Masters Degree Dissertations

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Browsing Masters Degree Dissertations by Author "Nannyonjo, Juliet"

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    The aesthetics of Ugandan literature: a study of selected works
    (Kyambogo University [unpublished work], 2023-06) Nannyonjo, Juliet
    This study set out to critically explore the Aesthetics of Ugandan Prose Fiction in selected literary works, such as Timothy Wangusa’s Upon this Mountain, Violet Barungi’s Cassandra, Mary Karooro Okurut’s Milking a Lioness and Goretti Kyomuhendo’s The First Daughter. The study focused on the critical analysis of the ‘artistic properties’ of each of the selected works that endear them to the reading public in Uganda, and beyond—how, as Munro puts it, “the art has impacted on peoples’ moods, beliefs, and attitude towards life” (Munro, 2). The study set out with three objectives, namely: to apply the African aesthetic principles in the critical appreciation of the selected works; to apply Western aesthetic principles in the analysis of selected works; and to draw conclusions from the aesthetics of the selected works. The study employed the documentary analysis method which belongs to a qualitative research design. This involved a close-reading of both primary and secondary sources of data. In the application of both African and western aesthetic principles to analyze the aesthetics of the selected Ugandan literary works, it was discovered that the selected authors, Kyomuhendo, Wangusa and Karooro used a mixture of African and Western aesthetic principles. Barungi, on the other hand, adroitly and religiously stuck to western principles in language and style. Nevertheless, Barungi’s novel has allusions and themes that are typically Ugandan and African. The study concludes that the charm of the four selected Ugandan fictional works sprung from aesthetic dualism: the writers used both African and western aspects of beauty that enabled the selected Uganda fiction succeed in being a page turner. Finally, the study recommends the inclusion of aestheticism as a core component of literary theory and criticism given its remarkable influence on African literary production, among others.