Magical realism as a genre has been heavily debated especially when it comes to the classification of work from former colonies. In this class we will discuss it in the context of the work from the African continent and the genres it often obscures like Animism Realism, African Traditional Realism. We will also explore surrealism with contemporary examples.
The aim of the class is to remove the western gaze/framing of these genres from literature emerging from the continent and see how we can play them into our own writing. We will also use contemporary visual art and music from Africa. Inclusion of indigenous story telling styles, transliteration from African languages, spiritualities and traditions and a keen interest in the genres and familiarity with stories within the genres is encouraged.