This course explores the rich and evolving landscape of African literature and film from the mid-20th century to today. We will trace how stories have been told across time—from oral traditions to novels, from feminist cinema to speculative fiction and digital media. Along the way, we will ask key questions: What is Africa? How do we write about Africa? How do we read and see Africa?

We begin with foundational writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Mariama Bâ, and Ama Ata Aidoo, who helped define African literature in response to colonialism and its aftermath. We then move to a new generation of writers emerging around the early 2000s, including Binyavanga Wainaina and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who build on – and sometimes break from – these earlier legacies.

We also engage with writers who are also filmmakers, such as Ousmane Sembène, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Manthia Diawara, whose visual storytelling expands how African narratives are shared across borders. Throughout, we consider how language, identity, representation, and power shape African creative expression.

The course draws connections between traditional storytelling and contemporary popular culture – from epic oral tales to Nollywood’s improvisational filmmaking and Netflix’s adaptations of African folktales. These examples help us trace a continuum rather than a divide, linking oral heritage to digital innovation.

No prior knowledge is expected. The course welcomes all students with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to engage critically with African texts and films. Together, we will read, watch, listen, and ask, while engaging deeply with African stories across forms, media, and time.