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Accepted Paper:
The Afropolitan Gaze as Planetary in Contemporary African Literature
Elizabeth Olaoye
(Midwestern State University)
This study scrutinizes the Afropolitan gaze on Africa articulated by Afropolitan writers, characterizing these viewpoints as a manifestation of planetary engagement with the continent.
Paper long abstract:
This paper undertakes an exploration of instances of planetary engagement with the African continent as portrayed in Afropolitan literary texts. The analysis delves into the ambivalent relationship that Afroplolitan writers maintain with Africa, revealing a complex interplay of emotions and perspectives. A distinctive characteristic of Afropolitan literature lies in the depiction of characters who re-enter postcolonial spaces after a prolonged absence, sharing commonalities with the authors themselves—Africans of the global diaspora often returning after extended sojourns. Through an in-depth examination of these Afropolitan gazes on African spaces in Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah and Teju Cole's Every Day is for the Thief, this study elucidates moments wherein the returning individuals' perceptions of Africa and its realities become complicated by their broadened planetary outlook.