Ngugi wa Thiong'oDistinguished Professor, Comparative Literature Distinguished Professor, English |
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Research Interests |
African Literature, postcolonialism, globalization | |
| URL | Ngugi's official website | |
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Academic Distinctions |
(Selected): Paul Robeson Award for Artistic Excellence, Political Conscience and Integrity (1992); Gwendolyn Brooks Center Contributors Award for Significant Contribution to the Black Literary Arts (1994); Fonlon-Nichols Prize 1996); Distinguished Africanist Award by the New York African Studies Association (1996); Nonino International Prize for Literature; 2001 Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Cabinet. |
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Research Abstract |
My research interests include Caribbean and African Literature. I am interested in the politics of culture in post-colonial condition. My main interest is in the problematic interaction between dominant languages and marginalized ones. A large amount of knowledge in most postcolonial societies is produced in former colonial languages. What is the impact and effect of this on the culture/s where most people do not speak the dominant language? I explore how the production of knowledge affects the development of these societies. I draw on various disciplines, particularly politics and philosophy and cultural theories. My other interests lie in writing fiction. I use the novel form to explore issues of wealth, power and values in society and how their production and organization in society impinge on the quality of a people’s spiritual life. In my current novel, Wizard of the Crow, I explore issues of globalization. |
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| Publications |
On Literature and Culture Homecoming, Heinemann, London, 1969 Writers in Politics, Heinemann, London, 1982 Barrel of a Pen, Heinemann, London, 1983 Decolonising the Mind, James Currey Ltd, London, 1986 Moving the Centre; Struggle For Cultural Freedoms, James Currey Ltd, London, 1993 Penpoints, Gunpoints and Dreams, Oxford University Press, 1998 |
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Memoirs Detained: A Writers Prison Diary, Heinemann, London, 1982 Short Stories Secret Lives, a collection, Heinemann, London, 1970 Plays The Black Hermit, Makerere University Press, 1962 and Heinemann, London, 1969 This Time Tomorrow, Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi, 1970 The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, (with Micere Mugo); Heinemann, London, 1976 Ngaahika Ndeenda, (Gikuyu with Ngugi wa Mirii); Heinemann, Nairobi,1980 I will marry when I want, (English trans. of the above); Heinemann, London, 1982 |
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Novels Weep not Child, Heinemann, London, 1964 The River Between, Heinemann, London, 1965 A Grain of Wheat, Heinemann, London, 1967 Petals of Blood, Heinemann, London, 1977 Caitaani Mutharabaini, Gikuyu, Heinemann, Nairobi, 1980 Devil on the Cross (English trans. Heinemann, London, 1982 Matigari Ma Njiriuungi, Gikuyu, Heinemann, Nairobi,1986 Matigari, English trans. Heinemann, London, 1989 Murogi wa Kagogo (Gikuyu), E.A. E. P., Nairobi, 2004 (Bk 1 & 2); Bk 3, 2006 Wizard or the Crow, (English translation), Pantheon Books, New York, 2006 Something Torn & New: An African Renaissance, Basic Civitas Books, 2009 |
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Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Clifford B. Robson, New York: St Martins Press, 1979 An Introduction to the Writings of Ngugi wa Thiong’o, G. Killam, London, Exeter, NH: Heinemann Educational, 1980 Ngugi wa Thiong’o, an Exploration of his Writings, David Cook, Michael Okenimkpe, London: Heinemann, 1983 Ngugi wa Thiong’o: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources 1957- 1987, Carol Sichermann, London, Munich, New York: Hans Zell Publishers, 1989 Mother Sing For Me: People's Theatre in Kenya, Ingrid Björkman; Ngugi wa Thiong’o, London, Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Zed Books, 1989 Ngugi wa Thiong’o: The Making of a Rebel, Carol Sicherman, London, Munich, New York: Hans Zell Publishers, 1990 The World of Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Charles Cantalupo, ed., Trenton: African World Press, 1995, 1993 Achebe and Ngugi, Indrasena Reddy, New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1994 Ngugi wa Thiong’o: Texts and Contexts, Charles Cantalupo, ed, Trenton: African World Press, 1995 Politics as Fiction: The Novels of Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Harish Narang, New Delhi: Creative Books, 1995 Ngugi and African Postcolonial Narrative: The Novel as Oral Narative in Multi-genre Performance, F. Odun Balogun, St-Hyachinthe, Quebec: World Heritage Press, 1997 Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Patrick Williams, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998 Ngugi’s Novels and African History: Narrating the Nation, James Ogude, London, Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 1999 Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Oliver Lovesay, New York: Twayne Publishers, 2000 Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Simon Gikandi, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000 Critical Essays on Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Peter Nazareth, New York: Twayne Publishers, 2000 The Writer as Activist: South Asian Perspectives on Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Bernth Lindfors, Bala Kothandaraman, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2001 |
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| Link to this profile | http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=4914 | |
| Last updated | 10/19/2010 | |