was to organize Bible translation projects in various parts of the country, ...
particular, I worked with the Kikuyu and Meru translation projects of the.
CURRICULUM
VITAE
Name:
Muigai Wa-Gachanja (Male)
Address:
P.O. Box 34382, Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 0151-55080 or 0733-734375 wagachanja @gmail.com
Nationality:
Kenyan
Birth Date:
May 21, 1949
Marital Status:
Married with a son and a daughter
Present Position:
Associate Professor, Literature Department Kenyatta University P.O. Box 43844 Nairobi, Kenya.
Current Teaching Courses: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)
ALT.210: Literature and Contemporary Writing ALT.301: Oral Literature: Theory and Method ALT.304: Genres of Oral Literature ALT.305: African-American Prose ALT.314: 20th Century American Literature MAL501: Theory of Literature (Postgraduate) MAL504: Theory of Oral Literature [{folkloric theories} Postgraduate] MAL507: American Literature (Selected authors: Postgraduate) General Research Methodology (All Postgraduates – Faculty of Arts).
Other Areas of Academic Interest: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Cultural studies and interpretation Sociology of Religion Black religious experience in the U.S Interrelationship Between Religion, Literature and Folklore Design and Management of Educational Programs
Academic and Professional Training. B.Ed. Hons. (Upper Second Class) University of Nairobi (1976). Apart from the Education courses I studied Literature and Religion. M.A. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, U.S.A. (1977). Areas of study: Education, African and Afro-American Literature, Social and Economic Problems affecting development in Africa. 1
Ph.D. (Literature and Religion), Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. (1987). Areas of study: Literature, Religion, Anthropology and Folklore. My major areas of specialization were the interrelationship between literature and religion and methods of literary and cultural interpretation.
Other Professional Certificates: I hold the P1 and S1 teaching certificates
Teaching Experience: Sept. 2003 to Date: 1990-2003:
Associate Professor, Literature Department, Kenyatta University
Senior Lecturer, Department of Literature, Kenyatta University
1992–1993 : Visiting Lecturer, Department of Religion, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi. Courses taught: Black Religious Experience in the U.S. and Sociology of Religion. 1984–1990 : Lecturer, Department of Literature, Kenyatta University. 1983–1995 : Visiting Lecturer, Department of Religion, University of Nairobi: Course taught: Sociology of Religion. 1980–1981 : Graduate Teaching Assistant, Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta, U.S.A.
Other Work Experience. 1982-1984:
Translation Consultant in Training, United Bible Society, African Regional Centre, Nairobi. As a translation consultant in training, my work was to organize Bible translation projects in various parts of the country, and to evaluate and assess the progress of each translation team. In particular, I worked with the Kikuyu and Meru translation projects of the New Testament.
Fellowships, Honors and Research Grants: a) September 2001 to April 2002: A Senior visiting Fulbright Scholar at the Graduate Program in Folklore and Folklife, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Besides my participation in the Graduate Program, my topic of research was: “Investigating Recent Theoretical Trends in Folklore Scholarship: Beyond Structuralism and Psychoanalysis.” My faculty associates and hosts at the University of Pennsylvania were the well-known American folklorists, Professors Dan Ben-Amos and Roger D. Abrahams. 2
b) June/July 1990: A grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (U.S.A) enabled me to attend a six week seminar for school teachers at Trinity College, Connecticut, U.S.A. The seminar, “Four Afro-American Classics”, examined the works of Zola Neale Hurtson, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison. The aim of the seminar was to examine the ways in which the four black writers have grappled with the problems of the self, racial and cultural identity, and the relationship between white and black America. During the seminar I presented a paper entitled: “Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison: an African Response”. c) May 1987: Recipient of a six month British Council Fellowship which enabled me to study for six months at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. d) May, 1987: The Dean’s Committee, Kenyatta University, awarded me a research grant (Ksh. 30,000/=), which enabled me to collect and record more than 100 Gikuyu folktales from all over the country. e) Fall, 1978: The Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Emory University, awarded me a scholarship which paid for all my tuition expenses for two years at Emory University.
