KU AFRICANIST FACULTY

Index of biographies by last name: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z

Robert Timm
Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Associate Curator, Natural History Museum
EDUCATION:
1975-1979 University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, Ph.D. from the Department of Entomology, Fisheries, and Wildlife, August 1979.
1974 Universidad de Costa Rica-OTS, San José Costa Rica, Tropical Ecology course.
1971-1975 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, M.S. from the Department of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, December 1975.
1967-1971 University of Nebraska-Kearney, Kearney, Nebraska, B.S. degree in Zoology, June 1971.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
Stoner, K. E. and R. M. Timm. 2004. Tropical dry forest mammals: Conservation priorities in a changing landscape. Pp. 48-66, in Biodiversity conservation in Costa Rica: Learning the lessons in the seasonal dry forest (G. W. Frankie, A. Mata, and S. B. Vinson, eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley, 341 pp.
Timm, R. M. 2004. Wainwright, M. 2002 [2003]. The natural history of Costa Rican mammals, with a preface by Oscar Arias. Book Review. Journal of Mammalogy 85(1):172-173.
Timm, R. M. and H. H. Genoways. 2004. The Florida bonneted bat, Eumops floridanus (Chiroptera: Molossidae): Systematics, distribution, geographic variation, and ecology. Journal of Mammalogy 85(6): 51 ms. pages.
COURSES TAUGHT AT KU:
Diversity of Life
History and Diversity of Organisms
Mammalogy-undergraduate/graduate
Evolutionary Mechanisms
LANGUAGES:
DISTINCTIONS:
University of Kansas Provost's Award for Leadership in International Education, 2004
Nominated for "Favorite Professor" by the graduating seniors for the years 1994, 1995 & 1996
Nominated for the University of Kansas "Outstanding International Educator", 2002
Elected to rank of AAAS Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2002

Harold Torrence
Assistant Professor Department of Linguistics; at KU since 2005(tenure track)
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, 2005, B.A., B.S. University of Georgia 1991.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Syntax, Morphology, Typology, African Languages, Descriptive Linguistics, First Language Acqusition
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
"Intervention Effects in Asante Twi," ( with Gregory Kobele). To appear in Proceedings of the Conference on Focus in African Languages.
"On the Role of Aspect in Determining Finiteness Temporal Interpretation in Early Grammar." Generative Approaches to Language Acqusition 2003( with Nina Hyama). Proceedings of G(enerative) A(pproaches) to L(anguage) A(cquisition) 2003
"The Syntactic Derivation of Complex Wh-words in Wolof," Proceedings of GLOW ASIA 2003.
"Verb Movement in Wolof," in UCLA Working Papers in Linguistics Number 9, Papers in African Linguistics 3. 2003
COURSES TAUGHT AT KU:
Introduction to Syntax, Typology, Structure of the Bantu Languages(Winter 2006), Morphology(Winter 2006)
LANGUAGES TAUGHT AT KU:
English, Wolof, Asante, Twi, French, Spanish, Italian, Swahili
DISTINCTIONS:
Alumni Scholarship-University of Georgia, 1987-1991; Honors Program-University of Georgia, 1987-1991.
Research Assistantship-University of Georgia, 1997-1997; Project 88 Fellowship-UCLA, 1997-1998, 2002-2003
Title VI Fellowship-UCLA 1998-1999; Title VI Fellowship-UCLA, 1999-2000
Research Mentorship Fellowship-UCLA, 1999-2000; Summer Research Mentorship Fellowship
LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY BACKGROUND:
Beginning Wolof(taught, UCLA), Intermediate Wolof, (taught UCLA), Graduate English Tutor(taught UCLA)
Teaching with Technology Course(taken at UCLA), Teaching Assistant Training Course(taken at UCLA)

Peter Ukpokodu
Chair of AAAS, Tenured Associate Professor in AAAS and Theatre & Film, at KU since 1990
EDUCATION:
Ph.D., University of Kansas, 1985
M.A., University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 1979
B.A. (with Honors), University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 1977
Dip. (with Distinction), University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 1974
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Theater, African culture, and African literature.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
"African Studies at the Undergraduate Level: A Perspective," African Studies for the 21st Century, ed. Jacob U.Gordon (New York: Nova Science, 2004), pp. 83-93.
"African Heritage from the Lenses of African-American Theatre and Film," Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (Spring 2002), pp.65-85 .
"Theatre and the Creation of a National Identity: Jane Taylor's Ubu and the Truth Commission," The Literary Griot, Vol. 14, Nos. 1 & 2 (Spring/Fall 2002), pp. 241-264.
"Theatre and the Re-creation of the Black Experience," The Black Male in White America, ed. Jacob U. Gordon (New York: Nova Science, 2002), pp. 47-60.
"African Heritage from the Lenses of African-American Theatre and Film," Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (Spring 2002) pp.65-85
Review Essay of South African Theatre As/And Intervention, in Theatre Survey (Journal of the American Society for Theatre Research), Vol. 43, No.1 (May 2002), pp.117-124
"Ngugi Wa Thiong'o," Black Drama (Alexandria, VA: Electronic Publishing for Harvard Yale, Michigan and Indiana), 2002
"African-American Males in Dance, Music, Theatre and Film," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, Vol. 569 (May 2000), pp.71-85
African Political Plays, New York & Zaria: Heritage Africana Academic Press & Ahmado Bello University Press, 1999. 201pp.
COURSES TAUGHT AT KU:
African Theatre and Drama
African Traditional Religion and Thought
African Film and Video
Senior Seminar
LANGUAGES:
Native knowledge of Etsako/Afenmai; fluency in English, Esan, Ibie and Pidgin; knowledge of French, Latin, Greek, Edo, and Yoruba.
DISTINCTIONS:
W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, University of Kansas, 2002.
Phi Beta Delta (Alpha Pi chapter) Faculty Award for Excellence in International Education, 1998.
Excellence in Teaching, Center for Teaching Excellence, KU, 1998;
Traditional African peoples' Institute Award, 1998;
Poet Laureate Certificate of Recognition, Poetry Center, Orinda, CA, 1992;
Polytechnic Literary Studies Award for Article published, 1990.

