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Master's Thesis Piper.pdf (522.12 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

A Transnational Reading of My Heart Will Cross this Ocean, The Dark Child, and Ambiguous Adventure

Piper, Eleanor
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1367415367

Abstract Details

2013, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English.
This thesis provides a transnational reading of Camara Laye’s The Dark Child (1954), Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s Ambiguous Adventure (1962), and Kadiatou Diallo and Craig Wolff’s My Heart Will Cross this Ocean (2003)—three major works of African literature. I highlight key scholars and theory on transnationalism, exploring how the theory has emerged and developed in relation to an increasingly global world. I also consider the relationship between transnationalism, globalization, and postcolonial studies, noting their overlaps and divergences. This study also explores the theme of transnational identity, perceived as a shift in cognition from identity based in the local, regional, or national to one that considers broader connections to people all around the globe, through the experiences of the main characters. I observe that there are some parallel stages involved in developing a transnational identity but that the process varies significantly depending on the characters’ personal background, experiences, attitudes, and beliefs. In addition, this thesis also examines how the texts approach transnational concepts that are sometimes considered in polarities, such as the local and the global, tradition and modernity, and cultural authenticity and cultural homogenization, and instead provide a more complex picture of the interactions between the two. This thesis suggests that more non-Western literature ought to be incorporated into literary studies and explores the potential positive implications of utilizing transnational theory in literary studies to a greater degree.
Babacar M'Baye (Advisor)
Tammy Clewell (Committee Member)
Claire Culleton (Committee Member)
97 p.
African Literature; Literature
transnational; transnationalism; African literature; literature; local; global; tradition; modernity; identity; globalization; culture; Amadou Diallo

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Piper, E. (2013). A Transnational Reading of My Heart Will Cross this Ocean, The Dark Child, and Ambiguous Adventure [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1367415367

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Piper, Eleanor. A Transnational Reading of My Heart Will Cross this Ocean, The Dark Child, and Ambiguous Adventure. 2013. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1367415367.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Piper, Eleanor. "A Transnational Reading of My Heart Will Cross this Ocean, The Dark Child, and Ambiguous Adventure." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1367415367

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1367415367
747
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.