The Elite Africa Project would be nowhere without the work of our talented scholars, whose expertise in their domains is central to our work. In this series, the Elite Africa Project interviews scholars about their work and what they think a deeper study of Africa’s elites can add to our understanding of the continent.

Our third guest is Josias Maririmba, a doctoral student in French Literature at the University of Toronto and a member of the inaugural team of research assistants for the Elite Africa Project. His research centres on the textual and visual depiction of memory, identity, and self-expression in contemporary African francophone literary writing.‍

Please introduce yourself and tell us how you first learned about the Elite Africa Project?

Thanks for the question. My name is Josias Maririmba, I am a PhD student here. I learned about the Elite Africa Project through email exchanges and I thought it was interesting. It was an opportunity to meet other researchers from Africa, because it is not easy to meet other people studying at U of T [the University of Toronto]. It caught my eye because it’s about the continent I come from. The aesthetic domain spoke to me because I was working on literature. I thought that would be an occasion to meet other students, to get new views and a political perspective on it, because there’s a strong component of that in my research.  

What are you working on in your own research?

I’ve done my Masters on the representation of violence in selected texts from the African continent. I worked on Yambo Ouologuem, and a couple of other books (Sony Labou Tansi, Mouloud Mammeri and Florent Couao-Zotti). So the idea was to understand from a historical point of view, as well as a literary point of view, how violence has been portrayed in African writing.

For my PhD, I am working on how visual and textual representation impact writing. So there’s of course an interest in text and image, because they have a powerful impact on how we understand and perceive the world around us. That’s what I’m working on really. The idea is to explore the interplay between these two strategies or visual epistemologies: text and image. A quick background on that, I notice Alain Mabanckou shifts from text or words only in Demain j’aurai vingt ans, to using real photos - Lumières de Pointe-Noire - as a way to document his lived experience. So I thought that was very interesting. There’s a lot of writing in word only but in this case you begin to see his personal experience through real family photos. Often the African literary space and urban landscape is depicted through relentless images of violence and destruction overshadowing the visibility of the human element. Yet in this case, through real photos or photographic reconstruction, Mabanckou introduces real images of people, family members and others, that have had an impact on his life.  So I thought that was interesting. The real presence of the person and the changing architecture suggests a shift towards something new, a visual landscape that puts real life presence at the centre of the writing.

In your view, how do you define elites in general? What does it mean to you to talk about aesthetic elites?

It’s a really stubborn term. Pinning down what an elite is can be interesting and elusive. But looking at aesthetics, I would just narrow it to a select group of individuals with a direct influence on culture and consequently on political trends. That’s how I would define it. These could be musicians, writers, artists with great influence through their skill and work of course. The beauty of their work and their achievement trickles down on the perception of reality through cultural trends.

Can you provide any contemporary examples of African elites who showcase this influence at work?

In music, for instance, I am currently listening to Steve Dyer who is a very well-known musician in South Africa. One of his latest albums is Genesis of a Different World. I've been listening to his very positive message that he’s bringing out. So I would highlight him as an interesting figure. But of course you have others. From a literary point of view there are many other writers who have come out of Africa. You’ve got big names like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi. Those are some of the big voices on the stage that bring Africa into the fore in the literary sphere.

How has aesthetic power in Africa changed over time? What are some trends in how people have examined these elites or how these elites themselves have functioned?

It has remained a very forceful tool for political and social change. You can think of Mariam Makeba from South Africa and how her music has been influential in shaping the political trajectory of the country. Bringing music to the world, but also an element of resistance in that music. This continues to be the case with music in Africa. It continues to have that powerful political role. It is an inclusive category I would say. You have different voices from men and women, the young, and various social groups that take part in the category. The new generation of young musicians coming up who are dealing with so many issues that are happening on the continent. I think of a group called Mokoomba, they come from a city in Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe. They’re very vibrant Afrofunk music. They come from a very humble background but bring a very young voice to music. There’s a dialogue in the music between what they sing and what happens in everyday life. There are echoes of love stories, struggles and hope.

