Middle Class America in Africa
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Citation/Eksport

Halloran, Thomas F. 2012. “Middle Class America in Africa: Paul Theroux and American Perspectives on Postcolonial Africa”. Academic Quarter | Akademisk Kvarter, nr. 04 (august):42-57. https://doi.org/10.5278/ojs.academicquarter.v0i04.3279.

Abstract | Abstract

This paper studies the American perception of a lack of modernity in the postcolonial world. As usual, the lack of modernity allows for an idealized, romanticized vision of a simpler life without the ugliness of modern, Western life. A large aspect of Theroux’s thesis concerns the need for Africa to “return” to its “traditional” ways, as a simple land, and cast-off the failed attempt at colonial modernization enforced by the Europeans. As a travelogue, Theroux is also a tourist. Therefore, this work returns to the typical motif of the search for authenticity. Here I investigate Theroux’s approach to “finding” the real Africa as well as how his Africa is shaped by the experience he wants to find.

https://doi.org/10.5278/ojs.academicquarter.v0i04.3279
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e-pub