Présentation
Coordination: Alison Posey & Dr. Rémi Tchokothe
Although Afrodiasporic literatures from France, Germany, and Portugal enjoy widespread recognition in both academic and popular spheres, little is said, and even less is known, about Afrodiasporic authors in Spain and Austria. Yet this emerging cohort of writers, whose oeuvre embeds Afrodiasporic memories and identities within the increasingly globalized literary landscape of their respective nations, warrants our attention: it offers new methods of being, seeing, and belonging across twenty-first century Austria and Spain. In his discussion of Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Ishraga Mustafa Hamid (Sudan), Tarek Eltayeb (Sudan/Egypt), Precious Nnebedum (Nigeria), Ada Diagne (Senegal), Mihret Kebede (Ethiopia), and Baraka Sakin (Sudan), Rémi Armand Tchokothe will examine how these authors situate themselves within the Austrian literary scene, and how they plant African diasporic memories in Austria. In her investigation of Desirée Bela-Lobedde (Equatorial Guinea), Agnés Agboton (Benin), Moha Gerehou (The Gambia), Sani Ladan (Cameroon), Ibrahima Balde (Guinea Conakry), Ousman Umar (Ghana), and Khaly Thione (Senegal), Alison Posey will discuss how these authors employ life writing to critique popular narratives of immigrant danger by (re)humanizing the migrant figure and by connecting African-Iberian of diasporas past and present.
A comparative reading of (trans)cultural translation processes in works by Ishraga Hamid and Tarek Eltayeb.
Laura Kisser
Ishraga Mustafa Hamid (Sudan/Austria) and Tarek Eltayeb (Egypt/Sudan/Austria) are prominent authors in the Viennese-Austrian literary scene, writing primarily in Arabic. As such, translation plays a crucial role in bringing their work to the German-speaking Austrian audience. Hamid sees translation as a
way to "understand each other better," while Eltayeb believes it "opens new windows to the world." This summary explores the role of translation in their literature, focusing on two of their well-known works: the poem and short story collection Faces of the Danube (2014) and the novel The Palm House (2007). The analysis centers on themes such as characters, space, and plot, noting that each work features a character acting as a (trans)cultural translator. In The Palm House, this role is filled by the cat Hakiema, while in Faces of the Danube, the lyrical "I" serves as an (involuntary) mediator. These works reflect the multi-layered nature of translation through various themes, including interpersonal encounters, forms of violence, identities, and, most importantly, agency.
¡Estamos a solo catorce kilómetros de África, por favor!”: Race, Reality, and Revisionism in the Development of Afrodiasporic literatures in Spain
Alison Posey
We’re only fourteen kilometers from Africa, for goodness’ sake! With this exclamation, Afrospanish author and activist Desirée Bela-Lobedde (Barcelona, 1978-) draws attention to the enduring erasure of Spain’s African heritage. This talk traces how 20th and 21st century efforts to “whiten” the nation’s history and culture catalyzed a generation of Afrodiasporic writers who, in revisiting the past, revise Spanish identity for the future according to what it once was: plural, tolerant, and multiracial.
Planting African Diasporic Memories in Austria
Rémi Tchokothe
Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Ishraga Mustafa Hamid (Sudan), Tarek Eltayeb (Sudan/Egypt), Precious Nnebedum (Nigeria), Ada Diagne (Senegal), Mihret Kebede (Ethiopia), and Baraka Sakin (Sudan) are African diasporic writers who have been living in Austria between a few years and up to thirty years. This presentation will ask two questions:
- 1. What do they call themselves in the Austrian literary scene?
- 2. How have they been planting African diasporic memories in Austria?