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Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004)
Located at the intersection of Urban Geographies and Literary Studies, this study focuses on urban geographical considerations as they are applied to the depiction of the city of Lagos, Nigeria in Chris Abani's novel GraceLand published in 2004. While exploring the cartographies of urban space in th...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Department of English Language and Literature
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613301304721408 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Ohajunwa, Dionne |
| author2 | Moji, Polo |
| author_browse | Moji, Polo Ohajunwa, Dionne |
| author_facet | Moji, Polo Ohajunwa, Dionne |
| author_sort | Ohajunwa, Dionne |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Located at the intersection of Urban Geographies and Literary Studies, this study focuses on urban geographical considerations as they are applied to the depiction of the city of Lagos, Nigeria in Chris Abani's novel GraceLand published in 2004. While exploring the cartographies of urban space in the novel, the study applies principles and theories of Southern Urbanisms, notably AbdouMaliq Simone, Ato Quayson, Edgar Pieterse and so much more to reading Lagos as a representation of the African urban. The study offers a critical exploration of the ways that the city of Lagos is mapped by the diasporic author - firstly, on the Noir genre and any possible connections to be made to the novel; secondly on the perception of the homeland and how this feeds into the mapping of the city in the text; thirdly on the lived experiences of those who reside in the city, particularly the perspective of the main character who presents as a type of flaneur within it. The study ultimately hopes to highlight inherent complexities and ambiguities and contribute towards a modification of global perceptions of the African urban |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41855 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:57.504Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Department of English Language and Literature |
| publisherStr | Department of English Language and Literature |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41855 Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) Ohajunwa, Dionne Moji, Polo English Literature Located at the intersection of Urban Geographies and Literary Studies, this study focuses on urban geographical considerations as they are applied to the depiction of the city of Lagos, Nigeria in Chris Abani's novel GraceLand published in 2004. While exploring the cartographies of urban space in the novel, the study applies principles and theories of Southern Urbanisms, notably AbdouMaliq Simone, Ato Quayson, Edgar Pieterse and so much more to reading Lagos as a representation of the African urban. The study offers a critical exploration of the ways that the city of Lagos is mapped by the diasporic author - firstly, on the Noir genre and any possible connections to be made to the novel; secondly on the perception of the homeland and how this feeds into the mapping of the city in the text; thirdly on the lived experiences of those who reside in the city, particularly the perspective of the main character who presents as a type of flaneur within it. The study ultimately hopes to highlight inherent complexities and ambiguities and contribute towards a modification of global perceptions of the African urban 2025-09-18T10:08:41Z 2025-09-18T10:08:41Z 2025 2025-09-18T10:06:20Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41855 en eng application/pdf Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Humanities |
| spellingShingle | English Literature Ohajunwa, Dionne Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) |
| title_full | Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) |
| title_fullStr | Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) |
| title_short | Writing the Lagosian Homeland: the ambiguous and precarious African urban in Chris Abani's GraceLand (2004) |
| title_sort | writing the lagosian homeland the ambiguous and precarious african urban in chris abani s graceland 2004 |
| topic | English Literature |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41855 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ohajunwadionne writingthelagosianhomelandtheambiguousandprecariousafricanurbaninchrisabanisgraceland2004 |