A collection of discussions of literary texts from areas as diverse as Europe and North Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia, regions of the world that seem to have only their language in common. But despite enormous differences among all the countries where French is spoken, Francophone literatures tend to deal with a smiliar spread of issues. This volume positions the study of the Francophone world and its cultures as a comparative project, in which post-colonial Francophone cultures and the specific alterity of these cultures emerge as inextricable from and essential to an understanding of modern France. The volume is organized by region, with an international roster of contributions, and includes summaries of selected creative and critical works and a guide to selected terms and figures.