Literary representations of memory and trauma in African postcolonial and contemporary literature are the main focus of this course. In order to understand how trauma has an impact on the relationship of individuals to their physical and spiritual world and how in a very unique way characters cope with their traumatic reality we analyze structural disorder and historical event narratives including novels and testimony by Aminata Forna Tsitsi Dangarembga Boubacar Boris Diop Zakes Mda Namwali Serpell and Jennifer Makumbi. Our examination of these texts is supplemented by theory in trauma studies anthropology comparative literary studies religious studies psychoanalysis and the various subcategories that include the study of memory and forgiveness retrospective narrative testimony and bearing witness post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) mourning anthropology of war and violence and transgenerational trauma as well as healing and working through trauma.
