French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Mouralis, African Literatures and Antiquity: Rethinking the Encounter between Africa and the West
Francophone and Oral Literatures
Review published in Acta Fabula: "African Literature between the Epic & the Ancient" by Thomas Barège.
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Bernard Mouralis, African Literatures and Antiquity: Rethinking the Encounter between Africa and the West
Paris: Honoré Champion, coll. "Unichamp Essentiel, 23", 2011.
EAN 9782745321749.
224 p.
Price: 19EUR.
Publisher's overview:
What is the significance of the profound interest that numerous African writers – René Maran, Senghor, Mongo Beti, C.A. Diop, Soyinka, V.Y. Mudimbe, Kagame, P. Hountondji, Mamoussé Diagne, Djibril Samb, Souleymane B. Diagne, etc. – show in the literatures and history of Greek and Roman Antiquity? What is at stake in this engagement? Should this be viewed as a sign of the "Westernization" of their art and thought, or, conversely, as a process of appropriating a body of knowledge that was long forbidden to them?
These questions serve as the starting point for this study, in which the author first examines the "ancient library" of African writers as it unfolds across their works—a library whose scope and contents vary significantly from one author to another.
Furthermore, the relationship between African literatures and Antiquity extends far beyond the ways in which African writers utilize and read (authorized or otherwise) this corpus; indeed, engaging with African literatures can help renew our broader perspective on the cultures and literatures of the ancient world.
Bernard Mouralis is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, where he headed the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (UFR de Lettres et Sciences Humaines) and the Text/History Research Center. Previously, he taught at several African universities (Abidjan, Lomé) as well as the University of Lille III. His research focuses on sub-Saharan French-language literature, Franco-African relations, and literary theory.
The intellectual engagement between postcolonial writers and classical antiquity forms a significant area of inquiry within postcolonial studies and comparative literature. Scholars have frequently examined how classical texts are reinterpreted, contested, or reclaimed within modern literary traditions, particularly in contexts shaped by colonial histories.
Readers interested in francophone literary studies and the reception of classical antiquity may find this volume relevant. Bernard Mouralis is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, where he headed the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Text/History Research Center. Previously, he taught at several African universities as well as the University of Lille III, and his research focuses on sub-Saharan French-language literature, Franco-African relations, and literary theory.