Law, Culture, and Africana Studies by Jr. Conyers

Author:Jr. Conyers [Conyers, Jr.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138526990
Google: E6sotAEACAAJ
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2017-10-06T04:36:23+00:00

The Culture Nexus and African Literature

African literature continues to manifest a rigorous dialogue about its being, praxis, and analysis. As a subject, scholars have extracted a culture in the sense used throughout this paper and are engaged in a diagnostic exercise. Mudimbe for instance posits, “When we speak of African literature we refer to both a body of texts whose authors are known and to anonymous discourses which carry successive deposits of supposedly unknown imaginations” (1989, p.7). He also asks, “Could we arrive at any explicative norms which will put it in some sort of relation with other literatures and not give us the uncomfortable feeling that it is somehow an indigenized imitation of something else, or an adapted reproduction of psychological confusions imported from the West?” (p. 7). What Mudimbe clearly demonstrates is the fact that African literature is definitely steps ahead of rhetorical communication in terms of diagnostic exercises and piecemeal interventions. African literature scholars are busy in so many ways asking questions and advancing concepts and theories in trying to diagnose and discover, preferably, systemic interventions clearly with the culture nexus as construct. As with rhetoric, African literature is culture bound, with added complexities of regional, ethnic, linguistic, and colonial legacies at play.

It is interesting to note that Mudimbe also argues that “African literature as a commodity is a recent phenomenon and authors as well as critics tend to resist this fact” (p. 7). There is, of course, recognition of orature, Africa’s oral tradition, and its influence on African literature even though ramifications for factors—like audience reach and adaptation, stylistic devices and the interactive dimension: audience/performer relationship—represent serious theoretical and methodological implications. Making a linkage between orature and African literature, however, would suggest Africa’s ancient and continued penchant for story-telling orally, an act that the African literary writer does through the print medium.

In addressing the topic of the idea of African literature being a recent phenomenon as it pertains to English language fiction from West Africa, Peters argues, however, that “While [African literature] has been in existence for perhaps too short a time for one to talk about a fully established tradition, a number of important phases, landmarks, themes, and trends distinguish its development …” (p.9). He identifies three waves or phases, namely the first wave that brought to the fore, works by Tutuola, Ekwenzi, Achebe, Conton, Prince Modupeh and Onuora Nzekwu. The second wave he contends had “holdovers” with the emergence of Wole Soyinka, Ayi Kwei Armah, Gabriel Okara, Abioseh Nicol, Yulissa Maddy, and Sarif Easmon among others. The third wave also had “holdovers” with the emergence of Buchi Emeta, Obi Egbuna, Flora Nwapa, Adaora Lilly Ulasi and many others. All of these writers and their counterparts in the other regions of Africa address various themes. Peters identifies themes African literary writers highlight in their works such as corruption, graft, materialism, violence, alienation, culture, traditions, history, and so on. Essentially, African literature as agency engaged readers on issues of transition and problems arising from the process,

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