Naturalizing Africa

Ecological Violence, Agency, and Postcolonial Resistance in African Literature

Nonfiction, History, Africa, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Naturalizing Africa by Cajetan Iheka, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Cajetan Iheka ISBN: 9781108187770
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: December 7, 2017
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Cajetan Iheka
ISBN: 9781108187770
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: December 7, 2017
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

The problem of environmental degradation on the African continent is a severe one. In this book, Cajetan Iheka analyses how African literary texts have engaged with pressing ecological problems in Africa, including the Niger Delta oil pollution in Nigeria, ecologies of war in Somalia, and animal abuses. Analysing narratives by important African writers such as Amos Tutuola, Wangari Maathai, J. M. Coetzee, Bessie Head, and Ben Okri, Iheka challenges the tendency to focus primarily on humans in the conceptualization of environmental problems, and instead focuses on how African literature demonstrates the interconnection and 'proximity' of human and nonhuman beings. Through this, Iheka ultimately proposes a revision of the idea of agency based on human intentionality in African literary studies and postcolonialism: that texts yoke the exploitation of Africans to the despoliation of the environment, and they recommend responsibility toward human and nonhuman beings as crucial for ecological sustainability and addressing climate change.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The problem of environmental degradation on the African continent is a severe one. In this book, Cajetan Iheka analyses how African literary texts have engaged with pressing ecological problems in Africa, including the Niger Delta oil pollution in Nigeria, ecologies of war in Somalia, and animal abuses. Analysing narratives by important African writers such as Amos Tutuola, Wangari Maathai, J. M. Coetzee, Bessie Head, and Ben Okri, Iheka challenges the tendency to focus primarily on humans in the conceptualization of environmental problems, and instead focuses on how African literature demonstrates the interconnection and 'proximity' of human and nonhuman beings. Through this, Iheka ultimately proposes a revision of the idea of agency based on human intentionality in African literary studies and postcolonialism: that texts yoke the exploitation of Africans to the despoliation of the environment, and they recommend responsibility toward human and nonhuman beings as crucial for ecological sustainability and addressing climate change.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Microarchaeology by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book An Ancient Commentary on the Book of Revelation by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Terahertz Physics by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Recommender Systems by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book The African American Theatrical Body by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Democracy in Africa by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book At the Boundaries of Homeownership by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Stochastic Networks by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book The Creative Society – and the Price Americans Paid for It by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Gesture by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Dissolving Royal Marriages by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book What Is a Case? by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's Last Plays by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book Operating Room Leadership and Management by Cajetan Iheka
Cover of the book The Role of Domestic Courts in Treaty Enforcement by Cajetan Iheka
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy