AFST 233 - African Folklore

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Blakely. Chinua Achebe's metaproverb "proverbs are the palm wine with which words are eaten" highlights the importance of metaphor in the the sophiticated rhetoric of Igbo of Nigeria and more widely in Subsaharan Africa. Study of proverbs and other African folklore oral genres including folktale, epic, song, praise, poetry, drama, and oratory provides a privileged lens into African worldviews and cultural values: from generational and gender relations to notions of honor, hospitality, and worldly and spiritual power. The course also reveals the vibrancy of African folklore in contemporary life through such topics as editorial poetry in daily newspapers which Tanzanians read avidly; Ivorian womens' coding and decoding of proverbs in popular cloth designs; Lesotho migrant workers' songs of struggle; and congolese popular theatre portraying proverbial wisdom in television performances.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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