Humanitarian Fictions: Africa, Altruism, and the Narrative Imagination

Humanitarianism has a narrative problem that is often portrayed as Western heroes saving African sufferers. Humanitarian Fictions aims to understand the workings of humanitarian literature and critique narratives of Africa. It reveals the influence of religious thought on secular institutions and uncovers a spiritual, collectivist streak in the discourse of humanity. The book maps a transnational vein of Anglophone literature about Africa that features missionaries, humanitarians, and their beneficiaries, bringing together African, British, and U.S. writers typically read within separate traditions. It shows how the novel can enrich the critique of white saviorism while also imagining alternatives that give African agency its due.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 02 January 2024
Publisher: Fordham University Press

Humanitarianism faces a narrative challenge, with a tendency to portray aid to Africa as a story of Western heroes rescuing African victims. While the labeling of white savior narratives has become a common practice, it fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of the narrative. Humanitarian Fictions seeks to explore the complexities of humanitarian literature, examining how it engages with and critiques narratives about Africa. While overlapping with human rights, humanitarianism emphasizes the provision of assistance, focusing more on meeting needs than on legal frameworks or addressing specific problems. Instead, it emphasizes finding nonstate solutions to humanitarian crises. Tracing the origins of the white savior narrative back to nineteenth-century religious missionaries, Humanitarian Fiction reveals the influence of religious thought on seemingly secular institutions and uncovers a spiritual, collectivist streak in the discourse of humanity.

Due to the humanitarian model of care's ability to transcend state boundaries and its extensive global networks, Humanitarian Fictions redefines literary classification based on a shared problem space rather than a shared national space. The book maps a transnational vein of Anglophone literature about Africa, featuring missionaries, humanitarians, and their so-called beneficiaries. By bringing together African, British, and U.S. writers typically read within separate traditions, Paustian demonstrates how the novel, with its profound sensitivity to narrative, can enrich the critique of white saviorism while also envisioning alternatives that give African agency its due.

Weight: 438g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781531505486