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Shifting African Narratives
  • ISSN: 2040-199X
  • E-ISSN: 1751-7974
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Abstract

This article analyses how young African writers challenge stereotypes about the continent through their imagination of places in online short stories. These stories appear on the literary websites Brittle Paper, Jalada, Saraba, Flash Fiction Ghana, Adda and African Writer Magazine with a focus on cities and villages. Authored by ten writers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi and Egypt, the stories contain elements of fiction that risk perpetuating negative stereotypes about Africa as they imagine their respective settings. However, textual analysis supported by an appreciation of context reveals how the writers use these stereotypes as basis to craft strong African narratives. By doing so, the writers emphasize the effect that places have on characters, theme, setting and the image of Africa. Ultimately, the roles that urban and rural spaces play in online fiction are multifaceted and enhance the African narrative in complex ways.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • 2021–22 Africa No Filter Academic Fellows Program
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Intellect Ltd.
This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The CC BY licence permits commercial and noncommercial reuse. To view a copy of the licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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2023-08-17
2026-04-20

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/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00101_1
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Digital cities and villages: African writers and a sense of place in short online fiction
Journal of African Media Studies 15, 217 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1386/jams_00101_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00101_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00101_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): African narratives; literary platforms; online literature; rural communities; stereotypes; urban spaces

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