Although viewed (and dismissed) by many as primarily a tool for communication, language (and literature) cannot be understood only in relation to what it communicates. A study of how it is shaped uncovers the social forces that provide its broad and complex template in the acts of reading and writing. This article focuses on the utility and meaning of African languages and literatures in higher education, with Benedict Wallet Vilakazi’s (1906–1947) poetry at the centre. It argues how, by resurrecting “black archives”, in this article epitomised by revisiting the work of one iconic writer and scholar, Vilakazi, we could give further impetus to the prospect of intellectual efforts in African languages. In this context, the article upholds the value and meaning of this scholar while offering perspectives on the saliency of his work for inter alia the meanings and location of African languages and literatures with regard to epistemic diversity, the “transformation” of curricula, tradition versus modernity, gender, the meaning of identity, and the broader humanist project. In essence, therefore, the article suggests that in an academic context, African languages and literatures require a serious engagement with the “implied reader”, “the native subject” and consequently necessitates greater troubling, unsettling in the way we teach, the way we write, and the way we read. It suggests that acts of rereading (albeit preliminary) are an important intervention in the project of the intellectualisation of our discipline.

中文翻译：

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复活“黑色档案馆”：重新审视本尼迪克特钱包Vilakazi，重点关注非洲高等教育中非洲语言和文学的效用和意义

尽管语言（和文学）虽然被许多人视为交流的主要工具（并被驳回了），但仅与其交流的内容有关，就无法理解。对它的形状进行的研究揭示了在阅读和书写行为中提供其广泛而复杂的模板的社会力量。本文重点关注非洲语言和文学在高等教育中的作用和意义，本尼迪克特·瓦莱特·维拉卡兹（Benedict Wallet Vilakazi）（1906-1947）的诗歌为中心。它认为，通过复活“黑色档案”，在这篇文章中，通过回顾一位标志性作家和学者Vilakazi的著作，我们可以如何进一步推动非洲语言在智力方面的努力。在这种情况下，该文章秉承了这位学者的价值和意义，同时就其著作的显着性提出了观点，尤其是非洲语言和文学在认知多样性，课程的“转变”，传统与现代，性别，身份的含义以及更广泛的人本主义计划。因此，从本质上讲，该文章建议，在学术背景下，非洲语言和文学需要与“暗示的读者”，“母语主体”进行认真的接触，因此有必要在我们的教学方式，我们的方式上增加更多的麻烦，不安写作以及我们阅读的方式。它表明重读（尽管是初步的）行为是对我们学科知识化项目的重要干预。