Francis B. Nyamnjoh: Difference between revisions

'''Francis B. Nyamnjoh''' [[African Academy of Sciences|<small>FAAS</small>]] (born 1961) is a Cameroonian Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cape Town. His book ''#RhodesMustFall'': ''Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa'' won the annual "ASU African Hero 2013" award from the African Students Union at [[Ohio University]], the 2014 Eko Prize for African Literature, and 2018 the ASAUK Fage & Oliver Prize for the best monograph.

== Early life and education ==

Francis B. Nyamnjoh was born in 1961 in Bum, Cameroon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nyamnjoh, Francis B. 1961- |url=https://libris.kb.se/xv8bfw2g1jzxknl |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Libris |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AUT - Úplné zobrazení záznamu |url=https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&local_base=aut&ccl_term=ica=jx20110322014 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=aleph.nkp.cz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nyamnjoh, Francis B. 1961- (Francis Beng Nyamnjoh) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/nyamnjoh-francis-b-1961-francis-beng-nyamnjoh |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> He obtained his [[Bachelor of Arts]] (1984) and [[Master of Arts]] (1985) from the [[University of Yaoundé]] in Cameroon. His master's thesis was titled ''Change in the concept of power amongst the Bum.'' He earned a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] from the [[University of Leicester]], in 1990.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Professor Francis B. Nyamnjoh |url=https://www.mideq.org/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=MIDEQ - Migration for Diversity and Equality |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Professor Francis B Nyamnjoh |url=https://humanities.uct.ac.za/department-anthropology/people-academic-staff-academic-staff-overview/professor-francis-b-nyamnjoh}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Nyamnjoh Francis B. {{!}} The AAS |url=https://www.aasciences.africa/fellow/nyamnjoh-francis-b |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.aasciences.africa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Francis Nyamnjoh |url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/francis-nyamnjoh-436229 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref>

== Career and research ==

Nyamnjoh moved from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, where he held the position of Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Francis Nyamnjoh |url=https://www.nyamnjoh.com/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Francis Nyamnjoh}}</ref> to the [[University of Cape Town]] in August 2009 to take up a position as Professor of Social Anthropology.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=African Books Collective: Francis B. Nyamnjoh |url=https://www.africanbookscollective.com/authors-editors/francis-b.-nyamnjoh |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.africanbookscollective.com}}</ref>

He has conducted considerable study and written extensively about Cameroon,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Konings |first1=Piet |last2=Nyamnjoh |first2=Francis B. |date=June 1997 |title=The Anglophone Problem in Cameroon |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/abs/anglophone-problem-in-cameroon/4A049A5C478D5B63F31A0ADBF7EDEE4A |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |language=en |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=207–229 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X97002401 |hdl=1887/4616 |s2cid=145801145 |issn=1469-7777}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nyamnjoh |first1=Francis |last2=Rowlands |first2=Michael |date=July 1998 |title=Elite associations and the politics of belonging in Cameroon |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/africa/article/abs/elite-associations-and-the-politics-of-belonging-in-cameroon/655994A57532762A0C0FB04B410E3985 |journal=Africa |language=en |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=320–337 |doi=10.2307/1161252 |jstor=1161252 |s2cid=145424119 |issn=1750-0184}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Konings |first1=Piet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0u9bWHQzDnIC&dq=info:2ziBhTwPpO8J:scholar.google.com&pg=PR7 |title=Negotiating an Anglophone Identity: A Study of the Politics of Recognition and Representation in Cameroon |last2=Nyamnjoh |first2=Francis Beng |date=2003-01-01 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-13295-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/98/390/101/32618 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/104/415/251/101954 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref> Botswana,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |date=December 2002 |title=Local Attitudes towards Citizenship and Foreigners in Botswana: An Appraisal of Recent Press Stories |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305707022000043502 |journal=Journal of Southern African Studies |language=en |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=755–775 |doi=10.1080/0305707022000043502 |s2cid=144778901 |issn=0305-7070}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |date=July 2003 |title=Chieftaincy and the Negotiation of Might and Right in Botswana Democracy |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589000305447 |journal=Journal of Contemporary African Studies |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=233–250 |doi=10.1080/02589000305447 |s2cid=153444057 |issn=0258-9001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mogalakwe |first1=Monageng |last2=Nyamnjoh |first2=Francis |date=2017-01-02 |title=Botswana at 50: democratic deficit, elite corruption and poverty in the midst of plenty |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02589001.2017.1286636 |journal=Journal of Contemporary African Studies |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1080/02589001.2017.1286636 |s2cid=157883961 |issn=0258-9001}}</ref> and generally african ploticits.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |date=August 2012 |title=Blinded by Sight: Divining the Future of Anthropology in Africa |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000203971204702-304 |journal=Africa Spectrum |language=en |volume=47 |issue=2–3 |pages=63–92 |doi=10.1177/000203971204702-304 |s2cid=143283428 |issn=0002-0397}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Karlström |first=Mikael |date=2004-12-01 |title=Modernity and Its Aspirants: Moral Community and Developmental Eutopianism in Buganda |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/423974 |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=595–619 |doi=10.1086/423974 |s2cid=142751147 |issn=0011-3204}}</ref> He has taught sociology, [[anthropology]], and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana. According to the South African National Research Foundation, he is a professor and researcher with a B1 rating (NRF). He is the Chair of the Editorial Board of Langaa Research and Publishing Center in [[Bamenda|Bamend]] (2005)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Desire for knowledge – Langaa and publishing in Africa |url=https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20170919101008762 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=University World News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=RPCIG |first=Langaa |date=2021-03-03 |title=Distinguished International Lecture by Prof. Francis B. Nyamnjoh gave at Kobe University on the Drinking from the Cosmic Gourd book |url=https://www.langaa-rpcig.net/distinguished-international-lecture-by-prof-francis-b-nyamnjoh-gave-at-kobe-university-on-the-drinking-from-the-cosmic-gourd-book/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group |language=en-US}}</ref> and the South African Human Sciences Research Council (2011).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

