Shifting Perceptions of Migration in Senegalese Literature, Film, and Social Media by Mahriana Rofheart (review)

Mahriana Rofheart’s monograph is an ambitious bid to document evolving patterns and perceptions of Senegalese-based migration across time and genre. Beginning with an analysis of what she terms the “failed journeys” to France depicted in mid–twentieth century Senegalese francophone writing, Rofheart progresses to seemingly less straightforward portrayals of the same theme that began to emerge in late 1960s cinema. From there, she progresses to the notion of the “productive return” suggested in the work of later generations of Afropean authors, especially women. Her survey concludes with a study of Senegalese hip-hop culture and digital technologies and the complex manner in which these global forms engage with migration.

Although the emphasis on migration does lend this study thematic coherence, at times Shifting Perceptions can appear to be composed of two halves. For this reader, the literary and cinematic “half” (in fact the study is disproportionately weighted toward textualizations of migration with three of six chapters devoted to the written text) is less persuasive than the sections dealing with more contemporary cultural practices. This is partly a consequence of the ambitious coverage attempted. As Rofheart rightly argues, since the emergence of twentieth-century Senegalese literature and cinema, patterns of “migration” to and from France have proved to be a central preoccupation in many key works. However, rather than expanding on promising opening attempts at conceptual clarification, the study arguably devotes too much space to describing individual texts and films that have already been the subject of heavy analysis. The result is a certain unresolved tension surrounding the use of the key term of “migration” to denote what are in fact very different pratices of mobility across time. Frustratingly, this light and uncertain critical touch threatens to undermine the confidence with which the anlaysis of literary texts in particular is undertaken.

That said, there is much in Rofheart’s study to counter these shortcomings. For example, chapters devoted to the female novelists Aminata Sow Fall, Ken Bugul, and Fatou Diome do much to underline a more complex geography underpinning “perceptions of migration.” The focus on “return as rehabilitation” (chapter 3) and also the French-based migrant’s view of Senegal is particularly welcome and demonstrates the value of paying equal attention to both centripetal and centrifugal patterns of movement in Senegalese cultural production.

However, it is the final section on more recent representations of migration in hip-hop and social media (particularly documentary films) where this study really comes into its own. Rofheart is clearly on more solid ground when discussing the implications of these more global forms of expression. It is both helpful and pleasing to see careful critical engagement with such details as the distinction between hip-hop and rap, the recurring trope of “failed” or even fatal journeys, and the potential of digital technologies to democratize creative production and change perceptions of Africa. Indeed, Rofheart’s determined and persuasive desire to carve out a space for these more contemporary platforms of expression is perhaps its most valuable contribution and is sure to prompt future scholarly directions.