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Interviews In Global Catholic Studies: William T. Cavanaugh, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

Mathew N. Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Catholicism, interviews William T. Cavanaugh, Professor of Catholic Studies and Director of the Center for World Catholicism & Intercultural Theology at DePaul University.

Fraternity, Martyrdom And Peace In Burundi: The Forty Servants Of God Of Buta, Jodi Mikalachki

Journal of Global Catholicism

During Burundi's 1993-2005 civil war, students at Buta Minor Seminary were ordered at gunpoint to separate by ethnicity—Hutus over here, Tutsis over there! They chose instead to join hands and affirm their common identity as children of God. The forty students killed were quickly proclaimed martyrs of fraternity. Their costly solidarity defused the cry for reprisals and continues to inspire Burundians and others on the path of reconciliation. Drawing on fifty interviews with survivors, parents of martyrs, neighbors, religious leaders and other Burundian intellectuals, this essay examines how Burundian Catholics understand the significance of the Buta martyrdom to their …

Editor's Introduction, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Lnterroger Le Présent Et Penser Notre Modernité Dans En Attendant La Montée Des Eaux De Maryse Condé, Bodia Bavuidi

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Maryse Condé has successively been branded as unseemly drifter, insolent, rebel and subversive, due to the fluidity of her mind and her refusal to be fixated on any obsolete idea. Her stance shows a tendency to evolve with her time in political and intellectual thoughts. If Condé's entire work shows that the author cannot be placed in a specific straightjacket, it is because her writing conveys the urgency of daily experiences. The permanent concern for human well-being reflected in her work brings about an uneasiness towards events that threaten this well-being daily. Thus, by drawing on studies of the concept …

Du Folklore Au Cinéma: La Transformation D'Un Classique De La Littérature Orale, Désiré Nyela

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Michel Ocelot's film Kirikou et la sorcière became a great success as soon as it hit the screens in 1998. It even inspired a sequel, Kirikou et les betes sauvages, whose release in 2005 earned the figure of the small African boy a permanent place in a wider Francophone imaginary. Originating in a traditional tale, Kirikou et la sorcière is an adaptation and, as such, the result of a transformation. Indeed, it is the result of a two-fold transformation involving a transition from the oral to the written, on one hand, and from the written to the visual, on …

Seeing Witchcraft, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

When Christians in Zambia struggle with witchcraft, they also struggle with African cultural and religious concepts that deal with life’s ambiguities and that require discernment. It is not by working against the cultural and religious heritage, but by working with it, as far as possible, that the pastor can identify the broken relationships towards which many witchcraft discourses point. However, before we place the concepts of witchcraft into the realm of superstition (as are the trends of mission Christianity) or the demonic (as are the trends of charismatic Christianity), the Church has the duty to look at the concepts, stay …

Allocutio: Articulating The Task For The Future Of African Catholicism, Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu

Journal of Global Catholicism

This essay charts how Catholicism can become more indigenously African and respond better to African needs and concerns.

The Devil Of The Missionary Church: The White Fathers And Catholic Evangelization In Zambia, Bernhard Udelhoven

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article examines how Western Catholic missionaries in Zambia dealt with claims of witchcraft and Satanism. Within an analytic frame that draws upon cultural history, theology, and anthropology the article also considers how African Christians appropriated missionary notions of the devil.

Learning Religion In The Presence Of The Other: Mission And Dialogue In World Catholicism, Matthias Scharer

Journal of Global Catholicism

Based on selected texts of the Second Vatican Council and related to the process of the Council and Church experiences thereafter, this article offers a brief insight into the theological method known as communicative theology (CT). One of the factors most challenging to mission and dialogue in world Catholicism is the perpetual presence of the “other” as a stranger. This learning religion in the presence of the “other” is not the exception; this article argues that it is, in fact, very typical of mission and dialogue in Africa as well as in Europe

Relationships Between Religious Denomination, Quality Of Life, Motivation And Meaning In Abeokuta, Nigeria, Mary Gloria Njoku, Babajide Gideon Adeyinka

Journal of Global Catholicism

Inter-disciplinary research that combines methods in psychology of the impact of religious change in Africa and theological approaches has been very scant in Nigeria. This study examines the relationship among religious denominations, quality of life, motivation and meaning in life in Abeokuta metropolis in Ogun State, Nigeria using psychological and religious tools. The study hypothesizes that members of the Roman Catholic denomination would differ from members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and the Living Faith Church in motivational factors and meaning making.

