This course proposes an introduction to African francophone literature. Discussing the conditions of its development in the colonial period, we will outline the relations between literature and politics in the historical context of French colonialism in Africa. We will focus on the image of Africa and the Black man in French literature and review the leading place of Paris, the “heart of the Black world” in mid-20th century and in the following years. A critical reading into literary discourse, political texts as well as philosophical and scientific thought, will enable us to discuss the “African history of France” and consider the present day challenges that this history puts forward.