Numerous African and Caribbean novels deal with traumatic experiences such as slavery, colonialism and genocide. The stories reconstruct historical events from various perspectives and shed light on unheard voices. In this course we will discuss the importance of remembering, especially of traumatic experiences, and how literature contributes to a more diverse perception of history. We will re-visit different historical and geographical spaces, namely World War I, colonialism in Namibia, the concentration camps in South Africa and the period after World War II in Barbados.

Suggested reading: David Diop: At Night All Blood is Black (2018), Lauri Kubuitsile: The Scatterling (2016) and Austin Clarke: The Polished Hoe (2002)