Théorie et critique littéraires dans la revue Présence africaine

Founded in 1947, the review Présence Africaine has been at the cross-roads of the social, political, and cultural revolution of the Black world; it was instrumental in the coming of a literature. In this thesis, we have attempted to show the main avenues followed by literary criticism in Présence Africaine. In keeping with the unity of the review, we have placed the different problems, in the chronological order, as they were posed by the Africans. From its beginnings up to the sixties, Présence Africaine has been particularly active in defining literature in relation to the colonial situation of Africa. A brief presentation of the review, its origins, its goals, its evolution, lead us to describe the major currents of Black-African literature. The review has caused the black intellectuals to become conscious of the specificity of Black Men; this movement developed within the concept of "négritude", which we will study from a historical and literary point of view. Présence Africaine has also studied the problem of national literatures, which was the normal- outcome of the search for African roots. Furthermore, conscious of this situation, the Black intellectual commits himself in the fight against colonialism, first by his writings, but also through a concerted effort and influence with his brothers. Présence Africaine has thus been a witness to the birth of Black-African literature and a platform for the opinions of its writers and artists. We have studied the different currents of criticism in Présence Africaine. It has allowed us, we hope, to define Black-African literature and to perceive its present trends