scholarly journals The relation between nostalgia and vitalism in ‘Afscheid van Congo: met Jef Geeraerts terug naar de evenaar’ by Erwin Mortier

Afrika Focus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-108
Author(s):  
Clara Bolle

This essay elaborates on my presentation on nostalgia and postcolonial literature, as presented at the 8th symposium of the Ghent Africa Platform held in autumn 2014. During this presentation I made a short analysis of how Svetlana Boym’s ideas on nostalgia, as expressed in her book Nostalgia for the Future, can be used to analyse Erwin Mortier’s memories of traveling, as noted in his book Afscheid van Congo: met Jef Geeraerts terug naar de evenaar (Goodbye to Congo: back to the equator with Jef Geeraerts). During my presentation I also introduced the relation between nostalgia and (aesthetic) vitalism. In this paper I will elaborate on the relation between nostalgia and vitalism as a phenomenon within (post)colonial literature.

Afrika Focus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Bolle

This essay elaborates on my presentation on nostalgia and postcolonial literature, as presented at the 8th symposium of the Ghent Africa Platform held in autumn 2014. During this presentation I made a short analysis of how Svetlana Boym’s ideas on nostalgia, as expressed in her book Nostalgia for the Future, can be used to analyse Erwin Mortier’s memories of traveling, as noted in his book Afscheid van Congo: met Jef Geeraerts terug naar de evenaar (Goodbye to Congo: back to the equator with Jef Geeraerts). During my presentation I also introduced the relation between nostalgia and (aesthetic) vitalism. In this paper I will elaborate on the relation between nostalgia and vitalism as a phenomenon within (post)colonial literature. Key words: Svetlana Boym, Erwin Mortier, Jef Geeraerts, vitalism, nostalgia 


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-393
Author(s):  
Shivani Ekkanath

The postcolonial narratives we see today are a study in contrast and tell a different tale from their colonial predecessors as minorities and individuals finally have found the voice and position to tell their stories. Histories written about our culture and societies have now found a new purpose and voice. The stories we have passed down from generation to generation through both oral and written histories, continue to morph and change with the tide of time as they re-centre our cultural narratives and shared experiences. As a result, the study of diaspora and transnationalism have altered the way in which we view identity in different forms of multimedia and literature. In this paper, the primary question which will be examined is, how and to what extent does Indian post-colonial literature figure in the formation of identity in contemporary art and literature in the context of ongoing postcolonial ideas and currents? by means of famous and notable postcolonial literary works and theories of Indian authors and theoreticians, with a special focus on the question and notion of identity. This paper works on drawing parallels between themes in Indian and African postcolonial literary works, especially themes such as power, hegemony, east meets west, among others. In this paper, European transnationalism will also be analysed as a case study to better understand postcolonialism in different contexts. The paper will seek to explore some of the gaps in the study of diasporic identity and postcolonial studies and explore some of the changes and key milestones in the evolution of the discourse over the decades.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-77
Author(s):  
Ifeoma Mabel Onyemelukwe ◽  
Abubakar Dauda Adamu ◽  
Chukwunonso Hyacinth Muotoo

