Broadens the space for a discussion of reading based in some degree of theorizing that has already occurred within the community of African-American critics and scholars. Argues that those engaged in reader-oriented approaches to literature need to intervene in the canonical debates and the critical practices of noncanonical literatures through…

Finds the commentaries of U.S. critics on the works of Chinua Achebe and other African writers ethnocentric, misinformed, and devoid of cogent analysis. Advocates a microscopic sociocultural contextualization of the works, emphasizing the nuances, history, and specifications of the African milieu. Discusses Achebe's special place in reading lists…

The works of women African writers such as Bessie Head, Mariama Ba, Buchi Emecheta, and Flora Nwapa have become increasingly familiar to North American college students during the past decade, largely through their inclusion on feminist reading lists. Because the pedagogical value of these texts lies in their presumed ability to speak for African…

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)

Reports on a computerized statistical study of discourse bias and the specificity of female writing against male writing. Examines the characters in 20 novels written by male and female Francophone African authors. Finds a number of significant differences that characterize the make-up of novels by the two sexes. (CFR)