Matatu

Aims & Scope

Matatu is a peer-reviewed journal on African literatures and societies dedicated to interdisciplinary dialogue between literary and cultural studies, historiography, the social sciences and cultural anthropology.

Matatu is animated by a lively interest in African culture and literature (including the Afro-Caribbean) that moves beyond worn-out clichés of “cultural authenticity” and “national liberation” towards critical exploration of African modernities.

The East African public transport vehicle from which Matatu takes its name is both a component and a symbol of these modernities: based on “Western” (these days usually "Asian") technology, it is a vigorously African institution; it is usually regarded with some anxiety by those travelling in it, but is often enough the only means of transport available; it creates temporary communicative communities and provides a transient site for the exchange of news, storytelling, and political debate.

Matatu is firmly committed to supporting democratic change in Africa, to providing a forum for interchanges between African and European critical debates, to overcoming notions of absolute cultural, ethnic, or religious alterity, and to promoting transnational discussion on the future of African societies in a wider world.

Metrics & Ranking

Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar

Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• Nigeria and the Poetry of Travails: The Niger Delta in the Poetry of Uche Umez

  Citation: 11

  Authors: Isidore

• Watramama/Mami Wata

  Citation: 8

  Authors: Alex

• Theorizing African Feminism(s). The ‘Colonial’ Question

  Citation: 8

  Authors: PINKIE

• The Emerging Lesbian Voice in Nigerian Feminist Literature

  Citation: 8

  Authors: Unoma N.

• Refugee Life Narratives — The Disturbing Potential of a Genre and the Case of Mende Nazer

  Citation: 8

  Authors: SISSY

• Transnationalism and the Agenda of African Literature in a Digital Age

  Citation: 8

  Authors: SHOLA

• African Environmental Ethics and the Poverty of Eco-Activism in Nigeria

  Citation: 7

  Authors: Ademola Kazeem

• Queer Inclinations and Representations: Dambudzo Marechera and Zimbabwean Literature

  Citation: 7

  Authors: Drew

• One-Way Traffic: Renegotiating the ‘Been-To’ Narrative in the Nigerian Novel in the Era of Military Rule

  Citation: 6

  Authors: LOUISA UCHUM

• Negotiating Untranslatability and Islam in Leila Aboulela’s

  Citation: 6

  Authors: NADIA