Autofictional themes, Practices and Strategies in View of the Construction of Intercultural Values at the University of Swaziland.

Abstract

This article explores the notion of autofiction/faction: a post-modern literary concept which represents a blend of fact and fiction. At the same time, the paper wants to draw the reader’s attention on the pedagogical possibilities of autofictional writing in the teaching of literature at the University of Swaziland. The notion of interculturality,with its goal of creating understanding of and among people, while safeguarding the relative identities of the actors involved, guides the analysis of postmodern feminine writing in the form of three Francophone women authors, C. Beyala, N. Bouraoui and A. Nothomb. Beyala writes autofiction from a feminist perspective, hers is thestruggle for recognition of women rights and women’s autonomy within a patriarchal society. Bouraoui came to autofiction from a psychoanalytical perspective, which makes her a descendant from Doubrovsky, the inventor of the autofiction neologism. Nothomb proposes a very personal and cathartic relationship to writing through which she wished to reach women in general. In conclusion, the article suggests the benefits of the analysis of the concept of autofiction as well as of the themes and language used in autofictional texts to university students in Swaziland because they promote intercultural understanding and acceptance.