Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.7, 2019

Diasporic Literature as a Reflection of the Age and Its World Significance: A Case Study of African Literature in English

(Abstract)

Zhu Zhenwu and Yuan Junqing

Diasporic literature usually refers to literary works created by writers who have experienced cross-country and cross-cultural life. But in addition to this foreign diaspora, there are two important diasporic literary lineages: the diaspora on home ground and the colonial diaspora. Some writers have been immersed in foreign cultures for so long that, although they have never experienced the diaspora of foreign residence or migration, their works are stamped with the marks of the diaspora: anxiety over identity, racial discrimination, home seeking, cultural hybridization, marginalized experience, etc. As an important part of “non-mainstream” English literature, African literature in English invariably has these characteristics. This symptomatic diaspora is the outcome of the fierce clashes, conflicts and integration between African and Western culture resulting from colonial, anti-colonial and national liberation movements. Being aware of and understanding the imprint of the diaspora in African literature in English and thence reinterpreting the basic concept of diasporic literature is important if we are to gain a proper understanding of literary phenomena, creativity and cultural factors worldwide and reveal the complex origins and development and the profound cultural significance of world literature.