H2020Индивидуална стипендия2017–2019

AFROEUROPOLITANS · Cosmopolitanism Revisited: Afro-European Mobilities in Contemporary African Diasporic Literatures

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2017-04-01 → 2019-03-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 172 800 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Съвременната афро-европейска литература разглежда как миграцията променя представата за „света като дом“, като анализира различни социални групи. Това помага да се разберат връзките между Африка и Европа, както и опитът от изключване, с който се сблъскват пътуващите.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Cosmopolitanism Revisited: Afro-European Mobilities in Contemporary African Diasporic Literatures

The aim is to explore how contemporary Franco- and Anglophone African diasporic literatures revise the concept of cosmopolitanism through their representations of different forms of mobility in the Afroeuropean context. Cosmopolitanism is commonly understood as a stance of “being at home in the world”, referring to a position which is defined by a capacity to transgress cultural and national borders with ease and to claim belonging to a world beyond one’s immediate milieu. The project outlines three categories of cosmopolitanism (Business Class Cosmopolitanism; Débrouillardise Cosmopolitanism; Failing Cosmopolitanism) in order to draw attention to the privileged, practical, and critical aspects of the concept. Each category is exemplified by literary texts whose events are framed by different forms of mobility between Africa and Europe. Studying fictional African cosmopolitanisms is important for the society because it enhances our understanding of Europe in a changing global context and underlines the role of mobility in its contemporary postcolonial present. By exploring the potentials and limits of the concept of cosmopolitanism in the Afroeuropean context, the project underlines the past and present intertwinements of Europe and Africa and draws attention to the experiences of exclusion that African travellers from different socio-cultural backgrounds face in Europe. The overall objective of the project is to analyse how African diasporic literatures, situated in diverse contexts of Afroeuropean mobility, revisit the notion of cosmopolitanism. How do fictional characters assume a mobile cosmopolitan position? What are the potentials and the limits of African cosmopolitanisms in the Afroeuropean context? Can African mobile subjects claim that they are “at home” in Europe?

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

African literatures attest not only to the diversity of mobilities typical of the global era, but also to the fact that Europe continues to occupy a special place in the African literary imaginary. This study analyses the ways in which African Franco- and Anglophone diasporic literatures address the idea(l) of a cosmopolitan world citizenry in varied Afro-European contexts of mobility. In order to do so, the study critically revisits the concept of cosmopolitanism and, by drawing on theory and readings of African fiction, develops a new analytical pattern reflecting the privileged, practical and critical dimensions of the concept. The study’s interdisciplinary theoretical framework consists of postcolonial theory, cosmopolitanism, mobility studies and diaspora studies, and it applies a method of contextual close-reading which is motivated by a transnational impulse. By focusing on Afro-European mobilities, the study contributes to the topical scholarly endeavour of analysing the intertwinement of the two continents in a way that exceeds national boundaries. Studying fictional African cosmopolitanisms enhances our understanding of Europe in a changing global setting in terms of cultural encounters viewed from an Afro-European perspective, providing a literary articulation of the social exclusion that people with African origins often face in their attempt to claim cosmopolitan world citizenry in Europe. Fictive African mobile narratives are informed by such intersecting markers of difference as class, gender, nationality, and race. The study draws attention to how the universalising tendencies of traditional cosmopolitanisms and the elitism of some recently formulated Afropolitanisms are challenged in this setting. By developing and applying an analytical pattern of cosmopolitanisms, the study responds to the urgent call to revisit the slippery concept of cosmopolitanism by exploring its limits and potentials within the African literary context.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

UNIVERSITE DE LIEGE · LIEGEКоординаторБелгия