Nyamnjoh books include ''#RhodesMustFall'': ''Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa'',<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvmd84n8 |title=#RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa |date=2016 |publisher=Langaa RPCIG |doi=10.2307/j.ctvmd84n8 |jstor=j.ctvmd84n8 |isbn=978-9956-763-16-0}}</ref> This book, which is built on his previous book ''Insiders and outsiders: Citizenship and xenophobia in contemporary Southern Africa'' (2005)'','' is a book on citizenship, rights, and entitlements in [[History of South Africa (1994–present)|post-apartheid South Africa]] demonstrates how racism and its advantages still exist and that the field has not been levelled as some have assumed. It examines the issue of race in a culture still troubled by the lingering effects of apartheid, inequality, and attitudes of inferiority and inadequacy among the majority black population via the regular interactions and experiences of university students and lecturers where due to the ongoing renewal and addition of circles of privilege to a complex and long history of the growth of black sorrow, black voices and concerns in education are usually ignored.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ywsj_-0TkKUC&dq=info:J3eLM8JJVFYJ:scholar.google.com&pg=PP11 |title=Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa |date=2006 |publisher=Zed Books |isbn=978-1-84277-677-3 |language=en}}</ref> These problems are discussed against the backdrop of organised student protests that are roiling the nation's campuses and calling for change under the banner of "[[Black Lives Matter]]." This thorough examination of the [[Rhodes Must Fall|Rhodes Must Fall campaign]] raises interesting concerns regarding the benefits and drawbacks of exclusionary definitions of belonging due to its multifaceted complexity.<ref>{{Citation |title=A Case for Convivial Scholarship: Inspiration from #RhodesMustFall by Prof Francis B Nyamnjoh |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMU8SZD0pE4 |language=en |access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Francis B. Nyamnjoh: #RhodesMustFall |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts-3iVkjk2c |language=en |access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref> What might the modern quick-footed [[makwerekwere]]{{Efn-ua|Makwerekwere is a slang word typically used in a derogatory manner to refer to African migrants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=MATSINHE |first=DAVID MARIO |date=2011 |title=Africa's Fear of Itself: the ideology of "Makwerekwere" in South Africa |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41300231 |journal=Third World Quarterly |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=295–313 |doi=10.1080/01436597.2011.560470 |jstor=41300231 |s2cid=219627530 |issn=0143-6597}}</ref> Foreigners were referred to as "barbarians" by the Greeks because they shouted "bar, bar" incomprehensibly; South Africans assert that when immigrants open their lips, they utter "kwere, kwere."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nixon |first=Rob |date=2001-11-01 |title=South Africans Only |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/11/south-africans-only/302335/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>}} from Africa north of the Limpopo possible have in common with the big imperialist of the past like the stripling [[Uitlander]] or foreigner Sir [[Cecil Rhodes|Cecil John Rhodes]]? According to Nyamnjoh, the solution lies in how human movement constantly pushes the limits of citizenship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=B |first=Nyamnjoh, Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qD4iDAAAQBAJ |title=#RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa |date=2016-04-18 |publisher=Langaa RPCIG |isbn=978-9956-763-16-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Francis Nyamnjoh, 'Fiction and Reality of Mobility in Africa' |url=https://www.nyamnjoh.com/2012/11/francis-nyamnjoh-fiction-and-reality-of-mobility-in-africa.html |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Francis Nyamnjoh}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Francis Nyamnjoh: 'Cecil John Rhodes: The Uitlander and Makwerekwere with a Missionary Zeal' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JaZD2ZRoPo |language=en |access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref>

