ALA ANNUALS, Vol. 1, Nwanyibu: Womanbeing & African Literature

Description

These essays explore the condition of African women, focusing on what one-contributor describes as "the discourses of colonialism and sexism (as) sites where gender, sexuality, race and power constructions intersect." The essays are divided into four categories:

The first section under the title "Realities and Fantasies of African Womanbeing" includes essays such as Phanuel Egejuru's exploration of "The Paradox of Womanbeing and the Female Principle in Igbo Cosmology."

Section two, "New Options and Redefinitions of Womanbeing," includes Janice Spleth's discussion of Mudimbe's�Before the Birth of the Moon;�Pauline Uwakwe's cross-cultural analysis of the similarities and differences among female characters in works by continental African writers and those in the diaspora in "Female Choices: The Militant Option in Buchi Emecheta's�Destination Biafra, and Alice Walker's�Meridian."

Section three: "South African WomenWriters and Womanbeing" includes an essay by Natasha Vaubel, a comprehensive discussion of scholarship on Bessi Head, Carol Sicherman's essay on Zoe Wicomb, and Elizabeth Taylor on Ellen Kuzwayo and Miriam Tlali.

The last section on "Francophone Writers and Womanbeing" includes essays by Janis Pallister, Hal Wylie, and Gerise Herndon, constituting studies of black women characters in Sembene Ousmane's films, and varying portrayals of female characters by male and female authors such as Sembene and Aminata Sow Fall.

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