Cultural Practices and Africanfuturism in Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti Trilogy

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Kulturni običaji i afrički futurizam u Binti trilogiji Nnedi Okorafor
• Author: Abdoulie Jobe
• Mentor: Iva Polak (mentor)
• Mentor: Krešimir Žažar (mentor)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of Sociology); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2023-09-18, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Sociology; Specific Sociologies

Abstract

In order to counter the colonialist narratives, representation of black/women in sf, the MA thesis discusses a distinctive science fiction genre titled Africanfuturism that enables African writers to take ownership of themselves, the past, present and future, and their imaginaries so as to establish relations with the rest of the world. The thesis discusses Binti: The Complete Trilogy (2015-2018) by award-winning Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor through the lens of Africanfuturism, the theoretical term Okorafor coined herself in 2019. The thesis discusses the topics Afro- and Africanfuturism in the wider field of science fiction, African/black spaces, gender, race, postcolonialism, habitus, social and physical space, ritual and cultural practices, science and spirituality, and post- and transhumanism. Provided analysis shows that the Trilogy does not only enable the reader to enjoy the expected futuristic framework but also to learn about cultural practices of a given African space. Moreover, the Trilogy makes it clear that the experience of Okorafor’s protagonist Binti does draw on (West) African and not African-American experience, which testifies to Okorafor’s insistence on Africanfuturism as a working term for African and African diasporic writers whose main focus is on African experience. It becomes apparent that Afrofuturism (due to its insistence on Afro-American experience) and mainstream science fiction (due to its exoticized representation of African space) cannot adequately map diverse futuristic spaces of (West) Africa.

Abstract (croatian)

Rad analizira niz kulturnih praksi kroz vizuru takozvanog „afričkog futurizma“ (Africanfuturism) u trilogiji Binti: The Complete Trilogy (2015-2018), slavne nigerijsko- američke spisateljice Nnedi Okorafor. Kolonijalna perspektiva i afrofuturizam (Afrofuturism) ne uspijevaju adekvatno raspravljati o autentičnim kulturnim iskustvima Afrike u znanstvenoj fantastici, stoga je novi teorijski okvir „afrički futurizam“, kojeg 2019. uvodi Nnedi Okorafor, nužan za analizu znanstveno fantastičkih djela koja dolaze iz pera bilo afričkih pisaca ili pisaca afričke dijaspore, a ne bave se afro-američkim povijesnim iskustvom (počesto kolonijalnim ropstvom) u SAD-u. Stoga, rad analizira način na koji Okorafor prenosi crnačko odnosno afričko iskustvo kroz pitanja rôda, rase, društvenog prostora, kulturnih praksi, duhovnosti i kolonijalizma. Teorijski, rad se također oslanja na temeljne postavke postkolonijalne teorije, transhumanizma, posthumanizma, i sociološke teorije habitusa te društvenog i fizičkog prostora. Naposljetku se zaključuje da trilogija kroz protagonistkinju Binti iscrpno dočarava društveno-povijesno iskustvo, ali i budućnost prostora (Zapadne) Afrike što ne polazi za rukom afrofuturizmu (zbog njegova inzistiranja na iskustvu Afroamerikanaca) i tradicionalnoj znanstvenoj fantastici (zbog njezina egzotičnog prikazivanja Afrike).

• Keywords: Africanfuturism vs Afrofuturism vs science fiction; Nnedi Okorafor; the Binti Trilogy; habitus; posthumanism; transhumanism
• Keywords (croatian): Afrički futurizam (Africanfuturism) vs. afrofuturizam (Afrofuturism) vs. znanstvena fantastika; Nnedi Okorafor; Binti trilogija; habitus; posthumanizam; transhumanizam
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:456183
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: Linguistics; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Study programme: Title: Sociology; specializations in: Research (single or double major), Teaching (double major); Course: Research (single or double major); Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra sociologije (magistar/magistra sociologije)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2023-09-21 16:21:30