GLOBALIZATION, A RECYCLING OF COLONIALISM: A READING OF OUSMANE SEMBENE’S XALA AND THE LAST OF THE EMPIRE.
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Date
2015
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Baraton Interdisciplinary Research Journal
Abstract
Through a textual analysis of Sembene Ousmane’s novels, Xala (1976) and The Last of the Empire (1981), the
paper suggests that nation building in Africa generally and Senegal in particular has been hampered by globalization.
Nation building was trumpeted by African nationalists who united the masses to end colonial rule. The
political leaders and the middle class touted nation building. However, after they took up the reins of power
from the colonialists, they not only created an elite class of capitalists, but they also sustained exploitative links
with the former colonial masters, whose only intent is to under develop African nations. These leaders, who
worked in cahoots with the former colonial masters, aped the lifestyle of the former master at the expense of the
masses and the nation. Their practices undermined the sense of nationalism. It is against this backdrop that this
paper will explore globalization and how it challenges and undermines nation-building in African nation-states.