Nkiru Nzegwu
Nkiru Nzegwu | |
|---|---|
Nkiru Nzegwu, Binghamton University | |
| Born | March 22, 1954 |
| Education | |
| Education | University of Ottawa (PhD) |
| Thesis | Encounters in Art Appreciation. PhD dissertation, University of Ottawa (1988) |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 21st-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Continental |
| Institutions | State University of New York at Binghamton |
| Main interests | feminist philosophy |
Nkiru Nzegwu (born March 22, 1954) is a Nigerian philosopher, painter, author, curator and art historian. She received her BA and MA[1] at the University of Ife in Nigeria and later a PhD in philosophy[2] (1989) from the University of Ottawa in Ontario. She is currently Distinguished Professor for Research at State University of New York at Binghamton.[3][4]
Education and early life
Nzegwu was born in Onitsha, Nigeria and went on to study at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) to receive both her BA and MA. Following her graduation, she moved to Canada to study philosophy and went on to gain a doctorate in philosophy with a focus of aesthetics from the University of Ottawa.[2]
She was an associate producer of Nigerian Art - Kindred Spirits (1996), a Smithsonian documentary.[5]
Philosophical career and later life
When she first began at The State University of New York at Binghamton she was in both the philosophy and art history departments where she earned both her tenures in 1996.[6] Later, she moved her philosophy appointment into African Studies. Additionally, later down the line she moved her art history line to the Interpretation and Culture (PIC) graduate program where she served as the coordinator.[6] She has taught at Binghamton University for over twenty-five years where she specializes in feminist/African women's studies, African philosophy, and African diaspora art.[6] Some courses she offered including, 'Philosophy of Orisha worship,' 'African Women and Feminism,' and 'Philosophy of Colonialism' were the first ever university courses in the United States on these topics.[6]
Writings on family structure
In 2006, Nzegwu wrote a book entitled Family Matters: Feminist Concepts in African Philosophy of Culture,[7] this book explored the structures of Igbo families and the concepts of feminism that existed within them. In the book, she studies African families through the lens of contemporary human rights and the need for a re-evaluation of these traditional ideas, considering the modern rulings by judges towards women that selectively appeal to culture and interpretation of traditions.[7]
She emphasizes the importance of differentiating between conceptions of African family and society rooted in the viewpoint of the British anthropologist, whose views developed within the ideology of imperialism because they misrepresent the precolonial Igbo family. To avoid misrepresentation she says her studies were centered in an understanding of the political nature and distribution of rights and entitlements within the Igbo family.[7]
She focuses her area of study to northwestern Igboland, a region that, prior to colonization was a non-gendered and non-patriarchal society.[7] She states that families in this region were not dominated by men's control nor was their sole purpose to serve the needs of men. She claims the early Christian missionaries and colonial anthropologist viewed the society through their patriarchal and male-privileging values that make up Western epistemology.[7]
She believes that the current problems of gender subordination within Africa are subsequently traced to European colonial policies and the African man's one-sided construction of a family and that these problems are widely caused by Queen Elizabeth II. She says that the African man's viewpoint led to patriarchal consciousness that privileges the male view. She associates the redefined women's identity as solely a "wife," and their level of dependency status correlates to colonial policies as well showing the parelell.[8]
Main publications
- Nzegwu, Nkiru (1994). "Gender Equality in a Dual-Sex System: the Case of Onitsha". Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence. 7, 199401: 73. doi:10.1017/S0841820900002575. ISSN 0841-8209. OCLC 8271677568.
- Issues in Contemporary African Art. Binghamton: International Society for the Study of Africa [ISSA], 1998. (editor)
- Contemporary Textures: Multidimensionality in Nigerian Art. Binghamton: ISSA, 1999. (editor)
- Nzegwu, Nkiru (2004). "The Epistemological Challenge of Motherhood to Patriliny". JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies (5): 1–18.
- Family Matters: Feminist Concepts in African Philosophy of Culture. Albany, NY: SUNY Pres, 2006.
- The New African Diaspora. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2009. (co-editor, with Isidore Okpewho)
- His Majesty Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe: A Ten-Year Milestone. Endicott, NY: Africa Resource Press, 2013. (editor)
- Onitsha at the Millennium: Legacy, History and Transformation. Endicott, NY: Africa Resource Press, 2013 (editor)
- Rethinking Motherhood: African and Nordic Perspectives. Endicott, NY: Africa Resource Press, 2020 (co-editor, with Signe Arfred)
References
- ^ "Nkiru Nzegwu - Our Faculty | Africana Studies | Binghamton University". Africana Studies - Binghamton University. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ a b Nzegwu, Nkiru (August 20, 2020). "NKIRU NZEGWU CURRICULUM VITAE" (PDF).
- ^ Coker, Eric (April 4, 2019). "Nkiru Nzegwu receives SUNY distinguished professorship - Binghamton News". News - Binghamton University. Binghamton University State University of New York. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ "Nkiru Nzegwu". buala.org. Buala, open-access website for multiple voices from Africa, Brazil, Europe, and beyond. Launched in 2010 by Marta Lança. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
Philosopher, art historian and the current chair of Africana Studies Department has taught for over ten years at State University of New York at Binghamton. Professor Nkiru Nzegwu introduced first-ever courses at Binghamton University such as Philosophy of Orisha Worship, Hip-Hop I and Hip-Hop II.
- ^ Nigerian Art - Kindred Spirits on YouTube. Video duration 57m 57 s. Uploader VHS Ark, 2016. WETA-TV and the Smithsonian Institution, 1990. Executive producer Adrian Malone, producer: Caroll Parrott Blue, associate producers Kalindi Corens and Nkiry Nzegwu.
- ^ a b c d Nzegwu, Nkiru (August 2017). "Interview with Professor Nikiru Nzegwu". Journal on African Philosophy (14) – via African Knowledge Project.
- ^ a b c d e Nzegwu, Nkiru (2006). Family Matters: Feminist Concepts in African Philosophy of Culture. SUNY Series, Feminist Philosophy. Ithaca: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-8182-0.
- ^ Nzegwu, Nkiru Uwechia (2006). Family Matters: Feminist Concepts in African Philosophy of Culture. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6744-2.