalized. Papers will be lowered by one full letter grade for each day they are late.
Office Hours are held each week, unless otherwise noted. Students may stop by office hours at any time for help, or you can schedule an appointment to meet outside office hours.
Communications: Any changes to the syllabus or class schedule, including accommodations for snow days, will be communicated via the class email list and posted on LATTE. Please plan to check your university email account and LATTE daily to keep informed.
Academic Integrity: Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s ideas or words in your writing without acknowledging the source. It is a serious offense, and may result in failing the class and suspension from the university. When in doubt, see me or consult the student resources listed by Brandeis Library & Technology Services (https://lts.brandeis.edu/courses/instruction/academic-integrity/index.html), including this handout on “How to avoid plagiarism” (http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_plagiarism.html).
Writing Center: Students who want additional help with their writing are encouraged to visit the campus Writing Center (http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/writingcenter/; Goldfarb Main Library, Room 107; 781-736-2130; ).
Disabilities: If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
Schedule:
The Idea of Africa: Creation and Subversions
Jan 10: Introductions, review of course goals, sign up for presentations
Jan 11: Chinua Achebe. “Africa and her writers”
Jan 17: Paul Zeleza, “The Invention of African Identities”
Jan 18: Ngūgì. wa Thiong’o, “Europhone or African Memory: the challenge of the pan-African intellectual in the era of globalization”
African Histories and Theories of Human Rights
Jan 22: Virginia Leary, “The Effects of Western Perspectives on International Human Rights”
Jan 24: Murray, Rachel. “Historical Overview: Human Rights in the OAU/AU.”
Jan 25: Na'im, Abdullahi. A.A and Jeffrey Hammond. “Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in African Societies”
Jan 29: Martin Chanock, “Human Rights and Cultural Branding: Who Speaks and How”
Jan 31: Haile Gerima, Teza; Leopold Sedar Senghor. “Ethiopia: At the Call of the Race Sheba”
Feb 1st: Frantz Fanon, “On Violence”
Colonial Rule & Human Rights
Feb 5: Roland Burke, “The Politics of Decolonization and the Evolution of International Human Rights”
Feb 7&8: Ngũgĩ, wa Thiong’o, and Micere G. Mugo.The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (play)
Truth, Reconciliation, and Transitional Justice
Feb 12: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 1-3)
Feb 14: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 4-6)
Feb 15: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 7-10)
Feb 26: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 11-14)
Feb 28: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 15-17) Close Reading Essay is due
March 1: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 18 &19)
March 5: Antje Krog, Country of My Skull (chap 20&21)
Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights
March 7: Elizabeth Beckers, “Women’s Rites and Rights;” “Feminist and Human Rights Discourses on Female Genital Excision”
March 8: Ousmane Sembène, Molaade Prospectus is Due
March 12: Joseph Gai Ramaka, Karmen Gei
March 14: Abadir M Ibrahim, “LGBT rights in Africa and the discursive role of international human rights law”
Conflict, Genocide, and Rights Violations
March 15: Boris Diop, Murambi, “Fear and Anger”
March 19: Boris Diop, Murambi, “the Return of Cornelius”
March 21: Boris Diop, Murambi, “Genocide”
March 22: Boris Diop, Murambi, “Murambi”
March 26: Achebe, There Was a Country (p.1-73)
March 28: Achebe, There Was a Country (74-127)
March 29: Achebe, There Was a Country (128-198)
April 9: Chinua Achebe, There Was a Country (199-265)
Development & Good Governance
April 11&12: Abderrahmane Sissako, Bamako Annotated bibliography is due
April 16: Achille Mbembe, “Necropolitics.”
Natural disasters and Human Rights
April 18: Tanure Ojaide, “Deploying Modern African Literature: Toward the Environment and Human Rights.”
April 19: Wangari Maathai, “Konyeki na ithe, or Konyeki and his Father”
April 23: Niyi Osundare, Water, Water
April 25& 26: Niyi Osundare, The Language of Pain
April 30th Research Paper is due