Ghirmai Negash

Ghirmai Negash is Associate Professor of English & African Literature, and Associate Director of African Studies Program at Ohio University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. He was the founder and former chair of the Department of Eritrean Languages and Literature at the University of Asmara (2001-2005).  His research interests include African literatures from the Horn of Africa and South Africa, critical theory, translation, and orality studies. His publications include A History of Tigrinya Literature in Eritrea (University of Leiden-CNWS, 1999); Who Needs a Story? (Hidri., 2006), co-edited and translated with Charles Cantalupo; The Freedom of the Writer & Other Cultural and Literary Essays, in Tigrinya (Trenton, NJ.: Africa World Press, 2006), and several articles and chapters, including in Silence is Not Golden, eds. Adera, T. and A. Ahmed (Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Africa World Press, 1994), Teaching Life Writing Texts, eds. Fuchs, M. and C. Howes (New York: MLA, 2008), Journal of African Literature Association 2.2 (2008), Research in African Literatures 40.3 (2009), and Biography 32.1 (2009).

Dr. Negash’s main pedagogical interests are African literature, critical theory and world literature, and his two fundamental aims are to foster critical thinking and cross-cultural awareness in his students.  At a personal and professional level, he has lived and worked on three continents, can speak and write four African (Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic, Afrikaans) and three European languages (English, Dutch, French). He has also a working knowledge of Giiz.