Amherst College
English Department
Fall 2020
English 256
Pan-African Imaginations: Literature, Politics, and Identity
Tuesday/Thursday: 10:00 – 11:20am
Faculty Information:
Cheikh Thiam
Professor of English and Black Studies
Office 002 Johnson Chapel
Email: cthiam@[Link]
Office hours: Thursdays 12:00-2:00pm or by appointment. Please click here to schedule a
meeting.
Course Description
In this course, we will develop a thoughtful understanding of the idea of Africa and the
African diaspora and a complex appreciation of the meanings of Black presence in the world.
We will ask five questions that will allow us to explore the ways literary and philosophical
texts from Africa and the African Diaspora challenge the Global Matrix of Power, question
anti-Black racism in philosophy, literature, and cultural studies, and shape conceptions of
being and identity in Africa and the African diaspora, namely: What is Africa? What is the
African-Diaspora? How do these concepts engage with each other? How does race
participate in making sense of both? And how does the comparative analysis of the lived
experiences of people of African descent allow us to understand the limits of Western
modernity, question coloniality, and comprehend people of African descent’s presence in the
world? These questions will be examined from the perspectives of three pivotal movements
in African literature: Negritude (Aime Cesaire, Discourse on Colonialism, Jean-Paul Satre,
“Black Orpheus,” Leopold Sedar Senghor, selected essays, and Abiola Irele, “Negritude:
Literature and Ideology,”), the postcolonial and decolonial traditions (Fatou Diome and Alain
Mabanckou read in light of decolonial and postcolonial theory), and Afropolitanism and the
Afro-chic (Chimanda Adichie, Americanah andTaiye Selasie, Ghana Must Go). These
readings will be supplemented by visual material and Afrobeat music.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will:
• Contextualize major literary and philosophical concepts such as Negritude,
postcoloniality, decoloniality, Afropolitanism and the Afro-chic;
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the concepts of Africa and the African
Diaspora;
• Articulate continuities and discontinuities between African and African descended
people’s experiences;
• Synthesize historical processes, key figures, and ideas that have led to
contemporary understandings of African descended peoples’ presence in the
world with a focus on the limits of Western modernity.
Assignments
Response paper/podcast 30%
After each of the three first modules, students will write a response to one or
several of the readings. The response can either reconsider, expand, and develop
the questions asked during the module, or discuss the potential, limits, and
possibilities suggested by the intellectual or political movement around which the
module is based. Each response paper should have 1200 words.
Students can also, instead of a traditional paper, propose a podcast or another
artistic project that follows the same directions as those pertaining to the paper.
The podcast should not be less than 10 minutes long and should have an
introduction, an argument, a discussion of the argument, and a conclusion. You
should, as if you were writing an academic paper, prepare, research, and edit
before you submit your final work. For more information on the structure of a
podcast, please consult the following link:
[Link]
resources/[Link].
Presentation: 15%
You will be asked to give a presentation on one of the literary and philosophical
traditions we will discuss this semester, namely, Negritude, postcoloniality,
decoloniality, Afropolitanism, and the Afro-chic.
Presentations should give a historical account of a given concept, propose a clear
explanation of its engagement with the literary and philosophical traditions that it
is in conversation with, and illustrate the role of its main theoreticians in its
development. Presentations should also show the way the literary and
philosophical tradition at stake engages the questions that this course deals with:
What is Africa? What is the African-Diaspora? How do these concepts influence
each other? How does race participate in making sense of both? And how does the
comparative analysis of the lived experiences of people of African descent allow
us to understand the limits of Western modernity, question coloniality, and
comprehend people of African descent’s presence in the world? Each group is
strongly advised to propose a set of questions that will facilitate class discussions.
Presentation and Q&A should not be more than 45 min long.
Class participation 10%:
Class participation includes in class and online discussion participation.
Please note that you will be asked, several times during the semester (TBA), to post, on
Moodle, a reaction to weekly readings and comment on at least one of your classmates’
reactions. More guidelines will be given in due time.
Final assignment 45%
Students will choose to submit a final paper, a podcast, or a set of (6) blog posts.
Final paper: Students who choose to submit a final paper will be asked to write a 2200-
word paper on a topic that will be communicated at least two weeks before the paper’s
due date.
Blog post: Students who chose to submit blog posts are required to submit at least 7 blog-
posting (400 words each) from week 7 to week 14. The blogs will focus on a set of
readings, workshops, or visual materials. Each blog should be a critical engagement with
the topic and focusing on the ways in which the material engages with the modules of the
course.
Podcast: The final podcast will comprise a written script of 1500 words (not including the
bibliography) and an audio recording. Your podcast should accomplish two things: it
should tell a coherent narrative on a topic that the instructor approves in advance, and it
should use that story to make a broader commentary or argument about one or several
issues we have discussed this semester. Your podcast should be written in your own
words with no direct quotes from written sources (your own interviews are an exception).
It should draw on your lists of sources, which should be carefully and consistently cited
throughout in the citation style of your choice. Musical examples should be indicated in
the text. Your script should be carefully proofread. The final podcast should be about 10
minutes long.
Late policy: Paper deadlines are clearly established. Late papers will be accepted, but the
final paper grade will be lowered by one full letter grade for each day it is late.
