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HomeAbu dhabiNobel Laureate Wole Soyinka joins NYU Abu Dhabi

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka joins NYU Abu Dhabi

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Soyinka’s appointment is in line with NYU’s academic strategy and the University’s mission as an educational institution

Abu Dhabi: Nobel Laureate in Literature Wole Soyinka has been appointed Professor of Dramatic Arts at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), effective September 1, 2022.

An accomplished artist and dramatist, poet, essayist, musician, philosopher, teacher, human rights activist, and global artist and scholar, Soyinka joins the NYU Theatre Program as a full-time faculty member, providing direct access to the community Visit one of the world’s greatest thinkers.

Soyinka’s appointment is in line with NYU’s academic strategy and its mission as a university in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. He will play a key role in continuing to elevate the University’s position in the arts and its growth into a research and teaching university of excellence and a global leader in higher education.

“It is an honor for Wole Soyinka, a world-renowned artist, scholar and activist, a true global citizen and Nobel laureate, to join our NYU community,” NYU Vice President Mariët Westermann said“Our location in Abu Dhabi is a transnational crossroads for the exchange of cultural and artistic traditions, and NYU is uniquely positioned to foster new creativity and discourse. We are delighted to be able to contribute to the beauty and power of Soyinka in the UAE A home where we learn about our history and our humanity.”

NYUAD Provost Arlie Petters said: “Soyinka has left an impressive legacy in his native Nigeria as well as in Africa and the world. The students he has taught and mentored, as well as the many teachers who have translated, developed and expanded his ideas, remains the most tangible and The most enduring legacy. Our community is privileged to be a part of this journey and his ongoing work will impact future generations.”

Soyinka has published more than 90 works on culture and tradition, creativity and power, activism and the artistic process. His latest book, A Chronicle in the Land of the Happiest Man on Earth, published in 2021, is the New York Times Book of the Year and the Los Angeles Times describes it as combining “a murder mystery, a searing Political satire and a modern Alice in Wonderland allegory of power and deception.” Soyinka has served at other institutions of higher education, including Harvard, Yale, Duke, Emory and Loyola Marymount in the US. He is also an active member of international, arts and human rights organisations.

Soyinka first joined the NYU community in 2020 as a writer-in-residence. His visit at the time was at the joint invitation of the African Studies, Film and New Media, History, Literary and Creative Writing, and Theatre programs, supported by the NYUAD Institute and by other offices across the campus.

The NYU Theater Program is an academic and artistic laboratory dedicated to theater research, scholarship, and practice. For NYU theatre students, the creation, thinking, creation, and expression of culture are inextricably linked, and the overall goal is to develop artist citizens whose theatrical contributions will expand the field and change the world. Graduates of NYU’s theatre program collaborate with other artists, scientists and scholars across disciplines to invent new mixed cultural practices that will define and influence theatre in the UAE and beyond.

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