Yale French Studies, Number 144/145

A call to reenvision and de-Westernize French studies and media studies through transmedial examinations of Senegalese cultural production, media practices, and art forms

In this double volume of Yale French Studies, editors Doyle D. Calhoun and Cheikh Thiam argue for an intentional expansion of what counts as Francophone African writing through the study of cultural production, media practices, and verbal and visual art forms in Senegal and the Senegalese diaspora today. Drawing on contributions from artists, curators, and writers, this volume shifts critical focus away from works and their authors as privileged meaning-producers to myriad social actors (producers, distributors, consumers) and dispersed networks of production and circulation.

The essays gathered here articulate an interdisciplinary call to reenvision and de-Westernize French studies and media studies. The contributors foreground the work of African scholars, artists, and intellectuals; challenge entrenched disciplinary divides; and highlight critical approaches that are transdisciplinary, translingual, and transnational.