Sex, Gender, and Desire in Francophone Africa (CD or LA)

Subject associations
FRE 355 / AFS 355 / GSS 304
Term
Fall 2022
Instructors
André Benhaïm
Registrar description

This course examines the complex role of gender and sexuality in Francophone Africa's literature and visual cultures. Framed primarily by postcolonial criticism, we will explore how Francophone African writers, filmmakers, and artists treat historical and contemporary issues connected to women and marginal sexualities' experiences, and how they appropriate vernacular/conventional modes of writing and filmmaking in their works. By reading critical writings alongside the novels and films, we will explore questions such as: How stories shape our understanding of gender roles? From whose perspective are they told? What do they exclude/repress?