University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Spectralité et critique de la laideur : l’engagement postcolonial dans la littérature en français de la nouvelle génération d’écrivains africains

Sarr, Awa C.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16985

Description

Title
Spectralité et critique de la laideur : l’engagement postcolonial dans la littérature en français de la nouvelle génération d’écrivains africains
Author(s)
Sarr, Awa C.
Issue Date
2010-08-31T20:03:06Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
  • Mall, Laurence
  • Fresco, Alain D.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Mall, Laurence
Committee Member(s)
  • Fresco, Alain D.
  • Mathy, Jean-Philippe
  • Kuntz, Jane
Department of Study
French
Discipline
French
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Francophone literature
  • sub-saharan literature
  • immigration literature, committed literature
  • litterature engagee
  • postcolonial literature
Abstract
This dissertation examines the new generation of Francophone African writers and their negotiation of the theory of “engagement.” Thematically, many of these writers deal with the daunting problems faced by Africa and with issues linked to emigration to France. But they also have to work with French publishing houses and their exigencies as they relate to the international book market. The writers themselves aspire to be integrated in the “World Republic of Letters”. But such concepts as “World Literature in French” or “World Republic of Letters,” while more appealing to the new generation than the old Sartrian theory of “engagement,” do not always accommodate a commitment to specific, regional causes. I argue that because many writers may have divided loyalties and conflicting interests, their works of fiction manifest interesting, subtle ways of understanding and practicing a postcolonial “engagement.” Theories such as “hauntology” and post-realism can be used to account for some of their writings’ main features. To demonstrate this with specific examples, I study individual novels by Simon Njami, Daniel Biyaoula and especially Alain Mabanckou.
Graduation Semester
2010-08
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16985
Copyright and License Information
copyright 2010 Awa C. Sarr

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