Course Readings

Course Syllabus

Technical
Requirements

Sample Lesson

Your Prof

Books

• Bâ, Mariama. So Long A Letter. Heinemann, 1991. Paperback, 90 pages. (ISBN:0435905554)
  
  This is a landmark book - a sensation in its own country and education for outsiders. Mariama Bâ, a longtime women's activist, set out to write a book that exposed the double standard between men and women in Africa. The book itself takes the form of a letter in which the main character, Ramatoulaye, examines her life and that of other women of Senegal - their upbringing and traditions, and the cultural restrictions placed upon them. From Senegal.

  Césaire, Aimé. A Tempest. Ubu Repertory Theater Publications, 1992. Paperback, 70 pages. (ISBN:0913745405)
  

  This play explores the political and cultural conflicts opposing the white master, Prospero, his mulatto servant, Ariel, and the black slave, Caliban. Césaire's rich and insightful adaptation draws on contemporary Caribbean society, the Afro-American experience and African mythology to raise questions about colonialism, racism, and their lasting effects. From Martinique.

  Lopès, Henri. Tribaliks: Contemporary Congolese Stories. Heinemann, 1988. Paperback, 86 pages. (ISBN:0435907638)
  

  This outstanding collection of eight short stories pieces together a startlingly perceptive view of a post-colonial African nation. The writer relates with compelling realism the experiences of both the victim and the opressor to highlight the main themes which dominate the stories: tribalism, the abuse of political power, education and the predicament of women. From the Congo.

  Radin, Paul (ed.). African Folktales. Schocken Books, 1983. Paperback. (ISBN:0805207325)
  

  A selection of 81 folktales from the many cultures that exist south of the Sahara. The narratives range from the mythical tale to the humorous anecdote.

  Zobel, Joseph. Black Shack Alley: A Novel. Three Continents Press, 1980. Paperback, 184 pages. (ISBN:0914478680)
  

  This novel was one of the earliest francophone works from the Caribbean to deal with growing up black in the colonial world of Martinique. Not only does the young hero José have to fight the ignorance and poverty of plantation life, but he must also learn to survive the all-pervasive French cultural saturation to remain himself, proud of his race and his family. This book was later turned into a movie, under the title "Sugar Cane Alley". From Martinique.

Electronic Texts

• Césaire, Aimé. "A Salute to the Third World / for Léopold Sedar Senghor". (Poem)

• Diop, David. excerpts from: Hammer Blows and other Writings. Indiana University Press, 1973. Out of print. (ISBN: 0253327032)
  
  Young black poet of the Negritude movement, Diop writes with anger and vehemence against repression. But Diop's Negritude does not abolish dialogue and sympathy, which are his great human qualities. He has left behind him a freedom-generating legacy of poetry.

  LeRoy, Felix Morisseau. "Boat People". (Poem)

  Ousmane, Sembène. "Tribal Scars", in: Tribal Scars and Other Stories. Heinemann, 1974. (ISBN: 0435901427)
  

  Ousmane cannot forget the taking of men and women into slavery, and writes this powerful short story set in Senegal during the height of the African slave trade.

  Tirolien, Guy. "Prayer of a Small Black Boy". (Poem)