Joachim F. Adams

Across Africa, public conversations about queer lives often focus on politics, religion, or law, while voices and everyday experiences of LGBTQI people remain overlooked. Joachim F. Adams' dissertation explores how contemporary Francophone African literature challenges these silences. Through novels from across Sub-Saharan Africa, Adams examines how writers portray love, family, identity, resilience, and belonging in societies where several communities stigmatize or exclude queer individuals. Also, he discusses concepts of affective realism and passive intolerance to describe the emotional realities, everyday attitudes, and social practices that demote queer lives even without direct violence. By bringing together literary analysis, history and cultural studies, Adams' research shows how literature bears witness to the contested existence of queer Africans while creating space for empathy, dialogue, and a more nuanced understanding of their lives. Overall, this project emphasizes the power of Francophone African narratives to confront stereotypes, recover overlooked experiences, and expand conversations about humanity, dignity and social change.