Quick Summary:
A group of authors are chosen to attend an African Writers Workshop at a resort where things are not quite what they seem.

About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in The Times Literary Supplement as "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors" of Nigerian fiction who are attracting a wider audience, particularly in her second home, the United States.

Adichie has written several novels, among them Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013), short stories, the book-length essays We Should All Be Feminists (2014) and Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017), and a memoir, Notes on Grief (2021).

In 2008, she was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. In 2018, she was the recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize awarded by English PEN. She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021.

Link to Story:
granta.com/jumping-monkey-hill

Printable Story: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HR20Va_x2ZzXrmOrhogmetwoMTOYCVHLKphT-zFXWk4/edit

Prompt:

In 2003, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was invited to an inaugural workshop for the Caine Prize for African Writing. Ten years later, she published a short story called “Jumping Monkey Hill” where she reflected on her “horrible personal experience” with the lustful and patronizing attitude of the white, British Oxford-trained then-administrator of the award.  

Read the short story carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the rhetorical choices Adichie makes to critique how colonialism and racism contribute to outdated and stereotypical perception of African people and their experiences.

Prompt:

“Jumping Monkey Hill” explores the impact of colonialism on the global perception of Africa, especially as portrayed in literature. Recent African writers, like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, have raised awareness of these harmful stereotypes in a variety of ways. 

Carefully read the six sources. Then write an essay that synthesizes material from at least 3 of the sources and develops your position on the impact of colonialism and racism and how it impacts literary representation of people from Africa.

Synthesis Materials:

Source Packet

Prompt:

“The worst thing that colonialism did was to cloud our view of our past.”

– Barack Obama

In his statement, former president of the United States, Barack Obama highlights the detrimental impact of colonialism on indigenous people’s perception of their own history. Colonialism not only distorted African cultures and identities but also perpetuated harmful stereotypes and prejudices through racism.

Agree, disagree, qualify – the negative impact of colonialism and racism on the global perception of Africa. Support your argument with appropriate evidence and examples.