ALA
The 29th Annual Conference of the African Literature Association
"Of Lighthouses and Libraries: History ReLit"
Alexandria, Egypt
March 19-23, 2003
This Session Title: "O Griot, Where Art Thou?"
As we gear up to celebrate the erection of a structure like the new
library-Bibliotheca Alexandrina, we must take a moment to reflect on the
griotic tradition in Africa. When the venerable modern griot, the late
Amadou Hampâté Bâ, likened the death of an old man in Africa to the
disappearance by fire of an entire library, he might as well have been
referring specifically to the griot. The griot was more than the
guardian of the word. More than the library and lighthouse, the griot
was the power house that combined the qualities of preservation of
knowledge and illumination. However, since the advent of colonialism,
and the invention of broadcast media (radio, television, cinema) and the
library, the griot and the tradition he/she symbolized, if they have not
suffered extinction, have certainly undergone dramatic transformations.
This panel seeks to interrogate the above issue by venturing answers to
the following questions:
Has the griot (as a qualitative entity) disappeared? If not, what other
forms has he/she adopted, in Africa as well as in the Diaspora? What has
been the role of western education, especially in the colonial period,
in the transformation of the griot? How are the
transfigurations/transformations of the griot and the griotic tradition
represented in literature and other forms of cultural expressions? Are
African and Diaspora writers, poets, artists in general and political
figures, modern transfigurations of the griot? If yes, how do these
modern(ized) griots perform their role? Furthermore, how do the notions
of transgression, bastardization, and mourning figure into the discourse
on the status of the griot in modern times? What is the role of memory
in all this?
Abstracts (of between 250-400 words) based on texts/films, etc., from
Africa and the Diaspora that address any of the above questions are
welcomed, and should be sent to:
Mohamed Kamara
Dept. of Romance Languages
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450
Ph: 540 458-8475
Fax: 540 458-8479
kamaram@wlu.edu
For information on the conference, please visit:
http://academic.udayton.edu/ala
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