Beninese Women Writers of the Twenty-First Century: Fémicriture and Popular Culture in the Post-Colonial Nation

Abstract

This dissertation builds off of interviews conducted with Beninese women writers about the current situation of the publishing field in Benin. Two sections of the dissertation offer close literary analysis of books written by the interviewees in the genre of children’s literature, while the third analyzes collective anthologies. This dissertation considers post- colonial theory such as Gilroy’s the black Atlantic, multilayered cultural citizenship, and subaltern studies pertaining to feminisms and literary physicality. Against a backdrop of contextualized historical and cultural relevance about the Republic of Benin, this thesis explores contemporary texts written by Beninese women writers who engage in the fémicriture movement, aiming to promote Francophone African feminine local literary productions.