4 - Contesting the African Public Sphere: A Philosophical Re-imaging of Power and Resistance in Ngugi’s Wizard of the Crow
Corresponding Author(s) : M. S. C. Okolo
Afrique et développement,
Vol. 34 No 2 (2009): Afrique et développement: Numéro spécial sur Les humanités
Résumé
La notion idéale de la « sphère publique » d’Habermas, comme condition nécessaire pour une véritable démocratie, est appliquée ici dans l’évaluation des idées contenues dans l’œuvre de Ngugi intitulé Wizard of the Crow (2007), dans une tentative de mesurer et de comprendre la sphère publique africaine. Wizard of the Crow utilise les valeurs de la sphère publique pour faire des commentaires satiriques sur les valeurs et pratiques de la société: les vieilles hypothèses sont réinterrogées, les vi- sions du monde établies sont reconsidérées et les questions de classe et de genre réduites au silence sont révélées et réévaluées. Cet article adopte une approche interdisciplinaire en employant la philosophie et la littérature, à travers Wizard of the Crow, comme outils d’enquête. Mon choix de Wizard of the Crow pour interroger l’espace public africain est particulièrement guidé par le fait que, confronter vraiment la sphère publique, c’est d’abord la livrer à un domaine imaginaire. Par ailleurs, confronter les problèmes mis en évidence dans Wizard of the Crow loin du discours structural de la sphère publique permet de les humaniser et les fixer dans la conscience des personnes qui n’ont peut-être pas accès à l’exotique exposé académique sur le sujet. Préférer une ré-imagination philosophique des préoccupations contenues dans Wizard of the Crow c’est les situer dans de plus vastes cadres analytiques. En adoptant les méthodes de base de la présentation de l’enquête, de l’analyse critique et de la reconstruction philosophiques, les questions sont élevées du domaine de la fiction à l’espace de la connaissance systématisée, destinée à la présentation d’une notion globale de la sphère publique Africaine dans la mesure où celle-ci peut se réaliser.
Mots-clés
Télécharger la référence bibliographique
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Ake, C., 1996, Democracy and Development in Africa, Ibadan: Spectrum.
- Andrain, C. F. and Apter, D. E., 1995, Political Protest and Social Change: Analyzing Politics, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press.
- Ashley, S., 2005, ‘State Authority and the Public Sphere: Ideas on the Changing Role of the Museum as a Canadian Social Institution’, Museum and Society, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 5-17.
- Ayoade, J. A. A., 1998, Nigeria and the Squandering of Hope: An Inaugural Lecture delivered at the University of Ibadan on Thursday, 16 October 1997, Ibadan: Vintage Publishers Limited.
- Benhabib, S., 1992, Models of Public Space, Vol. Habermas and the Public Sphere, Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press.
- Cheru, F., 2008, ‘Africa’s development in the 21ˢᵗ century: Reshaping the research agenda’, Current African Issues 41, Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
- Fraser, N., 1992, Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy, Vol. Habermas and the Public Sphere, Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press. Giddens, A., 2001, Sociology, 4ᵗʰ edition, Cambridge: Polity.
- Habermas, J., 1964, ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article,’ New German Critique,
- No. 3, pp. 49-55.
- Habermas, J., 1989, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Habermas, J., 2004, ‘Public Space and Political public sphere – the Biographical Roots of Two Motifs in My Thought’, Commemorative Lecture, Kyoto November 11.
- Nengwekhulu, R., 1981, ‘The Meaning of Black Consciousness in the Struggle for Liberation in South Africa’, in Dennis L. Cohen, John Daniel, eds., Political Economy of Africa: Selected Readings, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, UK: Longman Group Limited, pp. 199-204.
- Ngugi, w.T., 1964, Weep Not, Child, London, Ibadan, Nairobi, Lusaka: Heinemann. Ngugi, w.T., 1967, A Grain of Wheat, London, Nairobi, Ibadan, Lusaka: Heinemann.
