Career Highlights

• Education:
  
  
  • 1962-65                Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A.
  • 1958 (Summer)    Oxford University, Oxford, England
  • 1955-60                 University College, Ibadan, Nigeria
    
    
• Qualifications:
  
  
  • 1965    Ph.D. Cornell English and American Lit.
  • 1963    M.A. Cornell English and American Lit.
  • 1960    B.A. London [Hons] English
    
    
• Academic Positions:
  
  
  • 1990-        William Safire Professor of Modern Letters, Department of English, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
  • 1989-90   Visiting Professor, Department of English, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
  • 1988-89   Visiting Professor, Department of English, University of California, Los Angeles, California
  • 1980-81   Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Humanities, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
  • 1974-90   Professor of English, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
  • 1973-74   Professor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
  • 1961-73   Lecturer/Sr. Lecturer, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
  • 1960-61   Lecturer, Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Enugu
    
    
• University Administration:
  
  
  • 1981-88   President, Imo State University, Nigeria
  • 1978-80   Dean, Postgraduate School, University of Ibadan
  • 1974-78   Head, Dept of English, University of Ibadan
  • 1972-74   Head, Dept of English, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
    
    
• International University Positions:
  • 1996-99   Member, Executive Board, International School of Theory in the Humanities, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
  • 1985-88   President, Conference of Rectors, Presidents and Vice Chancellors of Universities of West Africa

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Honors

2002     Hon D. Litt (Imo State University, Nigeria)

1995     Hon. LL D (Abia State University, Nigeria)

1991     Hon. D. Litt. (University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA

1987     Distinguished (Nigeria) Author Award for 1986

1986     Nigerian Octagon National Award in Education

1965     Phi Kappa Phi Award

1965     Phi Beta Kappa Award

1963     Hoyt Scholar, Cornell University

1963     First Prize, All-Africa Poetry Competition

1958     University Prizeman, University College, Ibadan

1958     Shell English Scholar, University College, Ibadan

1957     College Scholar, University College, Ibadan

Festschrift

1994  The Gong and the Flute: Africa Literary Development and Celebration. In Honor of Michael J. C. Echeruo. ed. Kalu Ogbaa.      Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994, 203pp.

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Teaching

Recent Graduate Courses Taught

The Bacchae: Nietzsche, G. Wilson Knight, Euripedes, and Soyinka

Problems in Literary Theory

Post-Colonial (Fictional) African Texts

Post-Colonial (Non-Fictional) African Texts

Advanced Seminar in Critical Theory:

The Theory of Practice in the African Novel

Negritude: Theory and History

Identity: Person/Nation/Race

Reconstructions of Whiteness :Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka, and "Jungle Fever

Undergraduate Courses Taught:

"Value" in the African Novel

Sin and Sinning in Six Shakespeare's Plays

Langston Hughes: Race, Sex, Incest

Shakespeare's Words: Macbeth, King Lear, The Tempest

Women in African Fiction in English

Reading Elegies

Two Women Nobel Laureates: Toni Morrison and Nadine Gordimer

Chinua Achebe: Master Novelist

Studies in Imperialism and Nationalism:

Post-Colonial Discourses

Anti-Colonialist African Novel

The Drama of Athol Fugard

Shakespeare's Politics

Shakespeare's WomenPolitics

Recent Doctoral Dissertations Directed:

"Wole Soyinka's Anarchism," 1997
 
"The Invisible Presence: Towards a Theory of African-American Subjectivity," 1999

"In the Name of the Father: Psychoanalytic Reading of South African Literature," - in progress

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Publications

• Creative Writing:

1995 Mortality and Other Poems. Owerri, Nigeria: I. K. Imprints.	1975 Distanced; New Poems. Enugu, Nigeria: I. K. Imprints.	1968 Mortality: Poems. London: Longman.

