Writing postcolonial African genocide: the Holocaust and fictional representations of genocide in Nigeria and Rwanda

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorAnyaduba, Chigbo
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeBrydon, Diana (English, Theatre, Film, and Media)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeSinclair, Struan (English, Theatre, Film, and Media)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeWoolford, Andrew (Sociology)en_US
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeEsonwanne, Uzoma (University of Toronto)en_US
dc.contributor.supervisorMuller, Adam (English, Theatre, Film, and Media)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-23T18:23:25Z
dc.date.available2018-10-23T18:23:25Z
dc.date.issued2018en_US
dc.date.submitted2018-09-28T17:13:09Zen
dc.date.submitted2018-10-23T17:58:38Zen
dc.degree.disciplineEnglish, Film and Theatreen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)en_US
dc.description.abstractThis study examines fictional representations of genocides occurring in postcolonial Africa. By addressing the historical, political and cultural dimensions underpinning writing about mass atrocities in 1966-1970 Nigeria and 1990-1994 Rwanda, the study highlights the evolving patterns of imagining violent encounters in postcolonial Africa centred on the idea of genocide. This idea of genocide, I argue, derives significantly from an association of African genocidal suffering with the Nazi Germany genocide of Jews in Europe – the Holocaust. Thus, I work to illustrate the ways and forms in which fictional representations of largescale violence in Nigerian and Rwandan contexts invoke the cultural memories and representational practices associated with the Holocaust in order to give distinctive shape and character to our understanding of violent experiences in these countries. Drawing on novels written in response to the genocides in Nigeria and Rwanda, I call attention to a body of imaginative literature that presents a compelling picture of the scope, strategies and prevailing thematic concerns that have preoccupied discussions about violence, identities, morality and justice in Africa. I argue that these novels show significant influence by popular tropes of Holocaust writing in terms of their thematic and stylistic elements. These novels establish a clear link between African genocides and the Holocaust, minimally through direct comparison of African atrocities to atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis against Jews, and also through their deployment of notable tropes characteristic of Holocaust literature. The nexus of traumatic Holocaust and African atrocity memories in fictional representations of African genocides, I go on to argue, has significance for reasons not generally accounted for in scholarly works on African genocide literature. This significance emerges from the critical consideration of literary projects that moralize their genocide narratives.en_US
dc.description.noteFebruary 2019en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/33534
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectAfrican Genocideen_US
dc.subjectLiteratureen_US
dc.subjectthe Holocausten_US
dc.subjectthe Postcolonyen_US
dc.subjectNigeriaen_US
dc.subjectRwandaen_US
dc.subjectGenocide Novelen_US
dc.subjectAfrican Genocide Literatureen_US
dc.subjectThe Novelen_US
dc.subjectFictional Representationen_US
dc.titleWriting postcolonial African genocide: the Holocaust and fictional representations of genocide in Nigeria and Rwandaen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Anyaduba_Chigbo.pdf
Size:
1.7 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.2 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description:
Download
Collections
FGS - Electronic Theses and Practica