- Ngugi, w.T., 1982, Devil on the Cross, London: Heinemann.
- Ngugi, w.T., 2007, Wizard of the Crow, Lagos, Nigeria: Farafina.
- Popper, K. R., 1962, The Open Society and its Enemies: Volume 1 The Spell of Plato, London: Routledge.
- Roxborough, I., 1979, Theories of Underdevelopment, London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
- Schifferes, S., 2008, ‘World poverty “more widespread”’. (http://news.bbc.co.uk). 27 August 2008.
- Schneider, S.M., 1997, Expanding the Public Sphere through Computer-Mediated Communication: Political Discussion about Abortion in a Usenet Newsgroup, PhD Thesis in Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Shively, W.P., 1997, Power & Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, fifth edition, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Taylor, C., 2002, ‘Modern Social Imaginaries,’Public Culture, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 91-124. Williams,
- W.A., 1983, ‘Empire as a Way of Life,’ in Herbert M. Levine, World Politics Debated: A Reader in Contemporary Issues, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Les références
Ake, C., 1996, Democracy and Development in Africa, Ibadan: Spectrum.
Andrain, C. F. and Apter, D. E., 1995, Political Protest and Social Change: Analyzing Politics, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: Macmillan Press.
Ashley, S., 2005, ‘State Authority and the Public Sphere: Ideas on the Changing Role of the Museum as a Canadian Social Institution’, Museum and Society, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 5-17.
Ayoade, J. A. A., 1998, Nigeria and the Squandering of Hope: An Inaugural Lecture delivered at the University of Ibadan on Thursday, 16 October 1997, Ibadan: Vintage Publishers Limited.
Benhabib, S., 1992, Models of Public Space, Vol. Habermas and the Public Sphere, Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press.
Cheru, F., 2008, ‘Africa’s development in the 21ˢᵗ century: Reshaping the research agenda’, Current African Issues 41, Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet.
Fraser, N., 1992, Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy, Vol. Habermas and the Public Sphere, Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press. Giddens, A., 2001, Sociology, 4ᵗʰ edition, Cambridge: Polity.
Habermas, J., 1964, ‘The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article,’ New German Critique,
No. 3, pp. 49-55.
Habermas, J., 1989, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Habermas, J., 2004, ‘Public Space and Political public sphere – the Biographical Roots of Two Motifs in My Thought’, Commemorative Lecture, Kyoto November 11.
Nengwekhulu, R., 1981, ‘The Meaning of Black Consciousness in the Struggle for Liberation in South Africa’, in Dennis L. Cohen, John Daniel, eds., Political Economy of Africa: Selected Readings, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, UK: Longman Group Limited, pp. 199-204.
Ngugi, w.T., 1964, Weep Not, Child, London, Ibadan, Nairobi, Lusaka: Heinemann. Ngugi, w.T., 1967, A Grain of Wheat, London, Nairobi, Ibadan, Lusaka: Heinemann.
Ngugi, w.T., 1982, Devil on the Cross, London: Heinemann.
Ngugi, w.T., 2007, Wizard of the Crow, Lagos, Nigeria: Farafina.
Popper, K. R., 1962, The Open Society and its Enemies: Volume 1 The Spell of Plato, London: Routledge.
Roxborough, I., 1979, Theories of Underdevelopment, London and Basingstoke: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
Schifferes, S., 2008, ‘World poverty “more widespread”’. (http://news.bbc.co.uk). 27 August 2008.
Schneider, S.M., 1997, Expanding the Public Sphere through Computer-Mediated Communication: Political Discussion about Abortion in a Usenet Newsgroup, PhD Thesis in Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Shively, W.P., 1997, Power & Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, fifth edition, New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Taylor, C., 2002, ‘Modern Social Imaginaries,’Public Culture, Vol.14, No.1, pp. 91-124. Williams,
W.A., 1983, ‘Empire as a Way of Life,’ in Herbert M. Levine, World Politics Debated: A Reader in Contemporary Issues, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.