Title:   ISSUES IN AFRICAN LITERARY RESEARCH: AN EXAMINATION OF KEY CHALLENGES

Abstract
African literature refers to the literature of and for the African people, but can also be written by non-Africans who have deep interest in African literature. African literature is different from American, European, Asian or any other literature in terms of its experiences and values. African literature helps to promote cultural heritage of the continent and helps to foster cross-cultural understanding among multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nations in Africa and beyond. It is used to provide historical context of the continent as well as the impact of colonization, slave trade and apartheid regime. African literature is used to tackle social issues in the African society, such as poverty, inequality, corruption and human rights. It is used to address certain happenings in the society, spark up important conversations and reflections. African literature is gaining attention of many scholars both Africans and non-Africans. However, African literary research presents a major challenge for researchers across the continent. Some of these challenges include language and cultural issues. Some scholars believe that African literature must be written in African language otherwise it is no longer African literature. Others have a contrary view. Also, a large portion of African literature are oral literature which require specialized research methods to capture and interpret performances and narratives. Besides, the linguistic diversity of the continent makes it difficult to translate a particular work into all the different languages in the continent thereby creating a gap. Other challenges include: lack of adequate archives and libraries for African literary works, lack of funding for African literary research, lack of institutional support, amongst others. This paper tends to address all of these key challenges in African literary research and proffer solutions to these challenges.
Key words: African literature, African languages, Cultures and Historical context.

Citations:

Publication Date: 2026-02-11