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]
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]
↑"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.
12345Nzegwu, Nkiru (2006). Family Matters: Feminist Concepts in African Philosophy of Culture. SUNY Series, Feminist Philosophy. Ithaca: State University of New York Press. ISBN978-0-7914-8182-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
