CONNECTING NORTH AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA THROUGH LITERATURE, FILM, AND MUSIC
Open Access
- Author:
- Bentahar, Ziad
- Graduate Program:
- Comparative Literature
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 20, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Thomas Albert Hale, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Thomas Albert Hale, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Thomas Oliver Beebee, Committee Member
Reiko Tachibana, Committee Member
Gabeba Baderoon, Committee Member
Jonathan Eugene Brockopp, Committee Member
Mildred Mortimer, Committee Member - Keywords:
- North African Literature and Culture
Maghreb Literature and Culture - Abstract:
- Research and popular imaginative views of Africa in the last few decades have tended to leave out the northern region, even when they speak of the continent as a whole. “Africa” now commonly stands for sub-Saharan Africa, while North Africa is considered in many academic disciplines to be part of the Middle East instead. This division between North and sub-Saharan Africa is particularly problematic in literary studies. Although North Africa shares some important connections with the Middle East, the cultural production that has emerged from North Africa is in many ways also part of a broader tradition that includes sub-Saharan African literatures. The literatures and cultures of both sides of the Sahara are not isolated from each other, but share elements that can improve our understanding of the peoples and societies from which they emerge. The study of North Africa should no longer be separated from the larger context of research on African literatures. In order to demonstrate the need for this comparative approach, and to establish that the literatures and cultures of North Africa are deeply connected to broader African literary traditions, this study analyzes various North African works, including Driss Chraïbi’s novel La Mère du printemps (1982), Assia Djebar’s film La Nouba des femmes du mont Chenoua (1978), and a selection of Moroccan music. These and other diverse examples of North African literary and artistic expression show connections to sub-Saharan cultures, inviting us to view both regions as a whole.