Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
English
Major Professor
Gary Lemons, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Quynh Nhu Le, Ph.D.
Committee Member
John Lennon, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Cheryl Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Keywords
African Cosmology, African Diaspora, Black Women, Maat
Abstract
African spiritual memory is the thread that connects members of the African diaspora, irrespective where we are or what we are doing. However, because of white supremacy, the longevity of African spiritual memory and its duration as a living, thriving, breathing force often becomes distorted under the weight of anti-black prejudice. This dissertation debunks the myth that people of African descent required outside input from non-Africans and Arabs to establish the world’s oldest and most studied civilizations, Ta-Seti and then the Egyptian Empire. Women writers of African descent capture the ever-present thread of African spiritual memory, providing a glimpse of how African cosmology functions as the founding epistemology upon which Ancient Egyptian civilizations were built. In addition, women writers of African descent capture the empowering essence of African spiritual memory as a mode of resistance to intersectional oppression, and the all-inclusive healing power African cosmology offers in response to dominant discourses. To trace the longevity of African spiritual memory within the works of African diasporic women, this dissertation explores Ancient Egyptian Literature written by Queen Hatshepsut and Queen Makeda; traditional precolonial African song performed by Kgatla women; and two contemporary post-colonial novels, one written by Edwidge Danticat and the other by Toni Morrison. From an African-centered perspective, these texts reveal that people, especially women, of African descent have a founding role in shaping civilizations, and an even longer history of tapping into African spiritual memory as an empowering and healing force.
Scholar Commons Citation
Harley, Brigét V., "African Spirituality in Literature Written by Women of African Descent" (2024). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10197
