Abdulrazak Gurna’s Nobel Prize in Literature: Implications in the African Language Classroom

Abdulrazak Gurna’s Nobel Prize in Literature: Implications in the African Language Classroom

Abdulrazak Gurnah, Emeritus Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent, won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. The selection committee said the prize was “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” Born and raised in Zanzibar, Swahili is his native language. His novels focus on East Africa, yet all are written in English.

Three Swahili Language professors explore the implications of his work and Nobel Prize for the African language classroom.

Panelists:
-Dr. David Kyeu, University of California, Berkeley
-Professor Alwiya Omar, Indiana University
-Professor Anne Jebet, University of Virginia
Moderator:
-Wolfgang Alders, Doctoral Candidate. University of California, Berkeley

The session requires pre-registration that can be done here: https://bit.ly/GurnahAfLang. If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact Martha Saavedra at asc@berkeley.edu, +1.510.642-8338 with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.