The Ecclesiology Of Pope Francis And The Future Of The Church In Africa, Bradford E. Hinze

Journal of Global Catholicism

A consideration of the future of African Catholicism in light of the ecclesiology of Pope Francis. The article explores how themes in Francis's ecclesiology work together to challenge centralization, clericalism, and triumphalism in the church by promoting practices of synodality and how these elements support the church’s mission to work against forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, and the most fundamental matrix of colonial power by advancing radical democracy in society

Editor's Introduction, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

An overview of African Catholicism. Part Two: Retrospect and Prospect, third issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism. A summary of the work of Bradford Hinze, Mary Gloria Njoku, Matthias Scharer, Mary Sylvia Nwachukwu, and Bernhard Udelhoven. Among the topics considered: African ecclesiology, African wellness and quality of life in Africa, interreligious dialogue in Africa, African Biblical scholarship, witchcraft and the Catholic Church.

Communicating The Justice And Peace Of God In Africa Today, Walter Ihejirika

Journal of Global Catholicism

Engaging with the work and theories of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner, the article charts out a spirituality of communication within Nigerian Catholicism. Discussing the intersection between various forms of media and community, the article argues for the utilization of media in the pursuit of social justice and the dismantling of inequalities.

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to African Catholicism: Contemporary Issues: Volume: 1, Issue 2 of the Journal of Global Catholicism

Villes Et Espaces Africains : Pour Une Géocritique En Contexte Postcolonial, Yves Clavaron

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

As for geocritics, postcolonial studies consider questions of representation according to a contextualizing approach, scrutinizing geogrophical and sociopolitical settings. This paper aims at studying methodological affinities between geocritics and postcolonialism in order to observe to what extent Bertrand Westphal’s approach could respond to a postcolonial context and allow for an interpretation of African space – mainly urban – in a few francophone novels by Mongo Beti, Bernard Dadié, Ahmadou Kourouma, Henri Lopes, Alain Mabanckou, Patrice Nganang and Tierno Monénembo.

Portrait De L’Exclu Dans Le Lys Et Le Flamboyant D’Henri Lopes, Médard Bouazi

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The author of Le lys et le flamboyant uses humor, metaphors and adjectives to represent a world in conflict, to show the impossible encounter of otherness (racial and cultural). Our contribution represents an attempt to show that this novel reflects a deep social distress, which is characterized by an environment where characters and speeches unfold a permanent contradiction. This text tries to account for the turmoil that marked the history of Africa through language as exploited by the novelist. Basically, the author makes an excluded character portrait.

Savoir Et Légitimation En Afrique. Ambroise Kom Et La Critique De L’Extraversion Théorique, Kasereka Kavwahirehi

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This article has two main objectives: to show how Ambroise Kom raises the question of the legitimation of Knowledge in Francophone Africa and to present the way he proposes to the continent to overcome subalternity and theoretical extroversion in order to become its own center of production and legitimation of knowledge. The article also shows how Ambroise Kom, a cultural and literary critic, extends the tradition of African philosophers, mainly Mudimbe, Hountondji and Laleye, who, from 1970, put the issue of decolonization of the African discourse in the center of their work.

Esquisse D’Un Projet Épistémologique Pour La Science Politique Dans Une Afrique Post-Génocide, Mame-Penda Ba

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This article attempts to answer two main questions: “What does it mean to teach political science in an African university when oneself is African?” and “what social realities are we documenting (or should we document)?” As a political scientist, I came to ask myself these questions based on my encounter with the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, and based on the questions that this major event had kindled in me. My encounter with the subject of “genocide” was in all respects an upheaval because I understood suddenly a large weakness in the way political science was taught at Université …

« Banlieue Noire » : La Question Noire Dans La Littérature Urbaine Contemporaine, Stève Puig

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Just as the “beur” movement started to flourish in France in the 80’s and the 90’s, a new question has emerged in French society in the last decade: the “black question”, which deals with the place of Africans and Antilleans in French society today. At the same time, a new literary genre has emerged: urban literature, which largely tackles themes related to the presence of Afro-caribbean people in metropolitan France. This article seeks to analyze three urban novels which take place in France, and more specifically how characters situate themselves regarding their Frenchness as the French government attempted to redefine …

L’Aventure Ambiguë De Hamidou Kane : Modernités En Abyme, Elisabeth Mudimbe-Boyi

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The article seeks to revisit the interpretation of L’aventure ambiguë by proposing a reading that goes well beyond a simple binarism opposing tradition and modernity. The analysis emphasizes the philosophical dimension of the novel in order to show that African modernity is at the same time representation and critique of the Western modernity inscribed in abyme within the novel. Such approach allows the work to escape the prison house of contingency and to remain open and meaningful in different times and spaces.

