Africa: Literature of Travel

The article is dedicated to the development of the genre of travelogue in Africa. For centuries, the travel literature was dominated by Europeans. At present, African names appear in the boundaries of the meta-genre, which has absorbed the features of literary, historical, cultural anthropological, geographical traditions. In the XXI century travelogue becomes a genre of social media and personal sites. Persons, for whom journey is entertainment or part of their profession, give advice to potential voyagers, describing all that they themselves saw while traveling in blogs, pinterest, twitter, facebook, instagram. Travel blogs have historically become one of the first, emerging in the mid-1990s. Since then, their number is only multiplying. The digitalization of the dissemination and replication of information changes the perception of Africa. The author of the article focuses on the stories written by Africans about their voyages across Africa and all over the world: travel notes, essays. Famous writers, journalists, freelancers and bloggers of Africa and African Diaspora share their impressions, fears, and observations, relaying their personal experience in their hope of winning an international audience. The genre of travelogue is dynamically developing in Nigeria. Evidence of this is the works of Noo Saro-Viva, Tedju Cole, Pelu Awofeso, etc. Following the pioneer of the genre, Olauda Equiano, they destroy stereotypes, changing the perception of Africa and the Africans of the continent and the Diaspora. On the basis of the principle of objectivity, they create a completely reliable picture of African life with its problems and achievements, sorrows and joys. Traveling Africans are building their own, afrocentric, picture of the world. Acquaintance with it expands the notions of Africa.

Keywords

travelogue, literature, travel, history, identity, Africa, Nigeria

Received

20.12.2018

Publication date

20.12.2018

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GOST	Gavristova T. Africa: Literature of Travel // Asia and Africa Today – 2018. – Issue 12 C. 69-74 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://asaf-today.ru/S032150750002576-5-1 (circulation date: 09.10.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S032150750002576-5
MLA	Gavristova, Tatiana "Africa: Literature of Travel." Asia and Africa Today 12 (2018):69-74. DOI: 10.31857/S032150750002576-5
APA	Gavristova T. (2018). Africa: Literature of Travel. Asia and Africa Today (12), pp.69-74 DOI: 10.31857/S032150750002576-5

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