Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory
Other Authors: Viljoen, Shaun
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2015
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613814815457280
access_status_str Open Access
author Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory
author2 Viljoen, Shaun
author_browse Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory
Viljoen, Shaun
author_facet Viljoen, Shaun
Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory
author_sort Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/97893
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:42:07.859Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/97893 Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory Viljoen, Shaun Bangeni, Nwabisa Spencer, Lynda Gichanda Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Families in literature Women authors, African African literature -- 21st century -- History and criticism UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores narratives by African women from East and West Africa. It specifically examines how twenty-first century African women writers from the selected regions represent the institution of family in a way that challenges their older generation writer counterparts and Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi’s theory of black womanism. While accentuating the various ways in which the family trope is revisited in contemporary narratives (using African feminism and post-colonial approaches) the study benefits from the argument that the changes in the institution of the family in contemporary women’s writing should be understood in terms of the socio-cultural, political and economic milieu of these regions, Africa and the global context generally. One of the notable forces behind these changes (apart from colonialism) is the change in gender politics: the understanding of gender roles and responsibilities, as well as social, political and economic instabilities, emigration, refugeeism, and the diaspora. Through a comparative approach, this study shows that contemporary women writers do not disavow history; rather they lean on the shoulders of their literary ‘grandmothers’ and ‘mothers’ to vocalise what is expected of the post-colonial nation. Their narratives appear to suggest a shift in approaching a literary text by emphasizing the importance of family in the making of the geo-political nation. In addition, they subvert traditional ways of looking at the gender dichotomy between men and women by embracing what Chielozona Eze calls a third-wave global feminism (a revisited form of black womanism advocated by Ogunyemi) which challenges patriarchal power at home and opens avenues where men and women compete equally and equitably in socio-cultural, economic and political struggles. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word die narratiewe van vroue skryfsters van Oos en Wes Afrika ondersoek. Daar word spesifiek gekyk na hoe vroue skryfsters afkomstig van die gekose gebiede in die een-en-twintigste eeu na die instelling van die gesin kyk en of dit verskil van die siening van die ouer generasie skrywers en van die teorie van Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi oor vrouwees. In die studie word daar gekyk na die verskeie wyses waarop daar in moderne narratiewe na die gesin gekyk word (deur om gebruik te maak van feministiese en postkolonistiese benaderings). Die argument is dat die veranderinge in die instelling van die gesin soos beskryf deur hierdie skryfsters, verstaan moet word in die lig van die sosio-kulturele, politiese en ekonomiese milieus van hierdie gebiede, Afrika en die globale konteks in die algemeen. Een van die hoofredes vir hierdie veranderings (behalwe vir kolonialisme) is die veranderings in gender politiek; the verstaan van gender rolle en verantwoordelikhede asook van sosiale, politieke en ekonomiese onstabiliteit en emigrasie, vlugtelingskap en diaspora. Hierdie is ’n vergelykende benadering waarin daar bewys word dat eietydse skryfsters nie die geskiedenis ontken nie, maar leun op die skouers van hulle letterkundige “ouma’s” en “moeders” om te verduidelik wat van die postkolonistiese nasie verwag word. Dit blyk dat eietydse skryfsters in hulle narratiewe die belangrikheid van die gesin in die bou van die geo-politieke nasie beklemtoon. Hulle verander die tradisionele wyse waarop daar na die gender dichotomie tussen mans en vrouens gekyk word en steun wat Chielozona Eze die derde golf van globale feminisme (’n vorm van swart vrouwees wat deur Ogunyemi beskryf is) noem. Die patriargale mag in die huis word uitgedaag en daar word na wyses gesoek waarop vroue op gelyke voet met mans ops sosio-kulturele, ekonomiese en politieke gebiede kan meeding. Doctoral 2015-12-14T07:43:01Z 2015-12-14T07:43:01Z 2015-12 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97893 en_ZA Stellenbosch University viii, 208 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Families in literature
Women authors, African
African literature -- 21st century -- History and criticism
UCTD
Ng'umbi, Yunusy Castory
Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing
title Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing
title_full Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing
title_fullStr Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing
title_full_unstemmed Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing
title_short Politics of the family in contemporary East and West African women's writing
title_sort politics of the family in contemporary east and west african women s writing
topic Families in literature
Women authors, African
African literature -- 21st century -- History and criticism
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97893
work_keys_str_mv AT ngumbiyunusycastory politicsofthefamilyincontemporaryeastandwestafricanwomenswriting