Africa Seminar: Literature, Music and Sustainability in the Congo Basin

Literature, Music and Sustainability in the Congo Basin by Nsah Mala, PhD candidate, Aarhus University

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In this seminar Nsah Mala will discuss the role of literary texts and music for  sustainability in the Congo Basin. Nsah Mala will highlight how these artistic forms can draw attention to environmental issues while also formulating critiques of nature conservation. In other words, he will argue for how literature (construed as both literary texts and their ecocritical analysis) and music can shed light on climate and ecological issues by raising environmental awareness, imagining possible sustainable futures, foregrounding local and indigenous epistemologies, and interrogating some ideologies and practises within nature conservation that are harmful to both nature and humans.

The seminar will focus on a selection of literary texts and musical tracks from the Congo Basin.

Nsah Mala (born Kenneth Nsah), is a poet, children’s author, writer, translator, and language teacher (English and French), currently rounding off his PhD in comparative literature at Aarhus University in Denmark. His PhD thesis examines literature in connection with climate change and environmental concerns in the Congo Basin. His research interests include literature and migration; diaspora literature; climate, environment and migration; ecocriticism and environmental humanities; comparative literature; African literatures; and creative writing.