African Literature from French Speaking Nations

African Literature from French Speaking Nations

July 12-July13, 2012 9:00 a.m-4:00 p.m.
Room 614 Social Sciences
University of Minnesota
12 CEUs
1 graduate credit

Registration Deadline July 1, 2012

Visiting Faculty from Nigeria, Dr Phebe Jatou

This two-day intensive workshop will expose participants to French literature with emphasis on African Literature from French speaking nations. The focus of the workshop will be on exploring how French literature might be used to facilitate language development particularly with regards to the development of critical thinking and creative writing skills. This is a necessary engagement considering the very increasing diverse nature of Minneapolis/Minnesota classrooms.

French language teachers and all other teachers with an interest in developing the language capacities of their students will find this workshop a helpful engagement. The workshop will also be helpful for exploring historical processes in Africa covering Western colonialism and post colonialism. English language will be used as a medium of interaction during the workshop.

A film, Le Mandat by Sembene Ousmane, and some excerpts from the written version of the film will be used to generate conversations during the workshop. There will be large and small group discussions. Participants will be expected to compare cultures reflected in text excerpts/film with their own cultures and present-day realities in their classrooms. Also, participants will be expected to engage in individualized creative writing. The colonial and postcolonial underpinnings of the excerpts/films will be highlighted.

Register Online here

If you have any questions, please contact Deborah LeClaire at outreach@umn.edu or 612-624-7346