• Criticism: Books:

2001  Igbo-English Dictionary of the Igbo Language, with English-Igbo Index. Ikeja, Nigeria: Longman	1998  Igbo-English Dictionary of the Igbo Language,  with English-Igbo Index. New Haven: Yale University Press	1980  Shakespeare's The Tempest. ed. (with Introduction and Notes), New Swan Shakespeare, Advanced Series, London: Longman.
1979 Joyce Cary and the Dimensions of Order Ibadan: Ibadan University Press; New York: Barnes and Noble	1978  The Conditioned Imagination: Studies in the Exo-cultural Stereotype from Shakespeare to Conrad. London: Macmillan; New York: Holmes and Meier.	1977  Victorian Lagos: Aspects of Life in Late Nineteenth-Century Lagos.  London: Macmillan.
1975  Mister Johnson. By Joyce Cary. ed with intro. London: Longman	1971  Igbo Traditional Life, Culture and Literature. ed. with E. N. Obiechina. Austin, TX.: Conch Publishers	1971  Joyce Cary and the Novel of Africa. London: Longman 1973  New York: Africana Publishing Co., 1973

• Selected Articles/Chapters in Books:
  
  
  • 2001 "The Anglo-African, the 'Woman Question,' and Imperial Discourse," in Meditations on African Literature. Ed. Dubem Okafor. Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies, no. 201. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 119-131.
  • 2000 "Beyond Pessimism," in Africa: Towards Priorities of Mission. ed. Paulinus I. Odozor, et al. Enugu, Nigeria: SIST Press, 109-142.
  • 1999 "The Natural History of Igbo Concubinage: Iko, Öyï, Enyi," New Dimensions in African Linguistics and Languages. Ed. Paul F. A. Kotey. Trends in African Linguistics. Vol. 3. Trenton, NJ.: Africa World Press, 289-299.
  • 1999 "An African Diaspora: The Ontological Project," in The African Diaspora: African Origins and New World Identities. Ed. Isidore Okpewho, Carole Boyce-Davis, and Ali A. Mazrui. Bloomington: Indiana UP. 3-18.
  • 1999 "Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah, Post-History, and Biblical Example," Bulletin for Contextual Theology. 4:3 (Sept. 1997); pub. Feb. 1999, 36-44.
  • 1998 "Case-Tone Factor in Igbo Nouns, with Special reference to the Associative Construction," in Language History and Language Description in Africa. Ed. Ian Maddieson and Thomas J. Hinnebusch. Trends in African Linguistics. Vol. 2. Trenton, NJ.: Africa World Press, 147-153.
  • 1998 "Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah, Post-History, and Biblical Example," Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory. 91 (June 1998), 66-86.
  • 1997 "The Classification of the Igbo Verb and the Lexicon," Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress of African Linguistics. Leipzig, Germany. Afrikanistik.
  • 1996 "Joyce's 'Epical Equidistance'," English Studies in Africa. 39:1 (1996), 1-12.
  • 1996 "Modernism, Blackface, and the Postcolonial Condition." Research in African Literatures. 27:1 (Spring 1996), 172-187.
  • 1995 "Derrida, Language Games, and Theory." Theoria. 86 (October, 1995), 99-115.
  • 1995 "The Case-Tone Factor in Igbo, with Special Reference to the Associative Construction." AAP 43 (1995), 137-149.
  • 1995 "Foreword." Rose Acholonu. Family Love in Nigeria Fiction: Feminist Perspectives. Owerri, Nigeria: Achisons Publications, 1995.
  • 1995 "Strange Languages and Stranger Experts," African Language Studies in Transition. U of Maryland Eastern Shore. 66-71.
    1994  "Re-defining the Ludic: Mimesis, Expression, and the Festival Mode," in The Play of the Self. Ed. Ronald Bogue and Mihai Spariosu: Albany: SUNY Press, 1994, pp.137-156.
  • 1994 "Shakespeare and the Boundaries of Kin." Shakespeare in Africa. 7 (1994), 1-14.
  • 1993 "Tennyson and 'Victorian' West Africa." English Studies in Africa. 36.1 (1993), 29-45.
  • 1993 "Post-Negritude: The Odor of Grandfathers," Journal of Modern African Studies, 31:4 (1993), 719-724.
