Pedagogy Jan 2025

Exploring and Teaching the Medieval in Afro/Africanfuturism

Kisha G. Tracy

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the benefits of introducing undergraduate students to the genre of Afro/Africanfuturism as an entryway for a survey of medieval Africa. By first exploring fiction written by and about African and African diasporic people, students can become oriented to both the unique aspects of African literature and the common elements of the human experience that exist across time periods and geography. The short story “Egoli” by Zimbabwean author T. L. Huchu is an example of Africanfuturism that incorporates medieval African history, literature, culture, language, and heritage as an integral characteristic of its storytelling. Reading and analyzing this story as well as the genre more broadly allows students to identify aspects of African culture that they will then find connections to as they continue on to study medieval Africa and texts such as the Malian Epic of Sundiata. They become more confident in encountering literature from a time and place that may be unfamiliar to them.

Journal
Pedagogy
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
10.1215/15314200-11463039
Open Access
Closed
Topics
graduate education multilingual writers

Citation Context

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Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
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     ↗
  2. Farrar (1997)
    The Queenmother, Matriarchy, and the Question of Female Political Authority in Precolonia…
    Journal of Black Studies  ↗
  3. Fauvelle (2018)
    The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages
     ↗
  4. Heng (2021)
    Global Middle Ages: An Introduction
     ↗
  5. Holmes (2018)
    Introduction: Towards a Global Middle Ages
    Past & Present  ↗
  6. Mahohoma Takesure . 2020. “Experiencing the Sacred.” Studia Historiae Ec…
     ↗
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