Attendance Policy
Attendance is mandatory. Class absences will negatively impact your final grade by half
a letter grade after the 2nd unexcused absence.
Recording Policy
Recording of class in not allowed at any time without my advance approval. See the
recording policy from the Student Code of Conduct:
“Section 2. Examples of Violations to the Student Code of Conduct
2.22. Surreptitious or Unauthorized Observable Recording of Others
2.22.1. Audio and/or video recording of classes without advance approval
from the instructor or as part of an approved disability accommodation.
2.22.2. Any other audio and/or video recording of any individual without
that individual’s knowledge or permission (see MA General Law Part 4,
Title I, Chapter 272, Section 99).
2.22.3. The distribution of any recording without permission.”
Source: [Link]
standards/examples-of-violations-to-the-student-code-of-conduct
Accommodations
This course welcomes learners with different styles and interests and I encourage you to
experiment with different formats for your assignments. If you have a documented
disability that requires accommodations, you should register with Accessibility Services
for coordination of your academic accommodations. You can reach them via email at
accessibility@[Link], or via phone at 413-542-2337. Once you have your
accommodations in place, I’ll be glad to meet with you to discuss how best to implement
them.
Required Texts:
The books below are available at Amherst Books. All articles are posted on Moodle. Or
shared via email.
Books
• Adichie, C. Americanah. Anchor, 2014
• Cesaire, A. Discourse on Colonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000
• Diome, F. The Belly of the Atlantic, Diome. Serpent's Tail, 2008
• Mabanckou, A. Blue, White, and Red, Mabanckou. Indiana: Indiana University Press,
2013
• Selassie, Taiye. Ghana Must Go. Penguin Books, 2014
Articles
• Irele, A. “Negritude: Literature and Ideology,” The Journal of Modern African
Studies. Vol. 3, No. 4 (Dec. 1965), pp. 499-526
• Hall, S. (1994). "Cultural identity and diaspora." Williams, Patrick and Laura
Chrisman, Ed. Colonial discourse and post-colonial theory: a reader. pp.227-237,
London: Harvester.
• Mudimbe, V.Y. “Discourse of Power Knowledge of Otherness.” The Invention of
Africa: gnosis, philosophy, and the order of knowledge. Indiana University Press,
1988.
• Oyewumi, O. “Visualizing the Body: Western theories and African subjects.” The
Invention of Woman. Minnesota: University of Minesota Press, 1997
• Sartre, “Black Orpheus.” What is Literature and Other Essays. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1988.
• Senghor, “what is Negritude?”
Films
• Blecher, Sara, director. Ayanda. 2015
• Julien, Isaac, director. Fanon, Black Skins White Masks. 1995
Course Schedule
I- The Idea of Africa and the African Diaspora
Thursday, September 1st
1st day of class
General introduction and housekeeping
Tuesday, September 6th
Mudimbe, V.Y. “Discourse of Power Knowledge of Otherness”
Thursday, September 8th
Oyewumi, O. “Visualizing the Body: Western theories and African subjects”
Tuesday, September 13th
Oyewumi, O. “Visualizing the Body
Thursday, September 15
Hall, S. (1994). "Cultural identity and diaspora"
v Friday, September 16th: 1st response-paper due
II- Negritude
Tuesday, September 20th
• Presentation: Group 1, On Negritude
Senghor, “what is Negritude?”
Irele, A. “Negritude: Literature and Ideology”
Thursday, September 22nd
Sartre, “Black Orpheus”
Tuesday, September 27th
Julien, Isaac. Fanon, Black Skins White Masks
Thursday, September 29th
Cesaire, A. Discourse on Colonialism
v Friday, October 1st: 2nd response paper due
III- Postcolonial and decolonial
Tuesday October 4th
• Presentation: Group 2, Postcoloniality and Decoloniality
Diome, F. The Belly of the Atlantic
Thursday, October 6th
Diome, F. The Belly of the Atlantic
Tuesday, October 11th
Fall Break
Thursday, October 13th
Diome, F. The Belly of the Atlantic
Tuesday, October 18th
Diome, F. The Belly of the Atlantic
Thursday, October 20th
Mabanckou, A. Blue, White, and Red
Tuesday, October 25th
Mabanckou, A. Blue, White, and Red
Thursday, October 27th
Mabanckou, A. Blue, White, and Red
Tuesday, November 1st
Blecher, Sara, Ayanda
Thursday November 3rd
Blecher, Sara, Ayanda
v Tuesday, November 1st: 3rd response paper due
IV-Afropolitanism and Afro-chic
Tuesday, November 8th
• Presentation Group 3: Afropolitanism and the Afro-chic
Selassie, Taiye. Ghana Must Go
Thursday November 10th
Selassie, Taiye. Ghana Must Go
Tuesday, November 15th
Selassie, Taiye. Ghana Must Go
Thursday November 17th
Adichie, C. Americanah
Tuesday, November 22nd
Thanksgiving break
Thursday November 24th
Thanksgiving break
Tuesday, November 29th
Adichie, C. Americanah
Thursday December 1st
Adichie, C. Americanah
Tuesday December 6th
Adichie, C. Americanah, Anchor, 2014
Thursday, December 8th
Conclusion: Last day of class
v Friday, December 9th: Final assignment due
