Ng?g? wa Thiong’o is one of the most important and celebrated authors of postindependence Africa as well as a groundbreaking postcolonial theorist. His work, written first in English, then in G?k?y?, engages with the transformations of his native Kenya after what is often termed the Mau Mau rebellion. It also gives voice to the struggles of all Africans against economic injustice and political oppression. His writing and activism have continued despite imprisonment, the threat of assassination, and exile.
Part 1 of this volume, “Materials,” provides resources and background for the teaching of Ng?g?’s novels, plays, memoirs, and criticism. The essays of part 2, “Approaches,” consider the influence of Frantz Fanon, Karl Marx, and Joseph Conrad on Ng?g?; how the role of women in his fiction is inflected by feminism; his interpretation and political use of African history; his experimentation with orality and allegory in narrative; and the different challenges of teaching Ng?g? in classrooms in the United States, Europe, and Africa.