News Release
Fulbright Scholar from Kenya to teach African Philosophy and Logic at UDM
University of Detroit Mercy will be welcoming a Fulbright Scholar for the winter semester. Oriare Nyarwath, a lecturer from the University of Nairobi in Kenya will be joining the College of Liberal Arts & Education beginning in January. He will be teaching a newly designed course, African Philosophy and Logic.
"Knowing that Mr. Nyarwath was well-loved and respected as a teacher at both University of Nairobi and several local seminaries around Nairobi where he also taught, I thought it would be a good opportunity for our students to have him teach here at our University," said Gail Presbey, UDM professor of Philosophy, who arranged to have Nyarwath come to UDM.
"It would benefit our students to have exposure to philosophies from Africa, and it would benefit Mr. Nyarwath to have a wider world experience since he rarely leaves Kenya. He could pursue further research here with library access, and interact with scholars at conferences as well as by being invited to give lectures at area universities."
Presbey met Nyarwath in 1993 during her first research visit to Kenya. When she returned to Kenya in 1998-2000 for her Fulbright Senior Scholar position at the University of Nairobi, she and Nyarwath co-taught a course on African Philosophy.
She says that Nyarwath helped to organize an international African philosophy conference in Nairobi while she was there, and also helped her to co-edit a book, entitled Thought and Practice in African Philosophy, based on articles from the conference.
Already familiar with the Fulbright program, Presbey submitted an application for the J. William Fulbright Scholar in Residence grant, which is administered by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars. The grant was approved for Nyarwath to visit UDM.
"It is an honor for the College of Liberal Arts & Education and the University of Detroit Mercy to have a Fulbright Scholar in Residence joining our College in January 2008," said Liberal Arts and Education Dean Charles Marske. "Professor Oriare Nyarwath is a philosopher with research and teaching interests in sage philosophy. His presence not only will enrich our Philosophy Department but he will be a great resource for the University community through guest lectures and various discussions and meetings in which he will be involved."
Nyarwath is author of Traditional Logic: An Introduction and co-author, with Mary Omosa, Geoffrey Njeru, and Edward Ontita, of Theory and Practice of Governance in Kenya. He has published articles on the problem of corruption in Kenya, philosophy's role in social development, and "freedom" as a concept explored in Kenyan sage philosophy. He has presented papers at conferences on human rights, ethnicity and the problem of ethnicism, and theories on punishment. He is working on his Ph.D. dissertation on topics in African philosophy.
Eight University of Detroit Mercy faculty members have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships to study or lecture around the world, including Presbey, who has served two Fulbright assignments. Currently, Anthony Martinico from the School of Architecture is in Warsaw, Poland, studying as a Fulbright Senior Scholar.
Release date: November 15, 2007
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