Les Fondements Littéraires De La Réception D’Aimé Césaire Au Bénin, Guy Ossito Midiohouan

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Aime Cesaire is a popular writer in Benin. Evidence lies in the increasing number of writers and scholars who have been supporting his ideas since the 60s. His books are on secondary school as well as university curricula. He has enjoyed more attention in the 1990s with the advent of democracy and the notable influence of then Head of State N. D. Soglo who is a keen admirer of his political career. Cesaire is held in such an esteem in Benin because he is capable of going beyond his natal Caribbean and willingly express the sad destiny of Africa ever …

Beyala Et Le Plagiat : Gary, Buten Et Walker Pourvoyeurs De Textes, Kisito Hona

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

If the name of Calixthe Beyala seems to be linked to controversial issues, it is also because she was repeatedly suspected and accused of plagiarism. One of these accusations led to her condemnation by the tribunal of Paris on May 7th, 1996. The purpose of this article consists not only in recapitulating the facts, but also, in capitalizing on them to study the phenomenon of plagiarism in general and the specifi c aspects which it takes with this writer.

Écriture Et Oralité Dans L’Oeuvre De Calixthe Beyala, Gloria Nne Onyeziri

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

A reading of several works of Beyala will help us consider the way orality works for African women and to suggest new forms of the symbolic representation and of narrative framing drawn from the speech of the people. Reference to their African culture, to their consciousness of cultural identity, helps characters such as Édène, Loukoum and Beyala to define themselves and to lay claim to a critical and self-confi dent voice. They learn from orality the ways of saying of the wise, what is to be retained and transmitted through traditional culture and what aspects of collective memory are better …

De La Fiction Criminelle En Afrique. Relecture Des Films D’Ousmane Sembène, Alexie Tcheuyap

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

For institutional, ideological and even sociological reasons, the detective genre had difficulty rising to prominence within literatures and especially within the field of African cinema. If one observes today its shy emergence in the works of some West African film directors and within popular Nigerian video films, it is nonetheless possible, thanks to a finer scrutiny of theories developed on the subject, to realize that some films by Ousmane Sembène contain aesthetic strategies that allow for a fresh assessment of the works of a director whose films were often reduced to their ideological aspects. This second reading also unravels the …

Réalisme Merveilleux Et Rire Macabre Contre La Zombification, Anastasil Delarose Makambo

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The substance of this analysis is to use fiction, especially the novel, to observe Haiti and Black Africa some 200 years and 40 years, respectively, after independence. The contemporary novelists of these two time periods stress “zombification”, which is their common destiny. They denounce it by means of several scriptural strategies, such as magic realism and macabre laughter. The first contributes to reveal “zombifying” authorities such as houngans, wizards, politicians and their militia. The second is used to make “zombificators” ridiculous by showing how their ranting leads them to appear weak before their rebel victims.

Variations Sur La Langue De Molière; L’Enseignementdu Français Aux États-Unis, Thomas C. Spear

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

French has always been among the top foreign languages taught in the American university, even if Spanish occupies the first place. As a result of the social transformations of the 1960s and 1970s and the development of new fields of learning, changes were also introduced gradually into French department programs to include francophone literatures, although in a manner that some have deemed disturbing.

This openness, which is not found in France, has brought about the creation of new faculty positions, some of which are occupied by teachers and writers from Africa and the Caribbean who are making a significant contribution …

La « Littérature Francophone » En Question, Roberta Hatcher

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

While literatures from Africa, the Caribbean and Québec have been taught in U.S French programs since at least the 1970s, the widespread incorporation of «francophone» literature and culture into all levels of the curriculum is a relatively recent phenomenon. Yet the organization of these heterogeneous fields under the umbrella of Francophone Studies has generated little discussion concerning the field’s definition and its relation to French Studies as a whole. This essay examines the category of Francophone Literature, arguing that it is no longer adequate for understanding today’s complex literary and cultural terrain.

Enseigner La Littérature Francophone : À La Recherche De La Banalisation, Cilas Kemedjio

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The emergence of francophone literatures as a field that is increasingly taught in departments of French has led to the creation of numerous positions dedicated to this area. The natural question that specialists face is how to devise strategies to develop and entrench this new discipline in American universities, concerned as they are with budgetary issues. The present study argues that only the constant search for cooperation between Francophonie and related academic fields will facilitate its institutionalization.

Écriture Et Identité Dans La Littérature D’Afrique Du Sud : Le Cas D’André Brink, Robert Mangoua

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

By engaging his works against apartheid, André Brink chose at the same time to face a double problem of identity: identity of his writing and his personal identity. To the first problem he responds by the relationship with the alter ego (borrowing from others) and to the second by his identification to Africa. His texts, luxuriant in “intertextual relations” but essentially oriented towards Europe, reveals a eurocentric reflex in him that revokes the problem of his personal identity.

La Littérature D'Enfance Et De Jeunesse D'Ahmadou Kourouma, Guy Tegomo

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

For some years, a certain number of Black African publishers and writers have tried to reverse a tendency to forget young readers. Among the African writers, Ahmadou Kourouma holds a special place. His works for young readers actually reveal an unusual formal approach in which, for example, he combines two genres as different as the documentary album for children with a novel for adolescents. These are works reflecting an ancestral Africa for which the author strives to preserve the memory by placing at the disposition of young Africans the elements for reappropriating their culture and society.