Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
How does our understanding of Africa shift when we approach it from the perspective of women? And, what can this African perspective contribute to more general theories of culture and of gender difference? To answer these questions,
Writing African Women brings together a wide variety of African scholars to explore the links between literature, popular culture, and theories of gender. Beginning with a ground-breaking overview of African gender theory, this volume goes on to analyze specific works, uncovering the ways different women writers have approached issues of female creativity and colonial history, as well as the ways in which they have subverted popular stereotypes around African women.
This major analysis of gender in popular and postcolonial cultural production remains essential reading for students and academics in women's studies, cultural studies, and literature.
Synopsis
How does our understanding of Africa shift when we begin from the perspective of women? What can the African perspective offer theories of culture and of gender difference?
This work, as unique and insightful today as when it was first published, brings together a wide variety of African academics and other researchers to explore the links between literature, popular culture and theories of gender. Beginning with a ground-breaking overview of African gender theory, the book goes on to analyse women's writing, uncovering the ways different writers have approached issues of female creativity and colonial history, as well as the ways in which they have subverted popular stereotypes around African women. The contributors also explore the related gender dynamics of mask performance and oral story-telling.
This major analysis of gender in popular and postcolonial cultural production remains essential reading for students and academics in women's studies, cultural studies and literature.