Thomas Volek
Associate Professor - Journalism & Mass Communications
Associate Professor - Russian & East European Studies
William Allen White Teaching Professor
EDUCATION:
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1991
M.A., University of Wisconsin - Superior, 1985
B.J., University of Missouri, 1973
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
History, law, international communications
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
"'It Will Work Here!!' or The Evolution of Market Based Journalism in Post-Soviet Russia." 29th European Studies Conference, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Oct. 14-16, 2004.
"Case Studies of Transnational Marketing: McDonald's in Mexico and Russia," (with Linda Lee Davis) 4th International Congress of the Americas, Sept. 29 Oct. 3, 1999, Puebla, Mexico;
"Advertising, Radio and Democracy: Building Independent Media in Croatia," (with Bob Basow), 29th Annual Popular Culture Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, March 21 April 3, 1999.
"The Evolving Newspaper Press in Russia and its Changing Relationship with Russian Society," St. Petersburg State University (Russia) Conference on Mass Media, April 23 24, 1997.
COURSES TAUGHT AT KU:
History of American Journalism
Communications Law
Seminar in International Communications
International Marketing Communications
Introduction to Broadcast Production & Writing
LANGUAGES:
English fluency, basic reading knowledge of Spanish and Russian
DISTINCTIONS:
HOPE Finalist three times; Semifinalist once;
Shankel Teaching Award Finalist once;
William Allen White Foundation Teaching Professor
CTE Excellence in Teaching Award, twice

Judith Michelle Williams
Assistant Professor Theater, African & African-American Studies(Tenure track)
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Drama, April 1997. Stanford University
M.A. Drama, June 1995. Stanford University
B.A. cum laude, Department of Government, Harvard University, June 1991
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
African rituals and festivals in Brazil; African-American theater.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
"Black Brazilian Theatre," Afro-Hispanic Reviewm accepted for publication.
"Wild About Harry," and "On Striver's Row," FOOTSTEPS Magazine, May/ June 2001.
"Uncle Tom's Women," African American Theatre and Performance History, Harry Elam and David Krasner. eds.(Oxford University Press, 2000) 19-39.
Book Review, Contemporary Plays by Women of Color, Theatre Journal 50.1(1998) 138-139.
"Performances of Race and Power: Globalization and Carnival in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil" National Comunication Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, November 2002.
"Performance, Political Power, and Racial Identity in Brazil" American Studies Association Conference, Houston, TX, November 2002.
"O Mais Belo dos Belos: Ilê Aiyê and the Afro Blocos of Salvador, Bahia", guest lecture, October 12, 2002.
COURSES TAUGHT AT KU:
African Carnivals in the Americas
African-American Theatre and Drama
Interrelationship of Humanities and the Arts
Masterpieces of World Literature
DISTINCTIONS:
Faculty International Award, 2005 (to Senegal)
Ford Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2003
University of Kansas New Faculty Research Fund Grant ,2003
University of Kansas Latin American Studies Travel Grant,2002 Faculty International Travel Award, 2002
Arnott Junior Faculty Research Grant, 1997, 1998
Tufts University Summer Faculty Research Grant, 1997
Elizabeth Danforth Compton Summer Research Grant, 1995, 1996
Latin American Studies Travel Grant, 1994

Wael Zuraiq
Ph.D.Student, Linguistics, University of Kansas
EDUCATION:
Ph.D. Linguistics, University of Kansas, in progress
M.A., Linguistics, Yarmouk University, Jordan, 1999
B.A. in English Language an Literature (major) and Arabic Language and Literature(minor):Yarmouk University, Jordan, 1996
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Prosody, Phonetics, Psychoilinguistics, Arab linguistics, Second Language Acquisition
RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
Wael Zuraiq and Jie Zhang. Phonological Assimilation in Jordanian Arabic. In Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics(submitted)
COURSES TAUGHT AT KU:
Elementary Arabic I
Elementary Arabic II
Intermediate Arabic I
Advanced Arabic I
DISTINCTIONS:
The University of Kansas Endowment Award, 2002
Higher Education Council Grant/Ministry of Higher Education/ Jordan, Spring 1993 to Spring 1996