ACTIO NOVA ⎻ Journal of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature
Monograph 6 ⎻ "Instances of agency and agonism in postcolonial black-African literature: (trans)formations and (trans)mutations"
Two of the most striking characteristics of the literary creation carried out by black-African writers in the post-colonial period have to do, on the one hand, with what Makokha (2011: 21) calls the 'cosmopolitan turn' and, on the other, with significant changes that They have been produced around the figure of the protagonist, particularly in the postcolonial black-African novel. These changes have the effect of reflecting the capacity and freedom that the characters have when it comes to making decisions and acting, that is, their possibilities as agents from a cultural and sociopolitical point of view and, concomitantly, what this implies. in terms of political and sociocultural conflict and dissent. This is achieved by replacing the absence or a blurred presence with a presence that marks the story, as in the case of the woman, or through what would be transformations that affect typical characters of traditional stories and colonial novels. The most interesting changes lie in the passage of tribulation and the most extreme adversity to different instances and degrees of agency that are reflected through figures such as those of the Afropolitan, the ingenious troubled (hustler ), the detective, as well as that of the mutant, typical of science fiction stories, but also present in many stories that come close to magical realism (cf. Harris 2020: “Introduction”).
The first of these figures refers to the condition of the African as reflected in the experiences of cosmopolitan Africans, whose existence takes place outside the African continent, in contrast to the remaining figures, whose living conditions are characterized by the precariousness that defines, to a large extent, most African countries. Beyond this difference, these figures have in common the ability to adapt, to survive in circumstances of marked precariousness from a material, experiential and/or symbolic point of view, devising original and innovative strategies. From this point of view, the characteristic inventiveness of figures as diverse as the homeless, the prostitute, the drug dealer, the street child or the child soldier also defines, beyond the differences in their manifestations, the figures of the woman, the detective and the mutant, in what it implies as adaptation strategies in the face of circumstances that are characterized by multiform and ubiquitous violence. In more general terms, beyond their differences, the figure of the Afropolitan and that of the troubled African subsume the imperative of survival, an urgency that, only apparently, circumstances spare the Afropolitan, since he cannot free himself from the multiple cultural and sociopolitical circumstances that, both within the African continent and outside it, exude a protean violence, although often of low intensity ('slow violence'; Harris 2020) compared to what ordinary Africans suffer. in what it implies of adaptation strategies in the face of circumstances that are characterized by multiform and ubiquitous violence. In more general terms, beyond their differences, the figure of the Afropolitan and that of the troubled African subsume the imperative of survival, an urgency that, only apparently, circumstances spare the Afropolitan, since he cannot free himself from the multiple cultural and sociopolitical circumstances that, both within the African continent and outside it, exude a protean violence, although often of low intensity ('slow violence'; Harris 2020) compared to what ordinary Africans suffer. in what it implies of adaptation strategies in the face of circumstances that are characterized by multiform and ubiquitous violence. In more general terms, beyond their differences, the figure of the Afropolitan and that of the troubled African subsume the imperative of survival, an urgency that, only apparently, circumstances spare the Afropolitan, since he cannot free himself from the multiple cultural and sociopolitical circumstances that, both within the African continent and outside it, exude a protean violence, although often of low intensity ('slow violence'; Harris 2020) compared to what ordinary Africans suffer.
Taking Africa as a frame of reference, the strategies used by these figures coincide in their utopian effect, to the extent that they create a world in which they have the ability to free themselves from the violence characteristic of material and symbolic circumstances. that frame their experiences and that is inherent to their lives both inside and outside of Africa.
In accordance with these observations, the monographic number of Actio Nova on "Instances of agency and agonism in postcolonial black-African literature: (trans)formations and (trans)mutations" will focus on the transformations and transmutations that the figure of the protagonist has undergone in recent African fiction, for which we request contributions from collaborators regarding the agency of the characters and the circumstances that surround it and that affect their relationships with the multiple instances and modalities of power, as well as the implications of these the latter and the typical agonism of black African fiction from the point of view of sociopolitical and cultural transformations both in the African context itself and in the cosmopolitan sphere.
The following thematic lines are proposed, among others, for the contributions:
-incidence of gender (masculinity(s) and femininity(s))
-Relationship with instances of power (traditional, modern, social, political, etc.)
-cosmopolitanism, exile and dissidence
-magical realism and ecology
-magical realism, science fiction and empowerment effects
-new approaches in the detective genre
-postcolonial gothic
The deadline for submissions will be on October 15, 2023.