September 18, 2010
Sharing Africa’s Stories
hen David Mastey, a PhD student in English, taught a class for the first time earlier this year, it proved an eye-opener for his students. The subject was post-colonial literature from Africa and the Caribbean.
“For most students, it was a new experience,” says the 27-year-old. “They hadn’t read books from those regions.”
Mastey could identify. He first encountered African works as an undergraduate while studying English literature at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
“The breadth and scope of his reading is breathtaking,” says Mastey’s supervisor, Pius Adesanmi, a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and theInstitute of African Studies.
How we understand Africa goes a long way in influencing how we interact with Africa.
After studying for a month in Ghana in 2005, Mastey planned to obtain an MA and return to Africa to teach. He found the program and funding he was looking for at Carleton, and he decided to further postpone his return to Africa to pursue a PhD.
Mastey’s research focuses on child soldier stories by African authors such as Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Sozaboy, about a young recruit in the Nigerian Civil War.
“Many of these narratives are popular because they confirm existing perceptions that many North Americans have about Africa and its inhabitants,” Mastey maintains. For example, some child soldier stories perpetuate the over-simplified belief that Africans cannot take care of themselves. In other words, these narratives influence how many North Americans understand Africa.
“How we understand Africa goes a long way in influencing how we interact with Africa,” explains Mastey. These interactions include private donations, international aid and peacekeeping missions.
“David is by far the best student I’ve ever had at Penn State and Carleton combined,” says Adesanmi, who recently won the inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing in non-fiction. “I can go to sleep at night knowing he’s on top of things.”
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