aAh! Magazine
You are here: Home / News / University Professor changes our perception of Fictional Africa
News

University Professor changes our perception of Fictional Africa

14th December 2012 By 2 218

Naturalism, Humanitarianism and the Fiction of War
Words by Graham Murray

ELENI COUNDOURIOTIS provided a fascinating talk centred on war novels in post-colonial Africa. The talk took place on the Monday evening 10thDecember and was the third event in the humanities strand of this year’s research series for the Humanities. The professor of English from the University of Connecticut, addressed her talk around themes of naturalism, the discourse of humanitarianism and western perspectives on war in Africa. Her talk encompassed many of the humanities, incorporating elements of English literature & language, as well as politics and history.
 
Coundouriotis began the talk discussing humanitarian law. In this, she deliberated the issue surrounding the definition of war, given the fact it has no legal definition. She described war as not defined by actions of war, but by the actors of war. Beyond this, she spoke of humanitarianism in general – how it naturally takes the side of victims, and how “the discourse of humanitarianism is fundamentally a discourse of surrogacy”.
 
She turned her attention following this to the African war novel, identifying the fact that war had always been a present theme in African novels. She was also quick to point out how African war novels often challenge stereotypes of Africa being conflict ridden and dysfunctional. The talk focussed much on humanitarian narratives in these novels, and the so-called “politics of pity”. This means to say how the reader sympathises with the plight of the novel’s protagonists – yet it also distances them.
Coundouriotis identified four main motifs that heighten the impression an African war novel forms a distinct literary tradition – the ‘Song of my Country’, the male warrior as war personified, the ordeal in the forest and the perennial landscape.
               
Berthold Schoene, MMU professor of English and director of the Institute for Humanities and Social Science Research remarked that:

“The work of Professor Coundouriotis highlights the significant interplay within the Humanities between sociological research (human rights and their abuse around the world) and art (the literature of war in Africa).  Her analysis of war novels, and the role they play in “witnessing”, brings to life how Humanities research has the capacity to deepen our understanding of global suffering and conflict.”
 
All in all, Coundouriotis presented an interesting notion of how the African war novel is able to display another side to Africa as a whole, and was an excellent specimen of how the humanities can be so interlinked as subjects.
 
To find out about more upcoming Humanities Research events, please click here and to register your attendance to any of these events please click here

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

2 Comments

  1. Sankar Kumar 29th March 2013 at 7:09 pm -  Reply

    Let’s call it biological colonialism in reverse: Chinese couples are using IVF and rented American wombs to make new US citizens when the baby is born here. From the Global Times story: West Coast Surrogacy, in California, has worked with. If you are thinking to go INDIA for IVF surrogacy, then you must search for Surrogacy India, Surrogate mother India, IVF India, IVF clinic India & IVF cost india. I found Go Surrogacy for this treatment in India. Hope you also like these.

  2. Surrogacy Hospital in Mumbai 30th January 2020 at 5:39 am -  Reply

    Nice Blog. Thank For Information.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • 4th March 2026

    Lights Up cycling film to premiere at The Savoy for International Women’s Day

    Featured image: Isabelle Dargue A powerful new film documenting Manchester’s Lights Up movement will premiere at The Savoy Cinema on 9 March as part of International Women’s Day celebrations. Lights Up is a free, community-led event organised by Bee Pedal Ready and Station South in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, We Are Cycling UK, MCRActive,…

  • 19th February 2026

    A Mural for Mani – Manchester music legend to be immortalised with mural in his hometown

    Following the passing of iconic Stone Roses and Primal Scream Bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mountfield, there have been growing calls for him to be immortalised in a way that reflects both his cultural impact and the deep affection shared between the musician and his home city. GRIT Studios has answered the calls from fans, announcing plans…

  • 19th February 2026

    London Fashion Week A/W 2026: The new designers shaping tomorrow

    Featured image: Evie Peattie  Often overshadowed in popular narratives by the heritage houses of Paris or Milan, London’s fashion ecosystem has long traded on creative freedom. As London Fashion Week prepares for its 42nd year, running from the 19 to 23 February, the British capital is poised to reaffirm its reputation not simply as a…

  • 19th February 2026

    “It’s easy to lose yourself to this music”: Deptford Northern Soul club lead new wave of Northern Soul

    Featured image: Sebastian Garraway Beats vibrate through a polished floor. Bodies move with a swinging grace, surrendering to the rhythm without hesitation. An instinctual sliding jig sways wide-legged jeans cut just above the ankle. Sweat drips from sharp scissor-cut hairstyles onto porous Fred Perry polos. You’ve guessed it: Northern Soul. The late 1960s phenomenon is…

Latest Articles