Home Institution
Skidmore College
Publication Date
Fall 2014
Abstract
The car rapide is an inescapable part of daily Senegalese life. With their brightly painted decorations and their sheer number lining the streets of Dakar, car rapides have become a symbol of Senegal. Images of these vehicles can be found on postcards, in graffiti murals on the street, in guidebooks, and in artwork. The car rapides provide a picturesque image of Senegal for tourists, but for most local Senegalese people, they are seen as a necessary evil. In this study, I investigated all aspects of car rapide culture in Dakar, specifically, how because of their physical aesthetic and image, the car rapide has become a symbol of Senegal. Because of the Senegalese oral culture and tradition, I decided that the best way to exhibit my findings would be by writing a creative fiction narrative where the car rapide itself is given the opportunity to speak.
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities
Recommended Citation
Graziano, Alicia, "Alhamdoulillah: The Use of the Car Rapide as a Living Symbol of Senegal" (2014). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1911.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/1911
Program Name
Senegal: National Identity and the Arts