Rethinking Emotions, Inequality, and Resistance through Afropean Women's Fiction

AFROPEMOTIONS investigates how the emotional entanglements depicted in 21st-century Afropean women’s fiction in English enable discussions of emotional encounter, inequality, and resistance. The project analyses selected novels (2005–2024) set in different European contexts and depicting the experiences of Afro-descendant (im)migrant women exposed to multiple forms of oppression. Emerging studies reveal how prejudices and discriminatory attitudes/practices stem from the proliferation of negative emotions produced by
specific habits or patterns of judgment in predominantly white Western/European societies. By combining an affective approach with
gender, intersectional and postcolonial critical perspectives and literary and empirical analysis, the project: 1) proposes the first extensive
comparative study of 21st-century Afropean women’s fiction in English with a focus on emotions and their socio-cultural and political
implications; 2) aims to raise readers’ awareness about the multiple forms of discrimination faced by African (im)migrant women in
Europe, in both fictional narratives and real-life contexts; 3) uses Afropean women’s fiction as a critical site to engage in broader conversations about emotions, inequality, and resistance that move beyond mere literary debates. The project will comprise transversal training, the acquisition of transferable skills, and targeted dissemination and communication activities, including the organisation of focus groups with VUB’s international students, aimed at discussing innovative ways to engage European citizens in the ‘‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Reduced Inequalities’ goals of Agenda 2030.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101212133.