 Professor dicusses African Literature with his students. |
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College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)Putting African Fiction Studies on the Map
African fiction studies—as an academic field—did not exist four decades ago. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Charles Larson, Chair of AU’s Literature Department, it does today. Indeed, as the editor of Under African Skies: Modern African Stories and other works, Larson’s name is synonymous with the field. Yet in the early 1960s, as a high school English teacher with a master’s degree, he had never read a word written by anyone outside the United States or Europe.
This all changed in 1962 when Larson joined the Peace Corps to teach English in Nigeria. In the first years following liberation from British rule, Nigeria seemed to be brimming with hope. “There was a feeling that the country was on the move,” he said. “And that was reflected in everything I saw.” Nowhere did Larson see this more than in his students. “They were the most dedicated and energized students I have ever had.”
Inspired by them, Larson read every piece of African fiction he could find, discovering now well known authors such as Chinua Achebe before their work was available in America. He returned to the United States in 1964 ready to pursue his interest in this emerging literary movement, but even earning a PhD in the subject proved difficult.
At Indiana University the literary and anthropology experts on his dissertation committee had not yet read any African literature. Despite this, Larson’s dissertation, The Emergence of African Fiction, played an instrumental role in the acceptance of African literature in higher education and put previously unrecognized books on the shelves.
While Larson’s efforts since then have been equally effective, more work remains to give greater prominence to this field. “We need to read novels set in contemporary Africa to understand contemporary Africa,” he explained, citing issues like the explosion of AIDS throughout the continent as cause for continued interest.
Adapted from an American Magazine article, Winter 2005.