We live in a world that sees and also contesting ideas of Eurocentrism in the interpretation of various issues, including African literatures and cultures.

This book seeks to engage readers into a critical examination of the meaning, history, ambiguity, status and perceptions surrounding African languages and literature. It presents current shifts in form and practice surrounding regional, national, and “postcolonial” models towards “world literature” by focusing on African literature as a focal point for understanding perceptions of the world towards African languages and literature. The book shows the importance of wrestling with issues of global aftermaths of slavery, audience, readership, diasporic and transnational connections, as well as digital and social media without undermining the conflicts that literature presents in and on its own merit.

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Dr. Dainess Maganda is the Director of the African Languages Program at the University of Georgia, USA. In addition to master’s degrees in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Intercultural Studies, and Language and Literacy, she received her Ph.D. in Language and Literacy from the University of South Carolina. Her research interests lie in the field of language, literacy and comparative education with special emphasis on examining language ideologies, promoting linguistic diversity and creating literacy resources in education institutions.  Most of her publications center on language ideologies and on pathways to promote the use of African languages in schools in the US and internationally. Some of her recent publications include, Conflicted Worlds of Multilingual Communities in Africa: Literacy Tangled in Words (2016). Co-authored book: Language and Literature: Vehicles for enhancing cultural understanding (2016). Dr. Maganda is also a poet with a passion to promote, cherish and honor people’s identities with poems such as “Why don’t you Understand” (2016).