  • 1993 "Negritude and History: Senghor's Argument with Frobenius." Research in African Literatures. 24.4 (Winter, 1993), 1-13.
  • 1992 "Edward W. Blyden, W. E. B. Du Bois, and the 'Color Complex'. Journal of Modern African Studies. 30:4. 669-684.
    1992 "Theologizing 'Underneath the Tree': an African topos in Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, William Blake, and William Cole." Research in African Literatures. 23.4 (Winter 1992). 51-58.
  • 1992 "Gabriel Okara: A Poet and His Seasons." World Literature Today. 66.3 (Summer 1992), 454-56.
  • 1991 "From Transition to Transition." Review article. Research in African Literatures. 22.4 (Winter 1991). 135-145.
  • 1989 "After Derrida," review of Rand Bishop, African Literature, African Critics: Towards the Forming of Critical Standards, 1947-66. in Comparative and General Literature 38 (1989), 186-88.
  • 1982 "The Future of Igbo Studies: A Very Modest Proposal." In Igbo Language and Culture, ed. F. C. Ogbalu and E. N. Emenanjo, 228-37. Ibadan, Nigeria: University Press Ltd.
  • 1978 "The University of Nigeria as an Intellectual Community." In The Nsukka Environment, ed. G. E. K. Ofomata. Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension Publishers.
  • 1976 "Influence and Tradition in Modern Nigerian Literature." In Proceedings of ICLA, 313-19. Budapest: ICLA.
  • 1976 "Method and System in Igbo Studies." Odenigbo 1 (July):35-44.
  • 1975 "Mimesis and Dianoia in Igbo Festivals." Journal of the Folklore Institute 12(1):57-64.
  • 1975 "Chinua Achebe." In A Celebration of Black and African Writing, ed. K. Ogungbesan and Bruce King, 150-62. New York,: Oxford University Press.
  • 1975 "Publishing and Writing In Nigeria." Afriscope 5 (June): 42-44, 46-47.
  • 1975 "Mood and Meaning in Joyce Cary's A House of Children." Panjab University Research Bulletin (Arts) 6(1):3-10.
  • 1974 "Nnamdi Azikiwe and Nineteenth Century Nigerian Thought." Journal of Modern African Studies 12(2):245-63.
  • 1973 "The Dramatic Limits of Igbo Ritual." Research in African Literatures 4(1):21-31.
  • 1972 "The Lagos Scene in the Nineteenth Century." Presence Africaine 82.
  • 1971 "Meaning in Igbo Proverbs." In Igbo Traditional Life, Culture and Literature, ed. Michael J. C. Echeruo and E. N. Obiechina, Austin, TX.: Conch Publishers.
  • 1971 "Shylock and the 'Conditioned Imagination': A Re-interpretation." Shakespeare Quarterly 22(1):3-15.
  • 1967 "The Context of Othello's Tragedy." Southern Review (Adelaide) 11(4):299-318.
  • 1967 "Robinson Crusoe, Purchas His Pilgrimes, and the 'Novel'" English Studies in Africa 10 (September):167-77.
  • 1966 "The Conscience of Politics and Jonson's Catiline." Studies in English Lit. 9 (2):341-56.
  • 1966 "Books, Libraries, and the Making of Nigeria's Culture." Journal of the Library Assn of Nigeria 2(1).
  • 1966 "Traditional and Borrowed Elements in Nigerian Poetry." Nigeria Magazine 89:142-55.
  • 1966 "James Wait and The Nigger of `Narcissus'." English Studies in Africa 8 (Sept):166-80.
  • 1966 "Shelley on Wordsworth." English Studies in Africa 9 (September):117-45.
  • 1965 "Attempting the Ritual Presentation." Nigeria Magazine 87 (December):288-91.
  • 1963 "American Negro Poetry." Phylon 21(1).
  • 1963 "Dramatic Intensity in King Lear." English Studies in Africa 6 (March):44-50.
  • 1962 "Introduction." In The Sacrificial Egg and Other Stories, by Chinua Achebe. Onitsha, Nigeria: Etudo Press.
  • 1962 "Incidental Fiction in Nigeria." The African Writer 1 (August):10-11, 18.
  • 1962 "The Fiction of Cyprian Ekwensi." Nigeria Magazine (75) (December):63-66.
  • 1962 "Theatre and Concert in Late Nineteenth Century Lagos," Nigeria Magazine, Lagos, Nigeria, no.74
  • 1962 "E. M. Forster and the 'Undeveloped Heart'" English Studies in Africa 5 (Sept):151-1551.
    
