(Re)Imagining and (Re)Visiting Homelands in Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa

Authors

  • Cristina Cruz-Gutiérrez University of the Balearic Islands

Abstract

Through the analysis of Noo Saro-Wiwa’s Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria (2012), this paper will explore the ambivalent perception towards modernity in present-day Nigeria which affects Saro-Wiwa as a diasporic traveler-writer visiting her motherland. It will be argued that the author’s position as an insider/outsider leads to a reformulation of Paul Gilroy’s roots/routes dichotomy which ultimately affects her reconstruction of Nigeria as her Imaginary Homeland. Starting from an analysis of her liminal position as a prodigal-foreigner, this paper will consider what is perceived as the essence of Nigeria, and how Saro-Wiwa inscribes the country within the mutually exclusive dichotomy modernity/authenticity. The contradictions of such a binary division will be related to Saro-Wiwa’s rejection of modernity, and her desire to preserve Nigeria’s traditions. The approach taken aims to underline to what extent her inclination towards the preservation of cultural heritage over modernization can be associated with her diasporic need to have an Imaginary Homeland that represents a nurturing heritage source.

Keywords: Nigerian diaspora; travel writing; modernization; Imaginary Homelands; roots/routes

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Author Biography

Cristina Cruz-Gutiérrez, University of the Balearic Islands

Cristina Cruz-Gutiérrez graduated in English Studies at the University of the Balearic Islands, where she also completed her Master’s Degree in Modern Languages and Literatures. Her research interests at present include Postcolonial Literatures and Gender Studies, specifically focusing on African Studies. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Postcolonial Studies at the University of the Balearic
Islands.

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Published

2016-12-22

How to Cite

Cruz-Gutiérrez, C. (2016). (Re)Imagining and (Re)Visiting Homelands in Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wiwa. Atlantis. Journal of the Spanish Association for Anglo-American Studies, 38(2), 141–160. Retrieved from https://atlantisjournal.org/index.php/atlantis/article/view/216

Issue

2016: Vol. 38, Num. 2

Section

Articles

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