In this episode, Anna-Leena Toivanen, Academy Research Fellow at the University of Eastern Finland, invites us to explore the rich and complex world of mobilities in Francophone African literatures. In her research, she examines how narratives of travel and movement - spanning clandestine migration, immobility, and even crime fiction - reflect and challenge broader social, cultural, and political dynamics. Drawing on post-colonial theory and mobility studies, Anna-Leena offers fresh insights into how these frameworks deepen our understanding of African literary texts. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that sheds new light on the intersections of literature and mobility.
Host: Elisabeth Knittelfelder
u:africa-lab is the podcast series of the department of African studies of the University of Vienna. Joyfully and enthusiastically created in 2023, it aims to touch the largest and most diverse audience possible that the expansive and multi-faceted field of African studies actually concerns.
Once a month, researchers, artists, teachers or students will change perspectives, question representations, uncover new topics and research fields, discuss various issues from decolonization to eco-criticism, African literature, feminism or Rastafari culture, all of that in a nutshell format of 20-30 minutes.
WEBSITE: afrika.univie.ac.at/forschung/uafrica-lab-the-podcast/
CONTACT: afrika@univie.ac.at
TEAM: Sandra Benecchi, Nkosinathi Dlamini, Elisabeth Knittelfelder
