The Ngūgī wa Thiong’o Scholarship

“Our lives are a battlefield on which is fought a continuous war between the forces that are pledged to confirm our humanity and those determined to dismantle it...” —Ngūgī wa Thiong’o

The Ngūgī wa Thiong’o Scholarship aims to honor and support the aspirations and work of undergraduates who study the aesthetic theories, practices, and the modes of historiography and social analysis that have been developed by black peoples, indigenous peoples, and peoples of color in the struggle for social, economic, and ecological justice, in a national and international frame over the last five hundred years. Named after the renowned Kenyan novelist, playwright, director, and freedom fighter who was a member of the Department of Performance Studies for many years, the purpose of the Scholarship is to encourage students who wish to defend diversity, equity and inclusion on our campus and in the world.  This scholarship opportunity is open to all interested candidates, regardless of racial identity.  Scholarship recipients will be chosen through a selection process where applicants are asked to demonstrate through their scholarship and/or performance work a strong commitment to the ideals of free expression, aesthetic innovation, moral courage and radical equality that are the hallmark of Ngūgī’s career as a writer and activist.