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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who wrote The Five Bandits and Groundless Rumours?

2. Who was the head of the English Department at Nairobi University in 1968?

3. Who wrote In the Castle of My Skin?

4. Who wrote The Wretched of the Earth?

5. Who was the military dictator and President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo/Zaire from 1965 to 1997?

Short Essay Questions

1. When did the great Nairobi Literature Debate begin? How did it begin?

2. How did the author go about obtaining the basic necessities for writing while in prison?

3. What does the author remark about Joseph Conrad in regards to narrative perspective?

4. How does the author define "fiction language"?

5. What two factors have adversely affected the African novel and its development?

6. What is the basic demand in the statement presented by the author, Owuor Anyumba, and Taban Lo Liyong at the University of Nairobi?

7. What criticisms does the author make of Cry, the Beloved Country?

8. What does the author mean when he refers to Afro-European literature?

9. What about George Lamming's work impressed the author?

10. How was written language largely developed in Africa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the African bourgeoisie? How many different threads comprise this social class? What are these threads? Where does the author fall among the classes of Africa?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the establishment of the Kamĩrĩĩthũ Community Education and Cultural Centre. What was the mission of this institution? Why was this location chosen for the center? How is the physicality of the center described?

Essay Topic 3

What impacts have colonization and imperialism had on the language of Kenyans and other Africans? How did colonial schools have a part in these impacts? What were the results of the import of European languages in Africa?

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