Eastern African Literatures: Towards an Aesthetics of Proximity (Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures)

The Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures series offers stimulating and accessible introductions to definitive topics and key genres and regions within the rapidly diversifying field of postcolonial literary studies in English. This volume offers an overview of contemporary Eastern African writing in English since the mid-twentieth century. It takes a fresh look at what has been an under-represented regional literary tradition within what continues to be an under-represented continental literary tradition. In particular, it broadens the scope of such an overview, complementing the extant monographs on well-known Eastern African writers such as Ng~ug~i to include a host of more recent, less-publicized novelists, dramatists, and poets. It extends the geographical range of existing studies from the familiar triad of Kenyan, Ugandan, and Tanzanian traditions of writing in English, to include the lesser-known Somali, Ethiopian, or Sudanese, or Mauritian or Madagascan traditions. Rather than simply addressing national traditions or broad thematic bundles, the volume treats works as literatures of a region: that is, as literatures of place and space. Eastern African Literatures stresses the formative role of space, place and geography in fashioning the fabric of social interaction, whether individual or collective, in generating history, in moulding identities, and as a consequence in defining the shape of the future. The 'spatial' perspectives allow the 'proximate' rather than the 'distant' influence of literary art to come into view. Proximate modes of literary communication, arising out of residual but vibrant traditions of oral communication, blend with contemporary media to produce hybrid genres of proximity specific to Eastern African literary production. In this way, the book also makes a contribution to the ongoing theorization of literary and cultural innovation in the cultures of the Global South. The Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures series offers stimulating and accessible introductions to definitive topics and key genres and regions within the rapidly diversifying field of postcolonial literary studies in English. This volume offers an overview of contemporary Eastern African writing in English since the mid-twentieth century. It takes a fresh look at what has been an under-represented regional literary tradition within what continues to be an under-represented continental literary tradition. In particular, it broadens the scope of such an overview, complementing the extant monographs on well-known Eastern African writers such as Ngũgĩ to include a host of more recent, less-publicized novelists, dramatists, and poets. It extends the geographical range of existing studies from the familiar triad of Kenyan, Ugandan, and Tanzanian traditions of writing in English, to include the lesser-known Somali, Ethiopian, or Sudanese, or Mauritian or Madagascan traditions. Rather than simply addressing national traditions or broad thematic bundles, the volume treats works as literatures of a region: that is, as literatures of place and space. Eastern African Literatures stresses the formative role of space, place and geography in fashioning the fabric of social interaction, whether individual or collective, in generating history, in moulding identities, and as a consequence in defining the shape of the future. The'spatial'perspectives allow the'proximate'rather than the'distant'influence of literary art to come into view. Proximate modes of literary communication, arising out of residual but vibrant traditions of oral communication, blend with contemporary media to produce hybrid genres of proximity specific to Eastern African literary production. In this way, the book also makes a contribution to the ongoing theorization of literary and cultural innovation in the cultures of the Global South. Cover EASTERN AFRICAN LITERATURES: Towards an Aesthetics of Proximity Copyright PREFACE Traditions, Places, Proximities Structure of the Book ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS Introduction: Towards an Aesthetics of Proximity An Aesthetics of Proximity Modern Traditions? Spatializing the Eastern African Canon Notes Part 1: Territories 1: Coast The Coast as Liminal Figure Hybridity as Contiguity The Proximity of the Past Note 2: Land Antagonistic Proximity: Hoeing the Land Undoing the Woman-Land Copula A Pragmatic Proximity to the Land Note 3: Cities Understanding the Desegregated City The City Novel: Failing Vision The Proximate City Note Part 2: Histories 4: Precolonial Histories The Distant Precolonial Past The Proximate Precolonial Past The Multi-Proximate Past Genres of the Proximate Past Note 5: Colonial Histories Maji Maji in German East Africa Mau Mau in British Kenya Colony Mau Mau Hauntings 6: Postcolonial Histories Narratives of the Nation: Three Phases The Epoch of Euphoria: Narrative Distance and Proximity The Epoch of Disillusionment: