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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'oA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Ngũgĩ reflects on the previous chapters through a discussion of “the great Nairobi literature debate” that began on September 20, 1968. In response to the university’s proposal to revitalize the literature department, various professors responded with the radical counterproposal of completely reorienting the English department by placing a commitment to the study of African literature at its center. Rejecting the idea that Africa was a mere extension of the West, the professors posed a fundamental question to the university’s leaders. In Ngũgĩ’s words, the question was, “[I]f there is a need for a ‘study of the historic continuity of a single culture,’ why can’t this be African? Why can’t African literature be at the centre so that we can view other cultures in relationship to it?” (89).
Ngũgĩ explains that the real point of disagreement was not whether the English department should focus on African languages, but rather which language would serve as the primary foundation on which the department would be structured. What began as an innocent suggestion turned into a larger and heated debate over the future of Ngũgĩ’s English department. The eventual outcome of this debate, at the time of Ngũgĩ’s writing was still unsettled. Some proposals were accepted while others underwent revision.
By Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
A Grain of Wheat
A Grain of Wheat
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A Meeting In The Dark
A Meeting In The Dark
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Devil on the Cross
Devil on the Cross
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Dreams in a Time of War
Dreams in a Time of War
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I Will Marry When I Want
I Will Marry When I Want
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Matigari
Matigari
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Petals of Blood
Petals of Blood
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The River Between
The River Between
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Weep Not, Child
Weep Not, Child
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Wizard of the Crow
Wizard of the Crow
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