    
• Recent Reviews:
  
  
  • 2000 Review of Oyekan Omoyowela, Amos Tutuola Revisited. Twayne World Authors Series. No. 880. NY: Twayne 1999. In African Studies Review. 43:3 (Dec. 2000), 176-178.
  • 1994 Review of David Roediger's Towards the Abolition of Whiteness. London and New York: Verso, 1994. in Journal of Modern African Studies. 32:2 (June, 1994), 362-64.
  • 1993 Review of Robert H. Bates, ed. Africa and the Disciplines. Chicago: Chicago UP, 1993. In Yearbook of Comparative and General Literature. 41 (1993).
    
    
• Recent Conferences:
  
  
  • 2002 March Project Director, Igbo Archival Dictionary Project (World Bank)
  • 2001 May "The Colors of Black Identity," Keynote Lecture, Department of African-American and African Studies, The Ohio State University.
  • 2001 April "Beyond Mensa ... Mensarum," International Conference on Linguistics and the Future of Language Learning, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
  • 2000 Nov "The Concept of Holiness in Igbo Discourse," African Studies Association Annual Conference. Nashville, TN..
  • 2000 Aug "Athol Fugard, Imperial Discourse, and the Alpha," International Comparative Literature Association Congress, Pretoria, South Africa.
  • 2000 March "African-American Identity Formation." Public Lecture, Cleveland State University, Ohio.
  • 2000 April "The Igbo Gbaa-Verb," Annual Conference on African Linguistics, Boston University.
  • 1998 Nov. "The Colonization of Things Fall Apart," Conference of Chinua Achebe. Kent State University.
  • 1998 April "An Exchange Typology of African-American Literature," ALA, Austin, TX.
  • 1997 June "Igbo Verbals and the Lexicon," International Congress on African Linguistics, Leipzig, Germany.
  • 1996 Nov. "Beyond Pessimism," Intercontinental Congress of the Spiritan International School of Theology. Enugu, Nigeria.

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Special Projects

• A Concordance to the Poetry of Christopher Okigbo
  
  
• KECH: The Paintings of Kevin Nwabugwu Echeruo (1946-69)
  
  

• Nwögure, an Igbo Novel 

  
  
• The Archival Igbo Lexicon Project (in the works!) 

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Philanthropy

• The Sickle Cell Initiative
  
  
  • The Sickle Cell Initiative is a project of UFEHEDA, Inc., a US Federal Tax-exempt charitable organization. The Initiative is currently conducting mass screening in selected African communities of infants 6-9 months old with a view to identifying sicklers and trait-carriers among them, and providing their families with education, counseling, and continued medical care through a network of volunteer doctors and health facilities, and with the support of pharmaceutical companies. The service to the community is provided free of charge.
    
    
• The Echeruo Academy:
  
  
  • The Echeruo Academy is a project of   UFEHEDA, Inc. It is currently running intensive month-long mathematics and computer programming courses in Africa for high school students selected through  open competition. Tuition is free.

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