Sketching Africa through Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

The Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe is almost unknown in our parts of the world and so is African literature. The conference titled “Celebrating 50 years of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: International Conference on African Literature in English/Africa in Literature” was held under the auspices of the Department of English of the Dhaka University and was an answer to the general ignorance regarding Africa and its literary tradition in Bangladesh. The day-long seminar was held on October 30, 2008 at the R.C Majumdar Auditorium of the Lecture Theatre Building of the University. A parallel session was held at the “Centre for Advanced Research in the Humanities” of the same building. Noted scholars from the English Departments of different universities presented their papers in the seminar with Professor Dr. S.M.A. Faiz, Vice Chancellor, University of Dhaka as the Chief Guest and Professor Kabir Chowdhury, National Professor as the Special Guest. International Guests also adorned the occasion. The long conference was ended with a Play-Reading by Dhaka Padatik.


The inaugural session began at 9.00 am with Dr. Khaliquzzaman Elias presenting the keynote paper. Professor Kazal Krishna Banerjee, the Coordinator of the Conference Committee mentioned Professor A.G. Stock’s contributions in shaping the area of scholarship in African literature in his speech. Three sessions Decolonizing /Recolonizing Africa, Language and National Identity and Perspectives on Things Fall Apart respectively were held in the day. Professor Shawkat Hussain and Professor Mohit Ul Alam presented their papers in the first session while the lone African in the seminar, Mr. Murimi Gaitu, a research fellow at Jawaharlal Nehru University presented his paper at the second session. His paper was on the Oral tradition which is an integral part of Africa consciousness. In the third session Professor Fakrul Alam of Dhaka University presented his paper along with Prof. Khandker Rezaur Rahman of IBAIS University and Prof. Nurul Islam of Eastern University.

The parallel session gave young teachers and enthusiastic students to present their papers. Two sessions were held with Professor Tahmina Ahmed chairing the opening session and Professor Rebecca Haque chairing the last. Given the limitations of resources and materials on African literature and literature in English from Africa many presentations in the parallel session were bold and praiseworthy.

After the conclusion of the paper presentation sessions Professor Khondakar Ashraf Hossain thanked everyone involved with the seminar and hoped that such seminars will now be held frequently at the English Department of D.U. He also commended Professor Kazal Krishna Banerjee for coming up with the initial plans of holding a seminar of African Literature in English. The Play-Reading by Dhaka Padatik that followed the formal conclusion of the seminar was an adaption of Ghanaian dramatist Mohammad Ibn Abdallah’s The Trial of Mallam Ilya. It caught the imagination of the fading late evening audience.

The conference gave an opportunity to the scholars, paper presenters and audiences in attendance alike to spend a day pondering Africa and Chinua Achebe’s literary legacy. Chinua Achebe started the task of “writing back” through Things Fall Apart which continues to impact Postcolonial Studies immensely. The successful conference enabled the English Department of Dhaka University to pay tribute to the legacies of the great man and also paved the way for more research on African literary traditions in Bangladesh.