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Teaching Documents by Olayiwola Olarewaju

Social realism is one of the major trends in African fiction. Others include migrant experience,... more Social realism is one of the major trends in African fiction. Others include migrant experience, feminist utopia, bildungsroman, hyphenated identity, canonization, the language question, marvelous realism, queer literature, among other emerging trends in African fiction. This study takes into consideration racial relation as social realism in Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. This study argues that the need to project social realities has been one of the major concerns of African fiction. The aim therefore is to argue that racial relation is a social realism in African migrant fiction and see how this has affected African migrants physically, socially and psychologically.

On the surface, one is enamoured of the crime aesthetics in Nairobi Heat but beneath the veneer o... more On the surface, one is enamoured of the crime aesthetics in Nairobi Heat but beneath the veneer of crime aesthetics is a critical and moving genocidal concern that bears on the Rwandan pogrom. Genocide has a long bearing on human history. With examples taken from the genocidal experiences of some countries in the world, this study interrogates genocide, exploitation and victimization in the novel Nairobi Heat.
Keywords: genocide, Rwanda, exploitation, victimization, interrogate

Drafts by Olayiwola Olarewaju

The protracted malaise of insecurity, violence and corruption in Nigeria has provoked series of r... more The protracted malaise of insecurity, violence and corruption in Nigeria has provoked series of reactions from artistes, writers and critics alike. This is Nigeria by Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz is a satirical onslaught on socio-political corruption and violence in Nigeria. The efficacy and poignancy of the message of the music video draw heavily on vivid illustration which qualifies it as an ekphrastic musical piece. Ekphrasis is a literary discipline that deals with the relationship between literature and visual art through vivid and pictorial depiction. It owes to the fact that literary and visual arts are sister arts whose influences cannot be undermined in interdisciplinary studies. This is Nigeria excels as an ekphrastic description of Nigerian postcolonial malaise of corruption and moral degradation. Rather than exploring artworks in the song, the study argues that through imagistic depiction and cinematic displays in mise en scene, tableau vivant, movement, and costume, This is Nigeria qualifies as an ekphrastic satire of Nigerian postcolonial capitalist system. The study employs Laura Eidt's theory of cinematic ekphrasis and W. J. T Mitchell's concept of imagery to describe Nigerian predatory socio-political system in This is Nigeria.

A great deal of critical works on Wole Soyinka's "Idanre" has been from mythical perspectives. Mi... more A great deal of critical works on Wole Soyinka's "Idanre" has been from mythical perspectives. Minding the multifarious interpretations that can be made from this epic, it becomes imperative to interpret "Idanre" from a Romantic standpoint owing to the fact that little has been done in this regard. Romanticism is a literary movement that places premium on emotion, imagination, freedom, appreciation of nature and social change. This study examines the Romantic aesthetics in Wole Soyinka's "Idanre" with keen emphasis on salient Romantic features such as rebellion, social change, imagination, nature, pantheism, individual quest for truth, celebration of energy,

Thesis Chapters by Olayiwola Olarewaju

The study examined the portrayal of art in Joe de Graft’s Sons and Daughters and Wole Soyinka’s A... more The study examined the portrayal of art in Joe de Graft’s Sons and Daughters and Wole Soyinka’s A Play of Giants, considered the visual artist as a subject of postcolonial ambivalence in the selected drama texts and highlighted the influence of postcolonial capitalism on the visual artist in the two play texts. All these were done with a view to demonstrating postcolonial pressures on the African visual artist.
The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source comprised Joe de Graft’s Sons and Daughters and Wole Soyinka’s A Play of Giants. The two plays were chosen because they address the representation of the visual artist as a subject of postcolonial ambivalence and capitalism. The two plays were given close reading with attention on the representation of the visual artist and the pressures exerted on him by postcolonial ambivalence and capitalism. The secondary source consisted of books, journal articles and the Internet.
Postcolonial theory with insights from Marxism was employed to analyse the data.
The results showed that the two plays foreground visual art and project its process of production. Although members of the ruling class and the bourgeoisie have a contemptuous perception of the visual artists in the plays, they nevertheless patronise visual art to boost their social status and egos. The study showed that the visual artists in the two dramas are not only conscious of the influence of multiculturalism and neo-liberalism informed by the postcolonial society, they also reflect them in their works. It revealed that the African artists in Sons and Daughters represent the import of foreign tools in their paintings while the Western artist in A Play of Giants uses waxwork to project the four African rulers. The study discovered that capitalism has a corrupting influence on the visual art and artists. It found that art is commodified and producers are alienated from the products of their labour that give buyers joy and increase their social status. It was also discovered that both visual art and the artist are stifled in postcolonial society dominated by despotic and patriarchal rule.
The study concluded that both Sons and Daughters and A Play of Giants represent postcolonial pressures on the visual artist through postcolonial ambivalence and capitalism. It was also concluded that the study of intersections of literature and visual art illuminates the treasure of African drama.