Publications and Scholarly Presentations: Forthcoming : “Courage, Heroism and Determination: Voices from those who fought in the Mau Mau Liberation Struggle.” A paper to be published in a book, Mau Mau Legacy in Kenya, which is financed by the Ford Foundation. “Images of Women in Kenya Oral Narratives” in Fabula: Journal of Folklore Studies, Summer 2002. The original version of this paper was first presented to the International Society of Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR) Congress in Nairobi, July 2000. Co-author (with Austin Bukenya) of two books: Oral Literature: A Senior Course (Longhorn, Nairobi, 1997) and Oral Literature: A Junior Course (Longhorn, Nairobi, 1996). Author: “Polygamy: Its Social and Economic Impact on the Family in Kenya”in Wanjiku M. Kabira et.al. Contesting Social Death: Essays on Gender and Culture (Views Media, Nairobi: 1997) pp. 208-219. The original version of this essay was first presented to a Kenya Oral Literature Conference in Nairobi in 1993 before its subsequent publication.
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“Human Rights in Kenya: an Academic Experience” in The Independent Review: A Journal of East African Literary and Cultural Studies 2: 1997: 262265. “Growing Cultural Heritage: New Oral Material from Gikuyu Traditions.” Rev. of Kabira’s Gikuyu Oral Literature, Weekly Review 15 September 1989: PP. 3940. “Sensitive Issues in New Play”, rev. of F. Imbuga’s Aminata, Weekly Review 10 June, 1988: PP. 55-56. November 1987: “The Gikuyu Folk Story: Its Structure and Aesthetics”, Ph.D Dissertation (Emory University, 1987). May 1986: The Place of Oral Literature in the teaching of English Language in Secondary Schools in Kenya” in Proceedings: Conference on Teaching English in East Africa (The British Council, Nairobi, 1986). June 1980: Presented a paper :Literary and Theological Renaissance in Black America: A Study of Martin Luther King and Margaret Walker”, to the Southern Conference of Black Arts and Literature, Emory University, U.S.A. September, 1979: Presented a paper “Alternative Strategies for intra-societal conflict: Violence Versus Non-Violence: A study of Martin Luther King and Malcom X,” to the Southern Sociological Society, Georgia State University, U.S.A.
Ongoing Research and Writing: 1)
I have collected more than 100 Kenyan folktales and I am currently working on the material to publish a book entitled, “Popular Kenyan Folktales”.
2)
I am in the process of writing an undergraduate text book entitled “The Hidden Meaning in Traditional Oral Narratives: Theory and Interpretation.”
Supervision of Theses and Dissertations: So far I have supervised the following Theses and Dissertations: Dr. Aden Muktar Haji Barre: “Proverbs as an Artistic Discourse Strategy in Conflict Resolution Among the Kenyan Somalis,” PhD Dissertation (kenyatta University, 2010) Dr. Mbugua, Wallace Kamau: “A critical Analysis of Conformity and Subversion in Gikuyu Children’s Oral Poetry,” PhD Dissertation (Kenyatta University, 2007) Dr. Kairu, Benson Kamau: “Rereading Selected Black African Autobiographies: A Deconstructionist Approach,” PhD Dissertation (Kenyatta University,2003)
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Dr. Mugubi, John G.O., “The Child Character in Adult Literature: A Study of Six Selected Caribbean Novels” PhD Dissertation (Kenyatta University 2003). Dr. Wainaina, Michael M., “The World of Gikuyu Mythology: A Structural Analysis.” PhD Dissertation (Kenyatta University, 2002). Dr. Machayo, John Olilo, “Myths and Rituals in the Works of Francis D. Imbuga.” PhD Dissertation (Kenyatta University, 2002). External Advisor for Dr. Sampers, David A., “Talking Sheng: The Role of a Hybrid Language in the Construction of Identity and Youth Culture in Nairobi, Kenya. PhD Dissertation (University of Pennsylvania, USA 2002) Muhoro, Mwangi: “The Poetics of Gikuyu Mwomboko Poetry: A case study of Selected Performing Artistes,” MA Thesis (Kenyatta University,2002) Muleka, Joseph H., “The Portrayal of Girl Characters in