African Perceptions of Brazil: The Ghost of the past

Authors

  • Adjai Paulin Oloukpona-Yinnon Université de Lomé. Lomé, Togo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7976.2018v25n39p4

Abstract

Kangni Alem’s new novel Les Enfants du Brésil (The Children of
Brazil) deals with forgotten aspects of the slave trade between Africa and Brazil.
It is presented as a kind of archeological research in the Atlantic Ocean, an
attempt to find out knowledge about the tragedy of slave trade, but the author
uses the metaphor of wrecked ships to shape his own artistic exploration of
present memories of slavery. Combining scientific and artistic exploration, he
refers essentially to contemporary situations in Brazil and Togo, actualizing the
depiction of slave memory and showing new ways of writing about its impacts
on everyday life in Africa. I’m analyzing Kangni Alem’s novel to show that it
is not just a discursive enterprise. In fact, the author makes use of words and
metaphors to grasp a very specific reality of Togolese history and society. To
deconstruct his message it seems appropriate to use a relevant methodological
approach like Michel Foucault’s archeological theory. This allows to discover
the author’s discourse on Brazil as a discourse on Africa.

Author Biography

Adjai Paulin Oloukpona-Yinnon, Université de Lomé. Lomé, Togo

Université de Lomé. Lomé, Togo

References

ALEM, Kangni: Les Enfants du Brésil. Lomé/Abidjan: Les Editions Graines de Pensées/Frat’Mat Éditions, 2017.

CHAMOISEAU, Patrick: L’esclave vieil homme et le molosse. Roman. Paris: Gallimard, 1997.

DORIGNY, Marcel: Les abolitions de l’esclavage. Paris: Presses Universitaires Vincennes, 1998.

FOUCAULT, Michel: L’archéologie du savoir. Paris: Gallimard, 1969.

LEENHARDT, Jacques: Introduction à la pluralité interprétative des récits. In: M.-T. MÄDER et al. (ed.): Brücken bauen. Kulturwissenschaft aus interkultureller und multidisziplinärer Perspektive. Bielefeld: Transcript, 2016.

M’BOKOLO, Elikia: L’Afrique entre l’Europe et l’Amérique: le rôle de l’Afrique dans la rencontre de deux mondes (1492-1992). Paris: Éditions Unesco, 1995.

MONGO-MBOUSSA, Boniface: Les malentendus de la perception littéraire. Africultures n° 1/octobre 1997, 1997.

RICOEUR, Paul: Le Conflit des Interprétations. Paris: Seuil, 1969.

VERGÈS, Françoise (dir.): Exposer l’esclavage: méthodologies et pratiques. Actes du Colloque international en hommage à Edouard GLISSANT (1928-2011), 11,12 13 mai 2011 au musée du quai Branly. Africultures n° 91: Dossier, 2013.

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Published

2018-10-22

How to Cite

Oloukpona-Yinnon, A. P. (2018). African Perceptions of Brazil: The Ghost of the past. Esboços: Histories in Global Contexts, 25(39), 4–24. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7976.2018v25n39p4

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 39 (2018): Dossiê: África: histórias em perspectiva

Section

Special issue

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