Africa and the making of Classical literature: on decolonizing Greco-Roman literature syllabi

Abstract

This article presents the author’s development and teaching of a year-long module on Africa in Greco-Roman literature and its receptions, and the challenges of imagining a decolonized pedagogy in Classics, and specifically in the subfield of Greco-Roman literature. It argues that the equivalence of curriculum ‘diversification’ with ‘decolonization’ can be pernicious in its tokenizing effects, and that a committed practice of decolonizing pedagogy cannot be limited to studying Africa in Greco-Roman texts, but should involve serious engagement with postcolonial and critical race theorists, as much as African authors and authors from the African diaspora engaging meaningfully with the Greco-Roman traditions.