Le griot dans la société traditionnelle africaine de l’ère précoloniale est un personnage complexe chargé d’une myriade de fonctions. Il est bien respecté et honoré. La présente étude se donne l’objectif d’examiner profondément la peinture du griot dans la littérature africaine postcoloniale utilisant Guelwaar de Sembène Ousmane comme texte de base tout en établissant ses fonctions et ses portraits. L’étude privilégie quelques théories critiques comme le postcolonialisme, les théories marxiste et féministe. De plus, l’examen s’effectue à la lumière de l’image du griot d’antan et des sept catégories de nouveaux griots postulés par Ifeoma Mabel Onyemelukwe. Nous découvrons deux types de griot dépeints par Ousmane dans Guelwaar : le griot personnage littéraire nommé Guelwaar et le griot écrivain contemporain africain, Sembène Ousmane lui-même. Ces deux griots entretiennent des rapports de similitude et de divergence avec le vrai griot. Mais le griot écrivain contemporain africain ressemble beaucoup plus au griot d’antan en dépit des points de divergence. Nous finissons par déceler dix-huit fonctions du griot et par-là arriver aux dix-huit portraits du griot dans Guelwaar dont le griot bibliothèque publique bien documentée et le griot détenteur de la littérature écrite africaine postcoloniale. Nous parvenons à la conclusion que la littérature postcoloniale, comme l’atteste Guelwaar de Sembène Ousmane, se caractérise par une revalorisation des valeurs authentiques, honorables et louables du griot de caste. Ceci est symbolisé par l’apparition du griot personnage littéraire dans certaines oeuvres de la littérature écrite postcoloniale africaine comme Guelwaar et surtout la prééminence accordée aux griots écrivains contemporains africains tel Sembène Ousmane.   The griot, in the traditional African society is a complex personality charged with multiple functions. He is well respected and honoured. The objective of the present research is to make an in-depth study of the depiction of the griot in post-colonial literature using Guelwaar as study text while establishing his functions and portraits. Postcolonialism, Marxist and Feminist theories constitute the theoretical framework. Furthermore, the examination is carried out in the light of the image of the real griot and the seven categories of new griots promulgated by Ifeoma Mabel Onyemelukwe. It is found that Sembène Ousmane depicts two types of griots in Guelwaar, namely: the griot as literary character named Guelwaar and the griot as contemporary African writer, Sembène Ousmane, himself. These two griots have certain similarities and differences with the real griot. But the findings show that the griot as contemporary African writer resembles more the real griot, their points of disparity notwithstanding. Eighteen functions and eighteen portraits of the griot are established, among which are: the griot as well documented library and the griot as custodian of written postcolonial African Literature. A firm conclusion is reached, that postcolonial literature, as reflected in Sembène Ousmane’s Guelwaar, is characterized by the revalorization of the real griot’s authentic, honorable and praise-worthy values. This is symbolized in the projection of the griot as literary character in some literary works like Guelwaar and in particular, the preeminence given to griots as Contemporary African writers as typified by Sembène Ousmane.


2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-132
Author(s):  
Glenn D'Cruz

’Nothing is less reliable, nothing is less clear today than the word “archive”,’ observed Jacques Derrida in his book Archive Fever: a Freudian Impression (1996). This paper reflects on the unsettling process of establishing (or commencing) an archive for the Melbourne Workers Theatre, to form part of the AusStage digital archive which records information on live performance in Australia. Glenn D'Cruz's paper juxtaposes two disparate but connected registers of writing: an open letter to a deceased Australian playwright, Vicki Reynolds, and a critical reflection on the politics of the archive with reference to Derrida's account of archive fever, which he characterizes as an ‘irrepressible desire to return to the origin, a homesickness, a nostalgia for the return to the most archaic place of absolute commencement’. Using Derrida's commentary on questions of memory, authority, inscription, hauntology, and heritage to identify some of the philosophical and ethical aporias he encountered while working on the project, D’Cruz pays particular attention to what Derrida calls the spectral structure of the archive, and stages a conversation with the ghosts that haunt the digitized Melbourne Workers Theatre documents. He also unpacks the logic of Derrida's so-called messianic account of the archive, which ‘opens out of the future’, thereby affirming the future-to-come, and unsettling the normative notion of the archive as a repository for what has passed. Glenn D’Cruz teaches at Deakin University, Australia. He is the author of Midnight's Orphans: Anglo-Indians in Post/Colonial Literature (Peter Lang, 2006) and editor of Class Act: Melbourne Workers Theatre 1987–2007 (Vulgar Press, 2007).


2020 ◽  
pp. 105-113
Author(s):  
Ami Upadhyay ◽  
Dushyant Nimavat

The devotional literature we find in India's regional languages is sometimes referred to as Bhakti's literature. Since the poets from Bhakti Panth are more social and cultural, they are more thinkers and more social than literary figures. The translation of classics is particularly meaningful when a native language is translated into English. The classics are introduced to the world. In contemporary Shri Aurobindo and Dilp Chitre did, what Hsuan-tsang did for Sanskrit scripts. A. K. Ramanujan has also made a strong flow of translation in the post-colonial literature and Bhakti has been one of these literatures. This article explores the devotional poems of Narsinh Mehta that are important even in the 21st century.


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