The African quest for freedom and identity : Cameroonian writing and the national experience / Richard Bjornson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bjornson, Richard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cameroonian literature (French)--History and criticism.

Cameroonian literature (French).

National liberation movements in literature.

Cameroonian literature--History and criticism.

Cameroonian literature.

National liberation movements--Cameroon.

National liberation movements.

Nationalism.

Cameroon--Politics and government.

Cameroon.

Politics and government.

Nationalism in literature.

Nationalism--Cameroon.

Physical Description:

xvii, 507 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [1991]

Summary:

Independence generated the promise of a better future for the ethnicallydiverse populations of African countries, but during the past thirty years economicand political crises have called into question the legitimacy of speaking aboutnationhood in Africa. Richard Bjornson argues here that a national consciousness canindeed be seen in the shared systems of references made possible by the emergence ofliterate cultures. By tracing the evolution of literate culture in Cameroon from thecolonial period to the present and by examining a broad spectrum of writing in itssocial, political, economic, and cultural contexts, Bjornson shows how the conceptsof freedom and identity have become the dominant concerns of the country's writers, and he relates those themes to the history of Cameroon's as a complex modern state.Bjornson also analyzes in detail works by writers such as Mongo Beti, FerdinandOyono, Marcien Towa, Guillaume Oyono-Mbia, Ren Philombe, and FrancisBebey.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0253311942

OCLC:

21761842