Topics in Francophone Colonial and Postcolonial Studies (465-0-20)
Topic
Errancy, Writing, and Francophone African Fiction
Instructors
Nasrin Qader
847/491-8263
1860 S. Campus Drive, Crowe Hall #2-101
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-425: Tues 2:00PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
The Moroccan scholar, Abdellah Kaaouas has dedicated a book to "errance," one of the "corner stones" of Abdelkebir Khatibi's work. Indeed, through the motif of "errancy," Khatibi converses with multiple traditions of literary and philosophical writings across time. Figures such as the translator, the voyager, the mystic, the knight, the artist lie at the core of his literary work as well as his writings on literature, ethics, and politics. For instance, in Figures de l'étranger dans la littérature française, he speaks of literature's "l'exotisme du dedans," as that which renders all literature "étrangère à elle-même et à son cadre national et patriotique." This figure is encapsulated for Khatibi that of the « exote » in Victor Segalen's work which he analyzes in the first chapter of this book (12).
In this course, will turn to works from the corpus of Francophone African literature through the motif of "errance." We will trace and reflect on the modalities of errancy as movement across time and space as well as its association with "error" and "going stray," given its derivation from the Latin "errare." We will start with one of the most errant works of world literature, A Thousand and One Nights, learning about its history, modality of narration, and influences on contemporary works. We will then turn to works that directly engage with Nights tracking its appropriations and reimaginings. Finally, we will explore works that do not explicitly respond to or rewrite Nights but nevertheless foreground errant dynamics that may be informed by our reading of Nights.
While this course builds on the theoretical insights of French 432 taught in spring 2024, it is designed to be self-contained and is, therefore, open to all interested students able to read and discuss in French at the graduate level. Suggested readings will enable students to deepen their background as needed.
Class Materials (Required)
Tentative reading list:
Jamel Eddine Bencheikh, Les mille et une nuits (selections)
Antoine Galland, Les mille et une nuits (selections)
Leila Sebbar Shérazade, 17 ans, brune, frisée, les yeux verts
Assia Djebar Oran, langue morte (selections)
Boubacar Boris Diop Le Cavalier et son ombre
Abdelkebir Khatibi Un été à Stockholm
Hubert Haddad Les premières neiges sur Pondicherry
Ken Bugul Cacophonie
Camara Laye Le Regard du roi
Class Materials (Suggested)
Additional References :
Fatima Mernissi Chahrazade n'est pas marocaine
Fatima Mernissi Shahrazad Goe West
Salima Ghezali Les amants de Shahrazade
Ferial Ghazoul Nocturnal Poetics : Arabian Nights in Comparative Context
Faouzia Zouari Pour en finir avec Shahrazade
Abdelkebir Khatibi Figure de l'étranger dans la littérature française