Speaking Animals in African Literature

This project deals with the representation of the narrating animal in present-day African texts written in English, French and Portuguese. What these texts have in common is that they use the animal narrator or protagonist to depict the vulnerability of both human and animal subjects within increasingly repressive postcolonial states. The animal narrators are also deeply involved in the literary project or appear as protagonists in a context of libraries, music or other art forms, often gesturing towards larger global connections. The project is interdisciplinary and draws on the field of Animal Studies, Environmental Humanities as well as studies of socio-historical relevance.