In literature there’s a shift. People use different categories to describe the trends that have happened in literature. In my view, the first stage was a historical documentation viewpoint, trying to look at historical events. You had negritude focusing on identity. Within that, you also had a romantic portrayal of Africa through people like Camara Laye in L’enfant Noir. In the beginning, they were trying to document and give value to the African cultural and political experience. In the second stage, there was a linguistic debate as to what language should be used. Language is a tool to empower people’s voices so writers were debating on that. There’s a lot of writing now in Swahili but you have writers Amadou Koruouma who in Le Soleil des Indépendences mixes French with his mother tongue Malinke. All this goes to show how the issue of language remains an integral part of this aesthetic journey. And lastly there’s the geographical phase. There’s a lot of mobility. You have authors not only on the continent but all over the world, female as well as male, young and old, all contributing to the reshaping of the African literary fabric across the world. There’s also a play on different genres: poetry, slam poetry, novels, drama. There is a shift in that sense. I think those are some of the trends: Identity, language, geography. These principles give value to the visual and verbal representation of the African lived experience and shape modes of thinking overtime.

What role, if any, do you think the Western gaze has in the production and reception of African literature, art and music?

That is a very interesting question, I think. There’s a positive reception of African art. Many African artists and writers enjoy a lot of success in the West - for good reason! Of course there’s good readership for their works there and the audience is quite receptive and appreciative. You can see recently the Tanzanian-British novelist, Abdulrazak Gurnah, who got the Nobel Prize in Literature. That shows that there is indeed a very positive outlook on African literary production and art. It’s very popular in Europe for sure.

And is there a downside to this kind of Western appreciation of African art, to looking for external validation over internal?‍

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I don’t really see a conflict, because most of these authors who are popular elsewhere sharpen their skills on the continent. Before they become international voices they have to be popular writers at home. I think there’s a complementary perspective. There’s a lot of local and regional recognition. For music, for example, there’s the South African Music Awards, the Nigerian Awards. Then, simultaneously, you have those who are successful enough to make it beyond the continent. I wouldn’t say there’s that much of a conflict.

Young people in Africa are also very modern, they follow trends in Africa of course but also those beyond the continent. And African trends are followed around the world. So the barriers are blurred now between what is local and what isn’t.

Do you have any books or articles you’ve read recently about African literature, music or art that you would recommend?

There’s Alain Mambanckou’s book, Lumières de Pointe-Noire. That’s also the name of the city where he grew up. He takes you on a journey of the life of a young person in the city and how people live. Of course he portrays some of the challenges from childhood, but there’s a lot of happiness too. There’s joy. And then you see Pointe Noire through an adult gaze because he goes back to the city. He observes some of the inequalities towards women. He gives a very critical look on that. There’s a political dimension. There’s a lot of humour he uses to draw you into his world. There’s a strong political message but he presents it with a lot of humour, the writing entertains but also informs.

What do you think the benefit is of looking at a concept of aesthetic elites? What do you think it adds to our understanding of African art? 

It’s a way of tapping into what constitutes power. Zeroing in on the aesthetic component is sort of defining what power is, because it can be elusive. There’s a general tendency to think that the people with power are those with military or economic power. But power is quite diverse and a broad term as well. Power is exercised in many ways. Aesthetic power has a very strong influence in how people perceive the world around them. It’s more subtle, but still forceful so it’s worth really studying. Power is also exercised in the mind. So aesthetic elites can deepen our understanding of that.

Finally, what are you currently working on? I assume your dissertation!

Yes, my dissertation! My study is working on a couple of writers exploring the concept of self-writing and memory, or rather identity and self-expression through text and image. I’m working on my fourth chapter now which should hopefully be my last one. The main idea is to understand how text and image shape the way we see the world or rather connect with the around us. How the interaction between text and image impact the construction of memory and the self. The interplay between these two visual perspectives shows that the self is not about reproducing reality and repeating things but seeks to bring awareness to that evolving sense of self that exists between the written and the seen. The self that is emerging in between. It’s really looking at modes of perception and show how the self is constantly evolving. There’s a lot of textual visual documentation everywhere these days constantly shaping and reshaping the perception of the African experience. It’s vitally important to tap into it to find inspiration and ideas for a better future.

Those are all the questions that I have. Thanks so much for your time today. Do you have anything else you want to add or mention?

I just want to say that it's been a pleasure to work on the project! It’s been enriching. I benefited a lot in terms of understanding how things work. The way it was organized into different domains. It was quite an interesting project.