O Sons and Daughters: Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

Join Collegium Institute and Dappled Things for our online Global Catholic Literature Seminar on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Purple Hibiscus. The seminar will take place on Mondays in March, 7:00-8:30pm. Adicihie’s debut novel has become a classic of Nigerian literature and a powerful reflection on sin, power, and the possibility of grace. The novel, written through the eyes of a teenage girl, portrays a family and a country falling apart. Faced by the generosity, courage, and terrible cruelty of her father, Kambili seeks to find a way to grow and survive. Marked by the resonances of Palm Sunday, the novel is a fitting text for the Lenten season.

In this seminar, we will explore the text’s depictions of colonization, Nigerian culture, family, and faith. We’ll discuss the novel as a tragedy while considering the possibility of hope and redemption within the arc suggested by the story. We will also consider the Catholicity of this novel, exploring the role of post-colonial literature in the Catholic corpus, and examining the possibilities of redemption within a tragic family.

Chimamanda Adichie is a major new voice in literature having published several novels and essays. She has been awarded a MacArthur grant and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. Born and raised in Nigeria, she continues to write from both the United States and Nigeria and is a significant figure in contemporary global Catholic literature.

Register using our discount code DappledThingsGCL: O Sons and Daughters: Seminar on Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus Tickets, Mon, Mar 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

Registration Fees & Deadlines:

• Early Bird Registration (ends February 16 at 11:59pm): $65

• Regular Registration (ends March 1 at 11:59pm): $75

Schedule & Facilitators: This seminar will be take place from 7:00pm–8:30pm ET on Zoom on the Mondays in March, with each discussion led by a special guest facilitator:

• March 7, featuring Fr. Emmanuel Katongole (Professor of Theology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame). Reading: Pages1–70

• March 14, featuring Cynthia Wallace (Associate Professor of English, University of Saskatchewan). Reading: Pages 71–161

• March 21, featuring Ann Thomas (Managing Editor of Dappled Things). Reading: Pages 162–253

• March 28, featuring Terence Sweeney (Barry Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania; Theologian-in-Residence at Collegium Institute). Reading: Pages 257–307