Africa's Transition from Colonisation to Independence and Decolonisation: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, and Moses Isegawa's Abyssinian Chronicles

The concept of Africaness visualises Africa from three different points of view and at three different stages of history. With reference to Africa’s political background from the 19th to the 20th century, Joseph Conrad (the coloniser), Chinua Achebe (the colonised), and Moses Isegawa (the decolonised) tell the story of the ‘black continent’ and its development from colonisation to independence. This development epitomises the ‘heart of darkness’ whose laws and characteristics have changed throughout the centuries.

Ulrich Pallua studied English Philology and American Studies/Italian Philology at the Leopold-Franzens University in Innsbruck, Austria. His main research areas are 19th and 20th century novels, with particular emphasis on colonial and postcolonial literature. He is currently living in Innsbruck and finishing his PhD thesis.