Dialogues Towards an African Comparative Literature

4 May 09:00 to 15:00
Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts

What does it mean to do Comparative Literature in Oxford? And what does it mean to do Comparative Literature in Tunis?

A collaboration between the Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation (OCCT) Research Centre and the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts (Beit al Hikma), the workshop Dialogues Towards an African Comparative Literature brings together scholars from the University of Oxford and a range of Tunisian universities for a preliminary exchange on African Literature, Comparative Literature, and the state of the disciplines, in the United Kingdom and Tunisia.

This workshop will consist of two seminars with members of the Oxford and Tunis delegations, across languages such as English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese, which seek to provide answers to the following questions: What does African literature look like in a comparative context? What would teaching and research in Comparative Literature look like in multilingual locations? The seminars will be chaired by Prof Mohamed-Salah Omri (University of Oxford) and by Prof Nabil Charni (Université de la Manouba).

The OCCT delegation—Prof Mohamed-Salah Omri, Prof Matthew Reynolds, Dr Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Dr Joseph Hankinson, Dr Georgia Nasseh, and Ms Alyssa Ollivier-Tabukashvili—along with Prof Abdeljalil Larbi (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) will join scholars from the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts (Beit El Hikma) as well as from the Université de Tunis, Université Tunis El Manar, Université de la Manouba, and Université de Sousse. Please see the poster below for the full list of delegates.

 

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9:00–9:15 | Opening Remarks
Prof Mohamed-Salah Omri (University of Oxford)
Prof Mahmoud Ben Romdhane (President, Beit El Hikma)
Prof Matthew Reynolds (University of Oxford)

9:15–11:00 | Seminar 1: What does African literature look like in a comparative context?
Chair: Prof Mohamed-Salah Omri (University of Oxford)

Dr Tinashe Mushakavanhu (University of Oxford)
Prof Abdeljalil Larbi (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
Dr Joseph Hankinson (University of Oxford)
Prof Sonia Zlitni-Fitouri (Université de Tunis, FSHST)
Prof Nabil Cherni (Université de la Manouba, FLAHM)
Dr Anis Ben Amor (Université Tunis El Manar, ISSHT)
Prof Samir Marzouki (Beit El Hikma)

11:00–11:30 | Coffee Break

11:30–13:30 | Seminar 2: What would teaching and research in comparative literature look like in multilingual locations?
Chair: Prof Nabil Cherni (Université de la Manouba, FLAHM)

Prof Mohamed-Salah Omri (University of Oxford)
Dr Georgia Nasseh (University of Oxford)
Ms Alyssa Ollivier (University of Oxford)
Prof Matthew Reynolds (University of Oxford)
Dr Ramzi Ben Amara (Université de Sousse)
Dr Samia Charfi (Université de Tunis, FSHST)
Dr Leila Boukraa Bouchriha (Université de la Manouba, FLAHM)
Dr Mohamed Kamel Gaha (Beit El Hikma)

13:30 | Lunch Break