Contestations through same-sex desire in Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s Kintu

Nabutanyi, Edgar Fred

doi:10.4324/9781315229546-25

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Importantly, recent novels such as The Hairdresser of Zimbabwe by Tendai Huchu (2010), Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta (2015), and Speak no Evil by Uzodinma Iweala (2018), denounce in particular the role of Pentecostal Christianity in reinforcing the frenzy of anti‐gay sensitivities that have emerged across Africa in recent decades, and in reinforcing the idea that homosexuality requires healing or deliverance as if it is a disease caused by demons. The earlier‐mentioned novel Kintu , by Makumbi, on the other hand, narratively constructs traditions of tolerance towards sexual difference in Ugandan history, which implicitly critiques the contemporary evangelical politics of homosexuality in Uganda that culminated in the passing of the 2014 Anti‐Homosexuality Act (Nabutanyi, 2019).…”

Section: Literary Critique Of Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion in African literature: Representation, critique and imagination

Klinken

2020

Religion Compass

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The study of religion and literature has emerged as a field of considerable academic interest. Although some work has been done on religion and African literature, research in this area tends to be fragmented and dispersed over various fields and disciplines. Reviewing available scholarship in this area, this article explores what engaging with African literary writing brings to the table of the study of religion in Africa. Focussing on postcolonial and contemporary African literature, it identifies a threefold contribution: first, the creative representation of religious traditions and dynamics; second, the critique of religious beliefs and institutions, and third, the imagination of alternative religious possibilities. It illustrates these contributions by specifically focussing on issues of (neo) colonialism, gender and sexuality. Hence the article foregrounds the importance of engaging with religion for interpreting African literary texts, and the significance of literary writing for understanding religion as part of African social and cultural life. 1 | INTRODUCTION The study of religion and literature is a field that has witnessed growing academic interest of scholars working across disciplines such as theology, religious studies, English and literary studies (Felch, 2016; Knight, 2016; Mason, 2015). It is most firmly established in the American and European academy and concerned with literary traditions in these regions. Although some work has been conducted on African literature and its engagement with African religions (indigenous religions, Christianity and Islam), scholarship in this field is not systematically developed. This may be surprising, given Afe Adogame's (2010, p. 3) observation that 'the prose, poetry and drama genres produced by pioneering figures in African literature are overtly suffused with religious and cultural symbolism, meaning,

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Section: Literary Critique Of Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%