Readings:  

• Wainaina, Binyavanga. "How to write about Africa." (2005).
  • https://granta.com/how-to-write-about-africa/ 
  • This classic short reading (which could be read in class or as homework) uses satire to draw students’ attention to the tropes and stereotypes they might hold about “Africa”. 
• McGrath, Will. Everything Lost is Found Again: Four Seasons in Lesotho. (2018) Ann Abor: Dzanc Books. 
  • https://www.dzancbooks.org/our-books/everything-lost
  • Funny and heartfelt, this blend of memoir and essay collection tells the story of nearly two years Will McGrath spent in Lesotho, the small, landlocked kingdom surrounded by South Africa. It is a work of creative nonfiction. One story – Joala, appears in both this book and in Infected Kin.
• Nolen, Stephanie. 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2009. 
  • https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/28-9780802716750/ 
  • In28, Stephanie Nolen, puts a human face on the crisis created by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Through riveting anecdotal stories, Nolen brings to life people involved in every aspect of the crisis and explores the effects of an epidemic. 
• Robbins, Joel. "Beyond the suffering subject: toward an anthropology of the good." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 19, no. 3 (2013): 447-462. 
  • https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9655.12044 
  • This reading is cited in the preface and would be useful to add a theoretical perspective to the approach Block and McGrath are taking to representation.  

Videos:

• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. "The danger of a single story. TED Talk." (2009)
  • https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en 
  • This 19 minute video (which could be read as homework or watched in class) is thought provoking and helps students start to think about representation.  
• Film: The Forgotten Kingdom. A film by Andrew Mudge.
  • http://www.forgottenkingdomthemovie.com/ 
  • This outstanding film addresses many of the issues raised in the book, but also gives students a look at the beautiful landscape of Lesotho and makes a nice companion to the book.