Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Dept. of Philosophy, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study explores how selected West African war novels employ non-realist narrative modes to portray disruptions in the child’s development into adulthood. The novels considered are Chris Abani’s Song for Night (2007), Ahmadou Kourouma’s Allah is Not Obliged (2006), Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation (2005) and Delia Jarrett-Macauley’s Moses, Citizen and Me (2005). These novels strain at the conventions of realism as a consequence of the attempt to represent the disruptions in child development as a result of the upheavals of war. A core proposition of the study is to present why the authors in question are obliged to employ non-realist modes in representing disrupted childhoods that reflect the social and cultural disorder attendant upon war. The dissertation also asks pertinent questions regarding the ideological effect of these narrative strategies and the effect of the particular stylistic idiosyncrasies of each of the authors in figuring childhood in postcolonial Africa. The novels in question employ surrealism, the absurd, the grotesque and magical realism, in presenting the first person narratives of children in war situations, or the reflections of adult narrators on children affected by war. This study further analyses the ways the aesthetic modes employed by these authors underscore, in particular, children’s experiences of war. Through strategic use of specific literary techniques, these authors highlight questions of vulnerability, powerlessness and violence on children, as a group that has been victimised and co-opted into violence. The study further considers how these narrative transformations in the representations of children in novels, capture transformations in ideas about childhood in postcolonial Africa.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [212]-230).

The field of our study is Francophone African Literature and this thesis explores the themes of marginality and grief both experienced by Princess Akissi in The Blind Kingdom and Princess Pokou in Queen Pokou (2004) during their rise to power in their respective kingdoms. The two novels written by Véronique Tadjo from Ivory Coast, are subjected to thematic analysis because they are both based on similar storylines - that of conflict and rivalry within kingdoms resulting in the exile of the two princesses. One of the novels is set in a pre-colonial period while the other is set in a postcolonial era. Queen Pokou, winner of the 2005 Grand Prix Littéraire d’Afrique Noire (which is the most distinguished prize in Francophone African literature), is a retelling of the founding myths of the Baoulé people of Ivory Coast. In her literary texts, Tadjo transgresses the original legend and her reconstruction of this legend is significant because it challenges the ritual sacrifice made by Princess Pokou in order to free her people and to become queen. In The Blind Kingdom (1990), Tadjo highlights the corruption and injustice of the ruling elite. Space is used to reinforce the King’s domination thus a revolution is necessary to overthrow the exploitative power structures in place. The revolution that takes place relies heavily on the participation of Karim and especially on Princess Akissi who chooses to rebel against her father, King Ato IV in order to stop injustice. This thematic analysis, supported by semiotic theory, aims to establish and demonstrate the relationship between marginality of the two princesses, in particular, and their subsequent grief. It sheds light on the reasons for their exclusion from power as well as the nature of the conflicts that occur as they rise to power. The study postulates that certain myths and images are evoked by the novelist to symbolise the exclusion of the two princesses from power.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / To describe the structural strains and cultural conflicts that take place when two social systems confront each other, the concept of Transitional Role was used to analyze the sociological adaptation in the social system, and the concept of Perceptual Distortion of Transitional Roles by different groups was usee to analyze the strain and conflict that continued. In order to locate, describe and analyze Transitional Roles in Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the social science reserach in five categories of Husbands and Wives, Buyers and Sellers, Priests and Pastors, Administrators and Agitators and Servants and Masters was examined. In order to evaluate the Perceptual Distortion of the Transitional Roles described, the available social science reserach was compared with two samples of novels (those by West Africans and those by Europeans) about West Africa. The following were the findings: (1) Social strain and culture conflict affect both groups, West African and European. (2) Social strains exist in all the above aspects of colonial life. (3) Despite severe dual systemic strain, the colonial social system operated as one viable social system. (4) Not all social strains are resolved immediately by the creation of Transitional Roles and therefore, the historical development of Transitional Roles indicates that they continue to change. (5) Social circles formed around transitional roles and as these social circles proliferated, the basis of a new society was established. Thus a positive resolution of social strain has been located and described in the development of Transitional Roles. The findings of this study resulting from the application of Levels of Transition to culture conflict indicate that: (1) the European novelists see culture conflict as maladjustment existing with the individual African