A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004)
African literature has suffered a great deal of scathing criticism, especially from western critics and scholars, who believe that Black African writers and critics have repeatedly focused on trite themes and subject matters of colonial/postcolonial nature at the expense of the global environmental...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Arts & Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311983.2022.2145669 |
| _version_ | 1798017608599994368 |
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| author | Rogers Asempasah Christabel Aba Sam Bertrand Azagsizua Abelumkemah |
| author_facet | Rogers Asempasah Christabel Aba Sam Bertrand Azagsizua Abelumkemah |
| author_sort | Rogers Asempasah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | African literature has suffered a great deal of scathing criticism, especially from western critics and scholars, who believe that Black African writers and critics have repeatedly focused on trite themes and subject matters of colonial/postcolonial nature at the expense of the global environmental crises. This paper then, which is partly a response to this criticism, focuses on two novels, namely, Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) and Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016), texts that yield themselves to postcolonial ecocritical reflections. Situated in the postcolonial ecocritical theory and using content analysis, the paper reveals that colonization and slavery, as the two texts show, have left some incontestable damage to the natural landscape of colonized Gold Coast, now Ghana. The wilderness has disappeared and the specimens of animal species are trafficked leading to some considerable damage to the ecosystems. However, these ecological hazards are subordinated in postcolonial thematic issues such as resistance to slavery, trauma, memory, and healing. The paper contributes to scholarship on the emerging discipline of postcolonial ecocriticism in the African context. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:10:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c81f77508f324aca8f2423c6249496f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2331-1983 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T16:10:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Arts & Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-c81f77508f324aca8f2423c6249496f62022-12-22T04:14:43ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Arts & Humanities2331-19832022-12-019110.1080/23311983.2022.2145669A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004)Rogers Asempasah0Christabel Aba Sam1Bertrand Azagsizua Abelumkemah2Department of English, Faculty of Arts, C.H.L.S. University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of English, Faculty of Arts, C.H.L.S. University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of English, Faculty of Arts, C.H.L.S. University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaAfrican literature has suffered a great deal of scathing criticism, especially from western critics and scholars, who believe that Black African writers and critics have repeatedly focused on trite themes and subject matters of colonial/postcolonial nature at the expense of the global environmental crises. This paper then, which is partly a response to this criticism, focuses on two novels, namely, Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) and Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016), texts that yield themselves to postcolonial ecocritical reflections. Situated in the postcolonial ecocritical theory and using content analysis, the paper reveals that colonization and slavery, as the two texts show, have left some incontestable damage to the natural landscape of colonized Gold Coast, now Ghana. The wilderness has disappeared and the specimens of animal species are trafficked leading to some considerable damage to the ecosystems. However, these ecological hazards are subordinated in postcolonial thematic issues such as resistance to slavery, trauma, memory, and healing. The paper contributes to scholarship on the emerging discipline of postcolonial ecocriticism in the African context.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311983.2022.2145669PostcolonialecocriticismslaveryGold Coast/Ghanaecosystemresistance |
| spellingShingle | Rogers Asempasah Christabel Aba Sam Bertrand Azagsizua Abelumkemah A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) Cogent Arts & Humanities Postcolonial ecocriticism slavery Gold Coast/Ghana ecosystem resistance |
| title | A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) |
| title_full | A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) |
| title_fullStr | A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) |
| title_full_unstemmed | A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) |
| title_short | A postcolonial ecocritical reading of Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016) and Kwakuvi Azasu’s The Slave Raiders (2004) |
| title_sort | postcolonial ecocritical reading of yaa gyasi s homegoing 2016 and kwakuvi azasu s the slave raiders 2004 |
| topic | Postcolonial ecocriticism slavery Gold Coast/Ghana ecosystem resistance |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311983.2022.2145669 |
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