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The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change

This book provides a rich and full analysis of female Swahili novelists from a feminist perspective, highlighting their important contributions to the living Swahili literary and intellectual tradition.

Compared to the diverse and centuries-old oral literature, or religious-philosophical poetry tradition developing since at least the 17th century, the novel is a relatively young phenomenon in the rich body of Swahili literary output, emerging only in the last hundred years. Since then, academia has focused primarily on male novelists, largely disregarding important female writers such as Ndyanao Balisidya, Zainab Burhani, Martha Mvungi Mlangala, Zainab Mwanga, Lucy Nyasulu, and Zainab Alwi Baharoon. This book traces the evolution of women’s writing in Tanzania, highlighting emancipatory and feminist discourses, as well as intersectional themes of class, education, and urbanisation. The author demonstrates how concepts such as utu 'the essence of humanity', aibu 'shame', 'disgrace' and heshima 'honor', 'social respectability' are used in the novels to articulate the value systems and social norms in Swahili communities, including the gendered perceptions of women that they create.

Grounded throughout in the historical and socio-political contexts of the authors it discusses, this book will be an important read for researchers of African literature and women’s studies.

1145410168
The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change

This book provides a rich and full analysis of female Swahili novelists from a feminist perspective, highlighting their important contributions to the living Swahili literary and intellectual tradition.

Compared to the diverse and centuries-old oral literature, or religious-philosophical poetry tradition developing since at least the 17th century, the novel is a relatively young phenomenon in the rich body of Swahili literary output, emerging only in the last hundred years. Since then, academia has focused primarily on male novelists, largely disregarding important female writers such as Ndyanao Balisidya, Zainab Burhani, Martha Mvungi Mlangala, Zainab Mwanga, Lucy Nyasulu, and Zainab Alwi Baharoon. This book traces the evolution of women’s writing in Tanzania, highlighting emancipatory and feminist discourses, as well as intersectional themes of class, education, and urbanisation. The author demonstrates how concepts such as utu 'the essence of humanity', aibu 'shame', 'disgrace' and heshima 'honor', 'social respectability' are used in the novels to articulate the value systems and social norms in Swahili communities, including the gendered perceptions of women that they create.

Grounded throughout in the historical and socio-political contexts of the authors it discusses, this book will be an important read for researchers of African literature and women’s studies.

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The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change

The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change

by Izabela Romanczuk
The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change
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The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change

The Swahili Novels of Tanzanian Women: Agency, Tradition, and Change

by Izabela Romanczuk

Overview

This book provides a rich and full analysis of female Swahili novelists from a feminist perspective, highlighting their important contributions to the living Swahili literary and intellectual tradition.

Compared to the diverse and centuries-old oral literature, or religious-philosophical poetry tradition developing since at least the 17th century, the novel is a relatively young phenomenon in the rich body of Swahili literary output, emerging only in the last hundred years. Since then, academia has focused primarily on male novelists, largely disregarding important female writers such as Ndyanao Balisidya, Zainab Burhani, Martha Mvungi Mlangala, Zainab Mwanga, Lucy Nyasulu, and Zainab Alwi Baharoon. This book traces the evolution of women’s writing in Tanzania, highlighting emancipatory and feminist discourses, as well as intersectional themes of class, education, and urbanisation. The author demonstrates how concepts such as utu 'the essence of humanity', aibu 'shame', 'disgrace' and heshima 'honor', 'social respectability' are used in the novels to articulate the value systems and social norms in Swahili communities, including the gendered perceptions of women that they create.

Grounded throughout in the historical and socio-political contexts of the authors it discusses, this book will be an important read for researchers of African literature and women’s studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781040131596
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication date: 09/11/2024
Series: Routledge Studies in African Literature
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 172
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Izabela Romańczuk completed her PhD at the Department of African Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland. She works as an assistant professor in the Department of African Languages and Cultures at the University of Warsaw. In her research and teaching work she deals with various aspects of contemporary African literature, particularly Kiswahili literature, emphasizing gender dynamics and identity representation. At the University of Warsaw's Department of African Languages and Cultures, she also teaches about feminist theories in Africa.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part One: Contexts 1. Methodological framework 2. Literary outline Part Two: Texts and their analyses 3. 'Don't Forget Me': women's writing in the 1960s 4. Visions of women's emancipation in the Ujamaa literature 5. The last decades of the 20th century 6. Feminist discourses in 21st-century novels Conclusion

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