This book celebrates Chinua Achebe, one of the most profound and famous African writers of our time, and his widely read masterpiece, Things Fall Apart. The novel remains a “must read” literary text for reasons the many contributors to this book make clear in their astute readings. Their perspectives offer thought provoking and critically insightful considerations for scholars of all ages, cultures and genders.
Author(s): Désiré Baloubi, Christina R. Pinkston
Series: African Histories and Modernities
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 205
City: Cham
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Part I: Friends of Achebe
Chapter 1: Memories of Chinua Achebe at the University of Texas at Austin
Chapter 2: From the Boundaries of Storytelling to the History of a People
References
Part II: African Languages, Linguistics, and Literatures
Chapter 3: Language Alternation Strategy: An In-depth Appraisal of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
Introduction
Related Works
Igbo Literature in English (and Literature in Igbo)
The Man: Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart and It’s Language Deployment
Code Variation (Loan Words and Lexical Variants)
Translation/Explanation
Translation Equivalents (Transliteration)
Proverbs
Loan Blends
Coinages
Onomastics Style
Conclusion
References
Chapter 4: My English, My Literature: Owning Our African Englishes and Literatures
The World Englishes Paradigm
Ownership of English
Whose Language and Whose Culture?
The Author and Her Work
Summary of the Plot
My English, My Literature: African Culture in The River and the Source
The Language and the Culture in The River and the Source
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Anglophone African Author Perspectives on Using English
References
Part III: Women and the Legacy of Chinua Achebe
Chapter 6: The Role of Women in Things Fall Apart
Introduction
A Summary of the Novel
Unveiling the Role of Women in the Novel
Conclusion
Reference
Chapter 7: The Use and Abuse of Manliness in Things Fall Apart
References
Chapter 8: Utilizing Cosmic Feminism and Critical Organic Writing to Deconstruct Female Oppression: A Connection with Women in Things Fall Apart
What Is the Role of Education and Literacy?
Metaphors, as They Are Used in Things Fall Apart and Bordelands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza
Cosmic Feminism: Women in Things Fall Apart
Ag/ba/la, Spanish Phonemes, Comparable to Abya Yala
References
Part IV: HBCUs, African Cultures, and the Teaching of World Languages
Chapter 9: Encouraging American Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Teach African Languages and Cultures
Introduction
African Studies: A Brief Synopsis of a Long History
African Studies in America: More Emphasis on Languages Spoken in Africa
The Choice of Yoruba Language and Dialects
Norfolk State University: A Teaching and Research Institution
References
Chapter 10: Intercultural Connections: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in Language Classrooms
Introduction
Background
ACTFL Intercultural/World Readiness Learning Standards
Why Use Non-Target Language Texts?
Project-Based Learning Concept
Using Things Fall Apart in a Foreign Language Classroom
At What Level Can Things Fall Apart Be Used?
Using TFA at the Elementary Level
Using TFA at the Intermediate Level
Using Things Fall Apart at the Advanced Level
Conclusion
References
Chapter 11: Hunting and Gathering of Texts: Exploring Chinua Achebe’s Textual Footprints in American Institutions
Introduction
A Brief History of African Literature and the American University
The Context of This Presentation
The State of African Literature: From a Personal Account
His Contribution Ends on a Questioning Note
Do We Still Need to Ponder on Why Study Africa?
Road Map for This Chapter
Questions…
Literature Review
Classifications in Classrooms
How Achebe Is Positioned in American Schools
Achebe as Part of Introduction to Sociology
Literature and Sociology
Introductory Geography and Achebe
Use of Fiction in the Geography Classroom
Things Fall Apart and Political Geography
Things Fall Apart as a Source of History
African Novels and History
African Novel’s Historical Engagements
The African Novel as History
Use of Historical Methods in Achebe’s Works
Three Concepts of History Applicable to Things Fall Apart
Achebe in Law and Colonial Cultures
Things Fall Apart and Land Law
Things Fall Apart and the Study of Tragedy
Classifications of Tragedy
Conclusion
References
Part V: Education, History, and Chinua Achebe’s Fiction and Political Texts
Chapter 12: Religious Violent Extremism: Lessons from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
Introduction
The Igbo Traditional Religion
The Nascence of Christianity
Religious Violent Extremism in Things Fall Apart
Conclusion
References
Chapter 13: Turning the Tide for African Literary Criticism: Achebe’s “An Image of Africa” as a Founding Text of Africana Studies
Conclusion: Here I Stand
References
Chapter 14: Chinua Achebe and Joseph Conrad: Irreconcilable Differences?
The Charges That Chinua Achebe Brought …
What Does Conrad Have to Do with Today’s Congo or Africa?
Apology for Doing a Close Reading of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Conclusion
References
Chapter 15: Things Fall Apart and the Modern African Hero
References
Index
