Compass - Comparative Literature in Africa

Mrs. Rose

Description

This is a commemorative volume devoted to the late Professor Willfried F. Feuser, a literary icon and a comparatist of no mean repute. Though German by origin, Professor Feuser showed great concern to the Africanist agenda of self-realisation, and therefore devoted the greatest part of his productive academic life to the cultural revival and socio-economic emancipation of Africa and the Diaspora through his scholarly publications. This book contains 20 essays on a wide range of issues in literary criticism.

Sujets

• Literary Criticism

Informations

• Publié par: M and J Grand Orbit Communications
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789785421590
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IN AFRICA

Books in English Studies Published by Grand Orbit 1.Society, Women and Literature in Africa 2.Language, Literature & Literacy in a Developing Nation 3.English Studies and National Development 4.Compass - Comparative Literature in Africa: Essays in Honour of Willfred F. Feuser

COMPASS – COMPARATIVE LITERATURE IN AFRICA Essays in Honour of Willfried F. Feuser Edited by Chidi T. Maduka Professor of Comparative Literature University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt,Nigeria & Denis Ekpo Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt,Nigeria

M & J Grand Orbit Communications Ltd. No. 10 Nchia Street, Delta Park Box 237 Uniport P.O. University of Port Harcourt,Nigeria. E-mail: [e-mail] Mobil Phone: [phone] 2015 M & J Grand Orbit Communications Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the Copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. ISBN978-978-54164-0-4 Published by M & J Grand Orbit Communications Ltd., Port Harcourt In Collaboration with Faculty of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt

Dedication To Bi Feuser Benson the loving daughter who fought hard to immortalise the name of her dear father.

Acknowledgements It is not possible here to acknowledge all the contributions made by various people/bodies to the publication of this book whose long gestation made some people nurture the legitimate fear that it would never see the light of day. We cannot, however, fail to mention certain names whose spectac ular contributions call for recognition. The first is the Faculty of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt, which took the firm resolution to express its gratitude to late Professor Willfried F. Feuser for his numerous services to the Faculty in particular a nd the University in general by publishing a book in his honour. We are very grateful to the Faculty for choosing us to edit the book. The second is the Universit y of Port Harcourt which enthusiastically welcomed the idea and provided the initial financial grant that enabled the enterprise to take off very smoothly. The University merits c ommendation for this display of generosity in the face of the daunting financial problems it was grappling with. The third focuses sharply on Ms Bi Feuser Benson, Professor Willfried F. Feuser’s loving daughter (to whom the book is dedicated), whose timely financ ial intervention salvaged a virtual desperate situation by making it possible for the manuscript to eventually go to press. We are ever grateful to her for the immeasurable kindness. It is difficult to forget the assessors whose rigour helped in determining the quality of the papers and making the exercise of

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the selection less forbidding. We thank them very much for their commitment to scholarship. We are very grateful to Mr George Syder who largely handled the typesetting of the manuscript and Mr Chukwuma T. Maduka who did some part of it. Their dil igence is appreciated. We thank Mrs Emily Uzoukwu, the Secretary of the Comparative Literature Programme, who effectively handled the problems of correspondence. As for Professor Ozo-mekuri Ndimele, the Editor ofKiabara, who did the formatting, his devotion to duty and determination to see the manuscript published stand out for commendation. Chidi T. Maduka Denis Ekpo

Editorial Note On 28 February, 2000, the academic community, and indeed members of staff of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria were shocked by the news of the death of Professor Willfried F. Feuser, a literary icon and a comparatist of no mean repute. Though German by origin, Professor Feuser showed great concern to the Af ricanist agenda of self- realization, and therefore devoted the greatest part of his productive academic life to the cultural revival and socio- economic emancipation of Africa and the Diaspora through his scholarly publications. Professor Feuser was one of the founding fathers of the Faculty of Humanities. He was for many years the Head of Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures and the Dean of Faculty of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt, for two tenures. He was not just a literary vetera n, but also had an excellent command of the major world digital languages, English, French, German and Portuguese. This made Professor Feuser a most ‘wanted’ lecturer in his Department. In recognition of his absolute commitment to the development of the Faculty of Humanities, particularly in attracting international attention and reco gnition to the young University while Professor Feuser lived and worked with us, the Senate of the University of Port Harcourt decided to honour him in a special way. It was decided that something more than just an obituary would be appropriate as a memorial to his lifelong contribution to the growth of acad emics in Africa and the Diaspora. Consequently, the Editorial Board ofKiabara:

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Journal of Humanitieswas mandated to produce a special edition in memory of Professor W.F. Feuser. The Faculty of Humanities Boar d of Studies met to implement the decision of Senate con cerning the special issue ofKiabara to honour Professor Feuser. It was also decided that two other fallen heroes of the Faculty, P rofessors Ola Rotimi and Nwanna Nzewunwa, be honoured in the same manner. Consequently, Guest Editors were appointed for the different volumes. Dr. John T. Agberia, who was then the Acting Head of Creative Arts, was appointed Guest Edito r to the Rotimi volume. Professor. Abi Derefaka, who was then the Acting Head of History & Diplomatic Studies, was appointed Guest Editor to the Nzewunna volume, while a sea soned literary comparatist, Professor Chidi T. Maduka, and Dr. Denis Ekpo, who was then the Acting Head of Foreign Languages & Literatures, were appointed co-Guest Editors to the Feuser volume. In 2002, the special issue on Ola Rotimi was published. It contained 26 short papers which provided a variety of perspectives, both personal and acad emic, on the life, career, and the works of Professor Ola R otimi. In the same edition in honour of Professor Rotimi, we announced that the volume in honour of Professor Feuser would be in print before long, and that it would be a richer assemblage of papers from national and international celebrities. We ar e glad we have fulfilled our promise. We are indeed grateful to the Maduka-led team. Before you is a bumper harvest of stimulating ideas on a wide range of issues in literary criticism. This volume contains 20 well-researched papers, a rich introduction, and a long list of publications by Professor Feuser himself dating up to 1988.