INTRODUCTION TO ELS 320: MODERN AFRICAN POETRY
This course will examine the origin, the nature ,the evolution and the present state of the modern African poetry. As students ,you will be exposed to poems from some selected African poets . You are expected to do critical analysis of the works s, and examine the predominant thematic preoccupations of the poems as Africans literary works.
Modern African poetry ,like other genres of African literature such as the prose narrative fiction and drama started as a product of the colonial experience of the African writers . It started as an intellectual reaction to the denigration of African continent and the black race. It was seen as a tool to fight colonialism and after independence, it has remained a literature of commitment, with a strong utilitarian value.
African poetry like other creative writings has remained a veritable vehicle for poets to express their views about the contemporary socio-economic and political developedment in the continent.
Technological developedment, especially the ICT, has shifted attention of some modern African poets to the concern for the ecosystem .It is therefore not Uncommon nowadays for poets to concentrate attentions on the environment as a way of galvanizing political action towards preserving the ecosystem for the survival of man.
At the end of this course, students should be able to identify the predominant thematic preoccupation of modern African poetry, the major literary devices employed by the poets to convey their messages. The students should also be able to situate the messages to their own contemporary reality.
This course will examine the origin, the nature ,the evolution and the present state of the modern African poetry. As students ,you will be exposed to poems from some selected African poets . You are expected to do critical analysis of the works s, and examine the predominant thematic preoccupations of the poems as Africans literary works.
Modern African poetry ,like other genres of African literature such as the prose narrative fiction and drama started as a product of the colonial experience of the African writers . It started as an intellectual reaction to the denigration of African continent and the black race. It was seen as a tool to fight colonialism and after independence, it has remained a literature of commitment, with a strong utilitarian value.
African poetry like other creative writings has remained a veritable vehicle for poets to express their views about the contemporary socio-economic and political developedment in the continent.
Technological developedment, especially the ICT, has shifted attention of some modern African poets to the concern for the ecosystem .It is therefore not Uncommon nowadays for poets to concentrate attentions on the environment as a way of galvanizing political action towards preserving the ecosystem for the survival of man.
At the end of this course, students should be able to identify the predominant thematic preoccupation of modern African poetry, the major literary devices employed by the poets to convey their messages. The students should also be able to situate the messages to their own contemporary reality.
- Teacher: Mr. Adeyanju Raphael