Monica Popescu traces the development of African literature during the second half of the twentieth century, showing how the United States and the Soviet Union's efforts to further their geopolitical and ideological goals influenced literary practices and knowledge production on the African continent.

Acknowledgments
Introduction. Genres of Cold War Theory: Postcolonial Studies and African Literary Criticism
Part I. African Literary History and the Cold War
1. Pens and Guns: Literary Autonomy, Artistic Commitment, and Secret Sponsorships
2. Aesthetic World-Systems: Mythologies of Modernism and Realism
Part II. Reading through a Cold War Lens
3. Creating Futures, Producing Theory: Strike, Revolution, and the Morning After
4. The Hot Cold War: Rethinking the Global Conflict through Southern Africa
Conclusion. From Postcolonial to World Literature Studies: The Continued Relevance of the Cold War
Notes
Bibliography
Index