Selected Children’s Books in Kenya”. MA thesis (Kenyatta University, 2002) Wainaina, Michael “Aspects of Orature in Selected Gikuyu Pop Songs”. MA Thesis (Kenyatta University, 1998). External Examiner for Prisca Muthoni’s “Adult Catechesis in the African Context: A Proposal for Contextualised Transmission for Faith in Central Kenya”, Ph.D Dissertation (Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, 1992). Egara, Stanley Kabaji: “The Maragoli Folktale: Its structure and Aesthetics”, M.A. Thesis (Kenyatta University, 1992). Karani, Solomon Kakai: “The Abatachoni Theatre: Its structure and Aesthetics”, M.A. Thesis (Kenyatta University, 1990). Atuti, O.J. Atunga: “Gussii Folktales: their Form, Aesthetics, and Significance”. B.A. thesis (Kenyatta University, 1989). Kahiu, Ndungu A.: “Form and Meaning in Oral Narratives: A study of a Gikuyu Folktale, B.ED. Thesis (Kenyatta University, 1988). I am currently supervising two dissertations and one M.A Thesis.
Administrative Experience: 1992–1995
: Chairman, Faculty of Arts Postgraduate Studies Board. The board designs and evaluates all postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Arts. The board is also in charge of supervision and examination of all M.A and Ph.D theses and dissertation proposals in the Faculty. 5
Sept-Oct. 1990
: Ag. Chairman, Literature Department.
Jan.– March, 1992 : Ag. Chairman, Literature Department Aug.1992 to 1995 : Chairman, Departmental Appointments’ short-listing Committee. 1986 –1993
: Coordinator, Postgraduate Studies Committee, Literature Department.
Other University Duties. June 1992 – 1995
: The Dean, Faculty of Arts, appointed me Chairman, Kenyatta University Journals and Publications Committee. The Committee is charged with the task of editing and promoting university publications and soliciting for donor funds to support the university journals and other publications.
April 1992 to-date : Chairman, Editorial Board, The Independent Review: A Journal of Eastern African Literary and Cultural Studies. November 1989
: Member of an Ad-Hoc Committee appointed by the Vice Chancellor, Kenyatta University: the committee was charged with the task of promoting professionalism among the teaching faculty.
1985 to 1995
: Member, Faculty of Arts Postgraduate Studies Board. The Board is charged with the task of designing and evaluating all postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Arts. The board is also in charge of supervision and examination of all M.A and Ph.D. theses and dissertations in the Faculty.
June 1979June 1981
: Executive member of a commission appointed by the President of Emory university: the commission was charged with the task of studying means and ways of fostering interracial co-operation and interaction within the student body as well as the faculty. I especially helped in compiling and editing the 80 page report of the commission’s findings and recommendations.
Membership to Academic Organizations: Member, African Studies Association, U.S.A. Member, Kenya Oral Literature Association (KOLA). Member, International Society of Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR)
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Participation in Community Development Activities: 1)
2)
Chairman, Board of Governors, Giachuki Secondary School, Murang’a (1990-97) Member, Board of Governors, Kamunyaka-Kiumu Secondary School, Thika (1996-2000)
Academic Referees: 1. Dr. Robert A. Paul Charles Howard Candler Prof. of Anthropology The Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts Emory University Atlanta, Georgia 30322. Tel: (404) 727-7601
2. Prof. C.K. Wambari Department of Philosophy & Rel. Stud. Kenyatta University P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi Tel: 810901 Ext.303 Email:
[email protected] 3. Prof. Macharia Munene Division of Arts & Sciences. United States International Univ. P.O. Box 14634, Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 802532/803761. email:
[email protected]
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