SOAS Research Online

A Free Database of the Latest Research by SOAS Academics and PhD Students

[skip to content]

Furniss, Graham and Gunner, Liz, eds. (1995) Power, Marginality and African Oral Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ; Johannesburg: Wits Press.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

African oral literature, like other forms of popular culture, is not merely folksy, domestic entertainment but a domain in which individuals in a variety of social roles are free to comment on power relations in society. It can also be a significant agent of change capable of directing, provoking, preventing, overturning and recasting social reality. This collection examines the way in which oral texts both reflect and affect contemporary social and political life in Africa. It addresses questions of power, gender, the dynamics of language use, the representation of social structures and the relation between culture and the state. The contributors are linguists, anthropologists, folklorists, ethnomusicologists and historians, who present fresh material and ideas to paint a lively picture of current real-life situations. The book is an important contribution to the study of African culture and literature, and to the anthropological study of oral literature in particular.

Item Type: Edited Book or Journal Volume
SOAS Departments & Centres: Legacy Departments > Faculty of Languages and Cultures > Department of the Languages and Cultures of Africa
ISBN: 9780521087940
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511521164
Date Deposited: 09 Dec 2007 13:21
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/1084

Altmetric Data

Statistics

Download activity - last 12 monthsShow export options
Downloads since deposit
6 month trend
0Downloads
6 month trend
669Hits
Accesses by country - last 12 monthsShow export options
Accesses by referrer - last 12 monthsShow export options

Repository staff only

Edit Item Edit Item