Dr Christabel Aba Sam
Beyond the tunes: Masculine Representations, Trends and Insights from Contemporary Ghanaian Afrobeats
Abstract
The burgeoning literature on African masculinities, particularly within the Ghanaian literary arts landscape, has rarely focused on Afrobeats. Due to the explosive popularity and androcentric nature of Ghanaian Afrobeats, it is crucial to examine how the sung tale functions as a site for theorising masculinities. Drawing on an eclectic approach and using selected compositions of Ghanaian Afrobeats, this paper explores the ways in which men are represented in the selected songs. The paper demonstrates that these manifestations are pertinent for theorising masculinities especially as it reveals the social politics of being in specific contexts. The paper contributes to our understanding of aesthetic communication within sonic spaces and also sheds light on how the sung tale serves as an intertextual coda for thinking masculinity.
Keywords: Africa, Afrobeats, Ghana, insights, masculinities
Date: Dec 5, 2024, 2 to 4 pm at S58, RW I building
ICDL Lecture: https://uni-bayreuth.zoom.us/j/66815848399?pwd=bFAyQ0Uyb1RNOFdvT09oRVc3MXoyUT09, Meeting ID: 668 1584 8399, Passcode: 897688