The Politics of (M)Othering: Womanhood, Identity and Resistance in African Literature (Opening Out: Feminism for Today) [Paperback]

Obioma Nnaemeka (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 1997 | ISBN-10: 041513790X | ISBN-13: 978-0415137904

This collection is a study of African literature framed by the central, and multi-faceted, idea of 'mother' - motherland, mothertongue, motherwit, motherhood, mothering - looking at the paradoxical location of (m)other as both central and marginal. Whilst the volume stands as a sustained feminist analysis, it engages feminist theory itself by showing how issues in feminism are, in African literature, recast in different and complex ways.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...this collection achieves an extraordinarily fruitful collaboration between theory and application, promoting a reassessment of the relationship between Aftican literature and feminist discourse.
–JAAS

A brilliantly conceived work that forces a re-thinking of current feminist/epistemological concepts in African literature. This is a landmark volume that is bound to transform scholarship on women in African literature.
–Helen N. Mugambi, California State University

Amidst all the anomy of interpretative grids, and vulgarization of African cultures and peoples, The Politics of (M)Othering emerges as breath of fresh air. The collection is indeed a tour de force and an excellent contribution to the ongoing debate about feminism and African literature.
–Michael Mbabuike, City University of New York

This volume is authoritative, bold and incisive and mostly delivered with the suavity and confidence that can only come from a keen knowledge of Africa.
–Chimalom Nwanko, North Carolina State University

Nothing comes close in individual or collective engagement to demonstrate that feminist discourse has a vital role in African literary or cultural processes. This volume is authoritative, bold and incisive and mostly delivered with the sauvity and confidence that can only come from a keen knowledge of Africa with all its intrinsic paradoxes and the sundry cultural complexities exacerbated by the encounter with the West.
–Chimalum Nwanko, North Carolina State University

About the Author

Obioma Nnaemeka is currently an Associate Professor of French, Women's Studies, and African American Studies at Indiana University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (January 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041513790X
• ISBN-13: 978-0415137904
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,638,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)