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Unit 4 · Literary Criticism and Theory English · 2021 cycle (Shift 2)

To what did the 1968 Nairobi memorandum 'On the Abolition of the English Department' object?

  1. A. The primacy of English literature and culture
  2. B. The centrality of Africa in the department
  3. C. The primacy of orature in the syllabus
  4. D. The focus on the historic continuity of English literature

Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. A and D only

Explanation

Ngũgĩ, Owuor Anyumba and Taban Lo Liyong rejected the assumption that English literature and its continuous tradition were the centre, and proposed a Department of African Literature and Languages with Africa and orature at its core.

Note: Options 1 and 4 were identical in the source; option 4 has been replaced.

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