Skunder (Alexander) Boghossian, Night Flight of Dread and Delight, 1964, Oil on canvas with collage. Courtesy of North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
Book Launch: Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots
March 6, 2025
16:00-18:00
Skunder (Alexander) Boghossian, Night Flight of Dread and Delight, 1964, Oil on canvas with collage. Courtesy of North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
Book Launch: Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots
March 6, 2025
16:00-18:00
The Africa Institute, Global Studies University (GSU), in collaboration with Iwalewa Books, invites you to our latest publication, Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots edited by Professors Dagmawi Woubshet, Elizabeth W. Giorgis, and Surafel Wondimu Abebe. The publication is the result of the Institute’s inaugural Country-Focused Season on Ethiopia (2019–2020), offering a comprehensive examination of Ethiopia’s cultural, political, and historical significance, both within Africa and globally.
The book explores Ethiopia’s exceptional status as a never-colonized African nation and its profound impact on the broader African and diasporic experience. By addressing themes of exceptionalism, migration, exile, historical shifts, and Ethiopia’s contribution to literary, visual, and performing arts, the editors offer new perspectives on Ethiopia’s role in shaping African modernity.
Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots examines Ethiopia’s place in both African and global contexts, delving into its unique historical position as the only African country never colonized. The book challenges conventional narratives about Africa’s history by exploring Ethiopia’s historical and cultural exceptionalism. It offers insights into how Ethiopia’s status shaped its political and cultural identity, contributing to broader discussions of African modernity and colonial legacies.
The book’s structure is divided into five thematic sections, including explorations of Ethiopia’s literary, visual, and performing arts, migration, and exile, all set against the backdrop of the country’s historical shifts and evolving identity. One of its central contributions is its analysis of how Ethiopia’s historical condition is crucial to understanding African political thought and colonial histories.
Dagmawi Woubshet is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Associate Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. A scholar in African American and African studies, he has contributed significantly to the academic understanding of the intersection of race and culture. He is currently a resident fellow of the Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Literature and Cultural Studies at The Africa Institute, GSU. Read more.
Elizabeth W. Giorgis is the Chair of the Department of Humanities and Professor of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at The Africa Institute, GSU, Sharjah. Her expertise in Ethiopian visual modernism and global African studies has made her a leading voice in the field. Read more.
Surafel Wondimu Abebe is an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Theory at The Africa Institute, GSU, Sharjah. His interdisciplinary approach to cultural politics and performance theory has shaped his work on the complexities of identity and representation in contemporary African contexts. Read more.
Participant Biographies
Salah M. Hassan, Chancellor of Global Studies University and Dean of The Africa Institute. Read more.
Dr. Nadine Siegert is a writer, curator, publisher, and currently the Head of “Culture and Development” (Goethe-Institute in Johannesburg). From 2011 to 2019, she was the Deputy Director of Iwalewahaus (University of Bayreuth) and sits on the board of Asele Institute and ACASA. Siegert also runs the publishing house Iwalewa Books.
Dr. Sehin Teferra is the founder of the Setaweet Movement, an Ethiopian feminist network advocating for gender equality and justice. She holds a Ph.D. in gender studies from SOAS, University of London, and has authored the chapter “Feminist Parenting: Perspectives from Africa and Beyond.” Teferra also represents Setaweet on Ethiopia’s Presidential Advisory Board and is part of the Destiny Ethiopia initiative.
Iwalewa Books, based in Johannesburg, Lagos, and Frankfurt, is a renowned publisher specializing in works that focus on African and postcolonial studies. The publisher’s commitment to highlighting voices from the Global South has made it a key player in contemporary academic publishing. Read more.
Setaweet (meaning ‘of woman’) in Amharic is a contemporary feminist movement founded in July 2014. They are a home-grown, grassroots, and uniquely Ethiopian collective of women and men who are dedicated to the empowerment and liberation of all Ethiopian women and men. Read more.
Program Agenda (4:00 – 6:00 PM)
Welcome Remarks| Professor Salah M. Hassan, Chancellor of Global Studies University and Dean of The Africa Institute, GSU, Sharjah
Introductory Remarks by Professors Elizabeth W. Giorgis, Surafel Wondimu Abebe, Dagmawi Woubshet (Co-editors), and Dr. Nadine Siegert (Publisher, Iwalewa Books)
Editors in Conversation
A discussion with Dr. Sehin Teferra, founder of the Setaweet Movement and contributing author
The Africa Institute, Global Studies University (GSU), in collaboration with Iwalewa Books, invites you to our latest publication, Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots edited by Professors Dagmawi Woubshet, Elizabeth W. Giorgis, and Surafel Wondimu Abebe. The publication is the result of the Institute’s inaugural Country-Focused Season on Ethiopia (2019–2020), offering a comprehensive examination of Ethiopia’s cultural, political, and historical significance, both within Africa and globally.
