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The Representation of the Literary Works of Anglophone and Francophone African Women Writers (1960-2012) in Ukzn Library

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The Representation of the Literary Works of Anglophone and Francophone African Women Writers (1960-2012) in Ukzn Library THE REPRESENTATION OF THE LITERARY WORKS OF ANGLOPHONE AND FRANCOPHONE AFRICAN WOMEN WRITERS (1960-2012) IN UKZN LIBRARY by Virginie Kabala Kilyobo BA. PGDIS. B.Bibl. (Hons) Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Information Studies (coursework), Information Studies Programme, School of Social Sciences, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. 2015 DECLARATION I, Virginie Kilyobo, declare that: 1. The information presented in this dissertation/thesis, except where otherwise indicated is the product of my original research. 2. This dissertation/thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. 3. This dissertation/thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. 4. This dissertation/thesis does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, (a) Their words have been re-written, but the general information attributed to them has been referenced. (b) Where their exact words have been used, their writing has been placed inside quotation marks and referenced 5. This dissertation/thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the list of references. Student: Virginie K. Kilyobo Signed: ............................................................... Date: ......................................................... Supervisor: Prof. Christine Stilwell Signed: ................................................................ Date: ......................................................... Co Supervisor: Fiona Bell Signed: ................................................................ Date: ............................................................ i DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late loving father Professor Gabriel Kekwakwa Kinenge Kimena, from whom I always received the motivation to study, and who always said that, we learn, and we keep learning until we die. I know, he would have been proud of me. To my husband, Samuel who has shown a lot of patience throughout this process. My children Shekinah and Daniel whose support and interest in my project kept me smiling and going. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would never have succeeded in completing this dissertation without the help, support, guidance and advice of many. Therefore, I would like to take a moment to express my deep appreciation and heartfelt gratefulness. My Lord Jesus Christ, who has never failed to take me through every situation, every time! And once again, He has given me the ability to do it. My supervisor, Professor Christine Stilwell, who did not hesitate to help me, and encourage me to undertake this challenging topic I was naturally drawn to. Taking me through the process, she believed in me, and nurtured me throughout my academic development. My co-supervisor, Fiona Bell for her support, kindness and understanding during my difficult times, was always prepared to listen. The population of my study, the English and French academics as well as the subject librarians for their kindness, patience and willingness to give up their time and participate in this study. Dr Zawedde Nsibirwa, whose motivation and encouragement kept me going. My immediate and extended family, for their love and continuous encouragement. My friends, Kammy and Tertu, whose friendship and support in so many ways throughout this challenging time was simply awesome. I will remain indebted. iii ABSTRACT The emergence of African women as authors in the world of literature has been recorded as a phenomenon of the 1980s which has brought dramatic changes in the literary world. Many African authors are of the belief that although African women are well known for their skilled oral storytelling, they are also well known for their neglect, and marginalisation in the literary world. However, against all odds, African women have not only managed to break the pattern and have their voices heard but they have also established the importance of their voices to be heard. Universities and their libraries are such places where that voice could or should be heard. The purpose of the study was to attempt to establish the extent to which the literary works of Anglophone and Francophone African women writers, published between 1960 and 2012 were represented in UKZN Pietermaritzburg and Howard College campus libraries. This will help to raise awareness of and the value of the literature by African women, in UKZN. The research questions constituting the focus of this study were: To what extent have Anglophone and Francophone African women writers had their works published between the years 1960 and 2012? What are the distribution patterns of this literature in terms of country of origin, and language and to some extent publisher? What are the perceptions and the views of academics in French Studies and English Studies of the significance of this literature? To what extent do these academics focus on this literature in their curricula and in the delivery of their modules or to what extent does it form part of their modules, and is it part of their own research? What are the views of Subject Librarians and Principal Librarians responsible for English and French in UKZN Pietermaritzburg and Howard College campus libraries, regarding the significance of this literature? Is it adequately represented in the library holdings, the acquisition of which is generally driven by academics? Has the situation described by d’ Almeida (1994) as true of the 1980s improved and if so, to what extent? The findings on the extent of the works published by Anglophone and Francophone women writers deriving from the results that emanate from the search for the literary works of the authors revealed that the number of published Francophone countries were greater that the Anglophone; but the number of Anglophone authors were greater than the Francophone. In terms of the perceptions of the participants, the findings revealed that academics both French and English, as well as subject librarians strongly believe that African women’s literature was an exceptionally fascinating literature. The significance of the literature was linked to a number of elements such as their history of endurance and perseverance, the themes and topics explored by women writers. The availability of books by African women writers was believed to be scarce on African libraries’ shelves. The poor relationship between African authors and African publishers was iv seen as one of the elements contributing to the situation, while republication was seen as one of the solutions to increase availability and accessibility. The study revealed that the teaching of the literature by African women was considered a necessity due to its significance both by the English and the French academics. Although the literature was considered well taught, and that UKZN did demonstrate that African women’s literature in English was taken into consideration in terms of teaching, however in terms of the representation of this literature in the curriculum, the study revealed that African women’s literature was not well represented. With regard to the teaching of the French literature, it was not perceived as an issue that needed questioning in the French studies. French academics believed that literature and African women’s literature included was neither discriminated against nor unequally taught, although the study revealed that not much of it was taught in UKZN. Although the impact of the works by women writers in terms of its significance was confirmed and felt to a significant extent in UKZN, the study revealed that the teaching of the literature was limited in both the English Studies and the French Studies. UKZN Library did represent both Anglophone and Francophone women writers in its collections, however, the level of representation of the authors, be they Anglophone or Francophone, was not found to be satisfactory. Womanism was the preferred approach for this study because it enabled the explanation of, or at least the interrogating of and at times, even the challenge of the significance of the literature as it was elaborated throughout the study by interviewees. The approach proved useful by shedding light on the collection of the literature in UKZN Library. Recommendations were made, as they emanated from the study, mostly with regard to the promoting of this literature and implicitly raising its awareness in UKZN and beyond. v Table of Contents DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................................xiv LIST OF ACRONYMS AND
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