African Literary Theory: An Introduction

As with African Literature: An Anthology edited by Olaniyan and Quayson, the concern here is largely with the modern and postcolonial, and in that context, it is the case that African literature has assimilated western criticism and theory - whether Leavisian, New Critical, poststructuralist, feminist, deconstructive, psychoanalytic, post-colonial, postmodern - in forms unique to its own provenance and cultural history. This short book guides the student of modern African writing through this culturally specific terrain.

The reputation of African literature in the field of general literary studies is now indisputable. Both Ato Quayson and Tejumola Olaniyan have had wide experience in teaching such courses not just in their own Universities but elsewhere. There are courses in African literature at almost every reputable university in Europe and America. However, despite its popularity, it is still the case that the debates around African literature have not been set up in any coherent fashion, unlike its counterparts in Europe and elsewhere. Almost only texts that have been available so far have been introductions to literary texts. Quayson and Olaniyan want to strike out with a difference. Their book is designed for undergraduates at all levels, as a major survey of and introduction to various kinds of literary theories and how they have been applied in debates in African literary studies. It will be of immediate interest to those in African literature, Postcolonial literature, African-American and Ethnic Studies, as well as to some lesser extent, Anthropology.