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Notes that although children's literature has long been neglected in Africa, recent developments have encouraged new book production and critical study of the genre. (FL)

Actions taken in newly independent Kenya during the mid 70's to achieve greater cultural autonomy in the secondary school literature curriculum are the focus of this case-study.

Discusses problems associated with reform of secondary school curricula in Kenya in the period immediately after independence. Follows the course of two innovations--School Mathematics of East Africa (SMEA) and the Africanization of the literature curriculum--and discusses various reasons for their failure and for Kenya's continued dependence on Western curricular forms. (JHZ)

Summarizes and interprets Wole Soyinka's play "Death and the King's Horseman," clarifying some of the shared misunderstandings dividing African and European cultures. Relates the play's theme to the creative acts of teaching and learning. (DMM)

Examines the novels of two African writers to determine the nature of the black African women's experience. Attempts to determine how this experience can be analyzed in depth and breadth by progressing through four feminist perspectives: (1) personal, (2) social, (3) multicultural, and (4) spiritual/philosophical. (Author/SA)

Discusses the reasons for Black women novelists not allying themselves with White feminists and the differences between the two groups' perspectives. Introduces the term "womanism" to express a philosophy that celebrates Black roots and the ideals of Black life while giving a balanced presentation of Black womandom. (SA)

Compares the treatment of race in two novels set in Africa with white protagonists, "The Radiance of the King" by Camara Laye and "Henderson the Rain King" by Saul Bellow. Argues that both novels, proceeding differently, create literary myths of racial harmony to replace undesirable, fallacious racist myths. (KH)

The three stages of expatriation are as follow: (1) at the village level, (2) the passage from village to city, and (3) the passage from Africa to the West. This article discusses the following novels which address these stages: (1) "Things Fall Apart," (2) "Arrow of God," (3) "The River Between," and (4) "No Longer at Ease." (LHW)

Offers a new perspective on the novel, "No Longer at Ease," and comments on its sub-themes: the clash of two civilizations, the antipathy between youth and old age, human fallibility, social and moral decadence. In contrast with his earlier novel, Achebe writes topical satire for educated Africans. (LHW)

"The Color Purple" is not only a novel in which black women make an inhospitable male environment amenable to their growth and development, it is also an epistolary novel in which black women take a form traditionally inhospitable to oral cultures, the written word, and makes it responsive to their needs. (LHW)

Ashley Bryan, known for his distinctive illustrations on African themes and written and oral presentations of African folktales, responds to questions on his background, career, design process, and oral presentations. (SD)

Traces the history of English literature and instruction in Nigerian schools, from the classical Western canon imposed by colonialism to popular pamphlet literature. Reviews books that are related to the Nigerian teenager's personal and social needs, filling a lacuna previously occupied by European and North American books. (JK)

Notes that the African oral tradition of storytelling is giving way to an expansion of published works for children. (JC)

Recommends using fictional works about modern Asian and African history as supplementary reading in history courses to enhance student understanding of culture. Provides an annotated list of novels that have been used successfully in these courses. Outlines useful strategies for using fiction in college level history courses. (BSR)

Earlier African novels, addressed to a Western audience, defend the traditional culture of the authors and attack the hypocrisy of the West. Later novels, written after 1960, are addressed to an African audience, and present balanced appraisals of Western culture and religion. Discusses rhetorical devices and other aspects of African novels. (BJV)

Discusses books for Nigerian children that deal with the common dilemma of whether to send a village child to boarding school to receive a Western education. Shows which books have stereotypical characterizations and which deal with more natural settings, characters, and issues. (SKC)

Literature by African women has a social function. Popular topics are colonialism, feminism, and culture conflict. The works of two Senegalese writers, Ba and Sow Fall, are described and compared. They recognize conflict, but they also write about less obvious social influences and recognize that social change can be beneficial. (VM)

Describes mother-daughter relations in four American and African literary works: Ama Ata Aidoo's "Anowa," Gloria Naylor's "Women of Brewster Place," Bessie Head's "Maru," and Paule Marshall's "Brown Girl Brownstones." Argues that the myth of Black mother-daughter confrontations camouflages deep-seated frustrations associated with racial and sexual oppression. (KH)

Analyzes depictions of female characters in twentieth century African literature. Finds that most male African writers have described women from a detached, half-amused point of view, and have treated traits of individualism with little sympathy. Women writers, on the other hand, have created portraitures of greater authenticity and vitality. (KH)

Expatriate characters in six post-independence African novels are disillusioned by the nasty weather, negative racial attitudes, declining morality, and rigid social structure they find in the Western world. Their loneliness in the West ironically becomes a source of African nationalism. (BJV)

Discusses the use of non-native English literature in the American English classroom. Views the transformation of English by non-English sensibilities as a source of vitality in the language. Concludes that contact literature helps students appreciate language change and stimulates reader response. Provides bibliographies of works by international writers and articles on contact literature. (JG)