Negative Synecdoche Juxtaposition Part 3: Communities 7: Genders Circumcision and Feminine Selfhood Keeping Men Apart Emergent Proximities 8: Migratory Identities Precolonial Migratory Templates Proximate South–South Migration The Paradoxes of Migrating Identity Note 9: Eastern Africa in the Global South The Near-South Producing Proximity Across the South Notes Conclusion: Eastern African Literary Futures New Media for Proximate Futures Making Minor Futures Local Time Note BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Now available in paperback, this is perhaps the first comprehensive account of the nature and significance of music from the perspective of modern philosophy, and the only treatment of the subject which is properly illustrated with music examples. The book starts from the metaphysics of sound, distinguishes sound from tone, analyses rhythm, melody, and harmony, and develops a novel account of music, as the intentional object of an imaginative perception. The argument explores the various dimensions of musical organization and musical meaning, and shows exactly how and why music is an expressive medium. The Aesthetics of Music explains and criticizes many fashionable theories in the philosophy and theory of music, and mounts a case for the moral significance of music, its place in our culture, and the need for taste and discrimination in both performer and listener. The various schools of musical analysis are subjected to a critical examination, and recent criticism of tonality, as the foundation of musical order, are rehearsed and rejected. Scruton defends the objectivity of aesthetic values, lays down principles of criticism, and ends with an energetic critique of modern popular music. What Is Music, What Is Its Value, And What Does It Mean? In This Stimulating Volume, Roger Scruton Offers A Comprehensive Account Of The Nature And Significance Of Music From The Perspective Of Modern Philosophy. The Study Begins With The Metaphysics Of Sound. Scruton 7istinguishes Sound From Tone; Analyzes Rhythm, Melody, And Harmony; And Explores The Various Dimensions Of Musical Organization And Musical Meaning. Taking On Various Fashionable Theories In The Philosophy And Theory Of Music, He Presents A Compelling Case For The Moral Significance Of Music, Its Place In Our Culture, And The Need For Taste And Discrimination In Performing And Listening To It. Laying Down Principles For Musical Analysis And Criticism, This Bold Work Concludes With A Theory Of Culture--and A Devastating Demolition Of Modern Popular Music [publisher Description] Sound -- Tone -- Imagination And Metaphor -- Ontology -- Representation -- Expression -- Language -- Understanding -- Tonality -- Form -- Content -- Value -- Analysis -- Performance -- Culture. Roger Scruton. Originally Published: Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1997. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [509]-518) And Indexes. What is music, what is its value, and what does it mean? In this stimulating volume, Roger Scruton offers a comprehensive account of the nature and significance of music from the perspective of modern philosophy. The study begins with the metaphysics of sound. Scruton 7istinguishes sound from tone; analyzes rhythm, melody, and harmony; and explores the various dimensions of musical organization and musical meaning. Taking on various fashionable theories in the philosophy and theory of music, he presents a compelling case for the moral significance of music, its place in our culture, and the need for taste and discrimination in performing and listening to it. Laying down principles for musical analysis and criticism, this bold work concludes with a theory of culture--and a devastating demolition of modern popular music. "A provocative new study."--The Guardian The book starts from the metaphysics of sound. Scruton distinguishes sound from tone, analyzes rhythm, melody, and harmony, and explores the various dimensions of musical organization and musical meaning. Taking on various fashionable theories in the philosophy and theory of music, he presents a compelling case for the moral significance of music, its place in our culture, and the need for taste and discrimination in performing and listening to it. Laying down principles for musical analysis and criticism, the book ends with a theory of culture, and a devastating demolition of modern popular music The Book Offers An Overview Of Eastern African Writing In English Since The Mid-twentieth Century. It Shows How Proximate Modes Of Literary Communication, Arising Out Of Residual But Vibrant Traditions Of Oral Communication, Blend With Contemporary Media To Produce Hybrid Genres Of Proximity Specific To Eastern African Literary Production. Russell West-pavlov. What is music, what is its value, and what does it mean? In this exciting book, the philosopher Roger Scruton explores the nature and meaning of music from first principles and gives a fascinating analysis of musical organization, together with a provocative account of contemporary civilization and its discontents.