Nyamnjoh received the "Senior Arts Researcher of the Year" award in 2003.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Nyamnjoh was given the University of Cape Town Excellence Award in October 2012 in recognition of his "exceptional contribution as a professor in the Faculty of Humanities".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> ''#RhodesMustFall'': ''Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa''<ref name=":1" /> won the annual "ASU African Hero 2013" award from the African Students Union at [[Ohio University]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prof. Nyamnjoh: ASU Africa Hero 2013 |url=https://www.nyamnjoh.com/2013/03/prof-nyamnjoh-asu-africa-hero-2013.html |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Francis Nyamnjoh}}</ref> the 2014 Eko Prize for African Literature,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prof. Francis Nyamnjoh Wins 2014 Eko Literature Prize |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201412231051.html}}</ref> and 2018 the ASAUK Fage & Oliver Prize for the best monograph.<ref>{{Cite web |last=RPCIG |first=Langaa |date=2018-11-11 |title=The winner of the 2018 Fage and Oliver Prize is Francis B Nyamnjoh |url=https://www.langaa-rpcig.net/the-winner-of-the-2018-fage-and-oliver-prize-is-francis-b-nyamnjoh/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group |language=en-US}}</ref>

Nyamnjoh was elected a Fellow of the [[Cameroon Academy of Science]] in 2011, the [[African Academy of Sciences]] in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nyamnjoh Francis B. {{!}} The AAS |url=https://www.aasciences.africa/fellow/nyamnjoh-francis-b |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.aasciences.africa}}</ref> and a fellow of the [[Academy of Science of South Africa]] in 2016.<ref name=":0" />

== Selected publications ==

* Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (2005)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Tr6EUTxQWYC&q=%22Francis+B.+Nyamnjoh%22+-wikipedia |title=Africa's Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging |date=May 2005 |publisher=Zed Books |isbn=978-1-84277-583-7 |language=en}}</ref>

* Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (2006)<ref name=":5" />

* The Disillusioned African (2007)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/740780664 |title=The disillusioned African |oclc=740780664}}</ref>

* “C'est l'homme qui fait l'homme”: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d'Ivoire (2015)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4N6RCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Francis+B.+Nyamnjoh%22+-wikipedia |title=C est l homme qui fait l homme: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d'Ivoire |date=2015 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=978-9956-762-52-1 |language=en}}</ref>

* #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa (2016)<ref name=":1" />

* Drinking from the Cosmic Gourd: How Amos Tutuola Can Change Our Minds (2017)<ref>{{Cite book |last=B |first=Nyamnjoh, Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gnp5DgAAQBAJ&q=%22Francis+B.+Nyamnjoh%22+-wikipedia |title=Drinking from the Cosmic Gourd: How Amos Tutuola Can Change Our Minds |date=2017-03-15 |publisher=Langaa RPCIG |isbn=978-9956-764-65-5 |language=en}}</ref>

* Eating and Being Eaten: Cannibalism as Food for Thought (2018)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvh9vtgp |title=Eating and Being Eaten: Cannibalism as Food for Thought |date=2018 |publisher=Langaa RPCIG |doi=10.2307/j.ctvh9vtgp |jstor=j.ctvh9vtgp |isbn=978-9956-550-96-8|s2cid=242094304 }}</ref>

* The Rational Consumer: Bad for Business and Politics: Democracy at the Crossroads of Nature and Culture (2018)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nyamnjoh |first=Francis B. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvk3gmjt |title=The Rational Consumer: Bad for Business and Politics: Democracy at the Crossroads of Nature and Culture |date=2018 |publisher=Langaa RPCIG |doi=10.2307/j.ctvk3gmjt |jstor=j.ctvk3gmjt |isbn=978-9956-550-14-2|s2cid=158545824 }}</ref>

== Notes ==

<references group="upper-alpha" responsive="1"></references>

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts-3iVkjk2c&ab_channel=HUMA Francis B. Nyamnjoh: #RhodesMustFall], Youtube

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMU8SZD0pE4&ab_channel=SARChI-HEHDUFS A Case for Convivial Scholarship: Inspiration from #RhodesMustFall by Prof Francis B Nyamnjoh], Youtube

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNMRfipYRiM&ab_channel=AfricanLiteratureAssociation ALA 2020-2021 Lecture Series: Francis B. Nyamnjoh], Youtube

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JaZD2ZRoPo Francis Nyamnjoh: 'Cecil John Rhodes: The Uitlander and Makwerekwere with a Missionary Zeal'], Youtube