either in the form of reversion to an earlier evolutionary stage or in the form of poor imitation of British culture; and they do not see their own involvement in culture conflict; (2) the African novelists, in contrast, locate culture conflict between the various Levels of Transition or within social relationships between the numerous West African social circles, and secondarily between British and West African Transitional Roles. The findings of this study resulting from the evaluation of Perceptual Distortion suggest that (1) Transitional Role incumbents are more accurate observers than are stabilized role incumbents. (2) Perceivers observe members of their own social system of origin more accurately than they perceive a foreign social system. (3) Segregation, "Time Lag" and ideology distort perception. This analysis substantiates the proposition that novels are of limited value as sources of sociological insights unless they are compared with social science research and unless the orientation in terms of social membership of the novelist is known. The reading public in the est, to the extent that it has depended upon European novels as its source of information about West Africa, is inadequately informed. Americans who rely on this fictional material have looked at West Africa primarily through European eyes. / 2031-01-01

Le califat de Hamdallahi a été gouverné successivement par trois dirigeants dont tous portaient le prénom « Amadou » pendant un demi-siècle de 1818 à 1862. La capitale du califat se trouvait dans la région du Macina au centre de l’actuel Mali en Afrique de l’Ouest. Cette région a connu de nombreuses mutations au XIXe siècle, particulièrement sur le plan intellectuel, politique et confrérique. Cette étude couvre uniquement la période de 1800 et 1866 dans la région du Macina. Ce travail s’est basé sur un texte polémique entre les Qādiris et les Tījānis ouest africains du XIXe siècle. Ce choix a pour but d’élargir davantage la documentation sur l’histoire du Macina et surtout faire connaître la littérature ouest africaine du XIXe siècle. L’historiographie de la région s’est jusqu’à présent fondée sur des jugements rapides ne reposant pas sur une étude approfondie des textes, l’intérêt de ce choix est justement de faire parler les textes autour de ces problématiques.Cette étude illustre en partie l’histoire intellectuelle et politique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest au XIXe siècle. Le texte a été composé après la victoire militaire d’al-Ḥājj Umar dans la région du Macina en 1862. Cette conquête a mis fin définitivement à l’existence d’un État théocratique connu sous le nom de califat de Hamdallahi, un des États les plus organisés politiquement en Afrique de l’ouest au XIXe siècle. Ce conflit politique s’est transformé en partie en un conflit d’ordre confrérique. Ibn Yerkoy Talfi disciple d’al-Ḥājj Umar et idéologue tījāni était dans le camp des vainqueurs et s’est retourné contre le plus haut responsable de la confrérie Qādiriyya subsaharienne Aḥmad al-Bakkay. Ce dernier était représentant de la confrérie Qādiriyya et se trouvait parmi les vaincus, Aḥmad al-Bakkay avaient longtemps critiqué al-Ḥājj Umar et sa confrérie.Une investigation beaucoup plus large et une analyse critique des textes nous ont permis de revenir sur certains sujets déjà étudiés auparavant par exemple : la surévaluation de la question confrérique en toile de fond, les enjeux des relations Kunta/Peuls dans la période étudiée. La manipulation des textes religieux pour des raisons politiques, historiques et sociales. / For half a century from 1818-1862, the Hamdallahi Caliphate was ruled by three successive leaders who each carried the name “Amadou.” The capital of the Caliphate was located in the Macina region which is in the center of modern-day Mali in West Africa. This region witnessed numerous changes over the course of the nineteenth century, especially in its intellectual, political and Sufi configurations. This study is focused exclusively on the period from 1800 to 1866 in the Macina region. The work is based on a polemical text about the differences between West African members of the Qādiriyya and Tījāniyya brotherhoods during the nineteenth century. This choice was made with the goal of expanding the documentary basis for the history of the Macina, and more than this, to make the West African literature of the nineteenth century better known. The historiography of the region has until now been based on quick analyses which are not based on deep study of texts and as such, the choice made here in this thesis is to concentrate on the contents of texts related to these problems. This study illustrates the intellectual and political history of West Africa in the nineteenth century. The text was written after the military victory of al-Ḥājj Umar in the Macina region in 1862. That conquest put a definitive end to the theocratic state known by the name of the Hamdallahi Caliphate, one of the best organized states in West Africa in the nineteenth century. The political conflict was transformed into a conflict between brotherhoods. Ibn Yerkoy Talfi was a disciple of al-Ḥājj Umar and a Tījāni ideologue who was part of the winning side, and it was directed against Aḥmad al-Bakkay, leader of the Qādiriyya brotherhood in sub-Saharan Africa. Aḥmad al-Bakkay was among those defeated in this conflict, and had been a longtime critic of al-Ḥājj Umar and his brotherhood.A much broader investigation and critical analysis of the texts allows us to return to certain topics which have already been studies such as the wider context of these events, the stakes in the relations between the Kunta and Fulɓe in the period studies, and the manipulation of religious texts for political, historical and social reasons.