The Africa Institute, Global Studies University (GSU), in collaboration with Iwalewa Books, invites you to our latest publication, Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots edited by Professors Dagmawi Woubshet, Elizabeth W. Giorgis, and Surafel Wondimu Abebe. The publication is the result of the Institute’s inaugural Country-Focused Season on Ethiopia (2019–2020), offering a comprehensive examination of Ethiopia’s cultural, political, and historical significance, both within Africa and globally.
The book explores Ethiopia’s exceptional status as a never-colonized African nation and its profound impact on the broader African and diasporic experience. By addressing themes of exceptionalism, migration, exile, historical shifts, and Ethiopia’s contribution to literary, visual, and performing arts, the editors offer new perspectives on Ethiopia’s role in shaping African modernity.
Ethiopia: Modern Nation – Ancient Roots examines Ethiopia’s place in both African and global contexts, delving into its unique historical position as the only African country never colonized. The book challenges conventional narratives about Africa’s history by exploring Ethiopia’s historical and cultural exceptionalism. It offers insights into how Ethiopia’s status shaped its political and cultural identity, contributing to broader discussions of African modernity and colonial legacies.
The book’s structure is divided into five thematic sections, including explorations of Ethiopia’s literary, visual, and performing arts, migration, and exile, all set against the backdrop of the country’s historical shifts and evolving identity. One of its central contributions is its analysis of how Ethiopia’s historical condition is crucial to understanding African political thought and colonial histories.
Dagmawi Woubshet is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Associate Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. A scholar in African American and African studies, he has contributed significantly to the academic understanding of the intersection of race and culture. He is currently a resident fellow of the Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Literature and Cultural Studies at The Africa Institute, GSU. Read more.
Elizabeth W. Giorgis is the Chair of the Department of Humanities and Professor of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at The Africa Institute, GSU, Sharjah. Her expertise in Ethiopian visual modernism and global African studies has made her a leading voice in the field. Read more.
Surafel Wondimu Abebe is an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Theory at The Africa Institute, GSU, Sharjah. His interdisciplinary approach to cultural politics and performance theory has shaped his work on the complexities of identity and representation in contemporary African contexts. Read more.
Participant Biographies
Salah M. Hassan, Chancellor of Global Studies University and Dean of The Africa Institute. Read more.
Dr. Nadine Siegert is a writer, curator, publisher, and currently the Head of “Culture and Development” (Goethe-Institute in Johannesburg). From 2011 to 2019, she was the Deputy Director of Iwalewahaus (University of Bayreuth) and sits on the board of Asele Institute and ACASA. Siegert also runs the publishing house Iwalewa Books.
Dr. Sehin Teferra is the founder of the Setaweet Movement, an Ethiopian feminist network advocating for gender equality and justice. She holds a Ph.D. in gender studies from SOAS, University of London, and has authored the chapter “Feminist Parenting: Perspectives from Africa and Beyond.” Teferra also represents Setaweet on Ethiopia’s Presidential Advisory Board and is part of the Destiny Ethiopia initiative.
Iwalewa Books, based in Johannesburg, Lagos, and Frankfurt, is a renowned publisher specializing in works that focus on African and postcolonial studies. The publisher’s commitment to highlighting voices from the Global South has made it a key player in contemporary academic publishing. Read more.
Setaweet (meaning ‘of woman’) in Amharic is a contemporary feminist movement founded in July 2014. They are a home-grown, grassroots, and uniquely Ethiopian collective of women and men who are dedicated to the empowerment and liberation of all Ethiopian women and men. Read more.
Program Agenda (4:00 – 6:00 PM)
Welcome Remarks| Professor Salah M. Hassan, Chancellor of Global Studies University and Dean of The Africa Institute, GSU, Sharjah
Introductory Remarks by Professors Elizabeth W. Giorgis, Surafel Wondimu Abebe, Dagmawi Woubshet (Co-editors), and Dr. Nadine Siegert (Publisher, Iwalewa Books)
Editors in Conversation
A discussion with Dr. Sehin Teferra, founder of the Setaweet Movement and contributing author
