Candidate’s Statement on Research:
Although I read French literature and Western critical theories for my two doctorates at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III and at The University of Lyon II, I did seek and obtain permission from my director and mentor Michel Corvin to carry out my research in African studies. I am particularly interested in modern African literary works and traditional performances. My secondary area of interest is Francophone postcolonial cinema.

My scholarly works fall under the category of Africana studies. The term stands for works of/on Blacks of African decent from Africa and the Diaspora (Sub-Sahara Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas). The objectives and long lasting importance of this trend has always been the determination to unveil the contribution of Africans deliberately ignored or destroyed during years of slavery and colonialism. I read for my doctorate studies at a moment when Roland Barthes opened the field of semiotics to the non-Western world, while the doors of American institutions were just being opened to minority studies. Yet in France, Africa was far from being an object of university consideration. My determination became irrevocable when the chair of my Department in Lyon II almost obliged me to write my dissertation on Molière. He claimed that there was nothing like African literature. Although I took the challenge and started with 70 plays, the entire African section in our departmental library, he still maintained that I should write on any French playwright. Roland Barthes’ Empire des signes, [The Empire of Signs, ] and Anne Ubersfeld’s works, especially her Lire Le Théâtre [Read The Theatre, 1982], in short semiotics applied to cultural products enhanced my desire to set up, from the endogenous point of view, a critical tool that will help in reading modern African productions. This implied that I had to carry out fieldwork.

I traveled extensively in Central Africa. I questioned cultural products by Africans of the rural areas and came out with my doctorate L’Espace dans le théâtre négro-africain: Les Rites cérémoniels du Cameroun [Setting in African Theatre: Ritual Ceremonies, 1983]. I used semiotics to read rituals I have collected in Cameroon. Upon unveiling their ‘theatricalility’, I was able to demonstrate the debt of modern playwrights, poets and novelists towards indigenous products. My papers in Notre Librarie (no 99, 1989), Matatu, Ecritures no 4, 1994, and many other national and international reviews reflect my endogenous approach of modern cultural products. More so, I was able to compound theory and practice. I drew elements from data collected to write fiction such as Le Crane [The Skull, 1995], Noces de cendres [Wedlocks of Ashes, 2001, 1996], Zintgraff and the Battle of Mankon (In collaboration with Bole Butake, 1998) It is rewarding to know that the last two, which are in the school curricula of Cameroon, were selected because they can help in rooting youth in cultures, that are on the verge of total extinction. (not clear) Those were years of contradiction in my life. I advocated my life in researching and writing creative works to build the youth of our nation. Though I taught French language and literature in Cameroonian elementary and high schools, I had no power to influence the decision-making in textbook selection. Every decision came from the top and was strictly observed.

By the time I took a teaching position at the University of Yaoundé, I was one of those who were considered subversive because I kept on talking about “Africanization” of the school program. Ngugi Wa Thiongo would rather talk of decolonizing the mind. I strongly believe that research should help in rooting education programs to the realities of nations. It is along this line that I undertook the research for my second doctorate.

La Vie théâtrale au Cameroun de 1940 à nos jours [Theatre Practice in Cameroon From 1940 to the Present, 1992] questions the relevancy of modern dramatic performances to African realities. It clearly demonstrates that the majority of dramatic texts and performances simply copy the Euro-centric view of the performing arts. It shows that works of arts are elements of national identities. It encourages actors and theatre directors to tap from traditional performers such as the Mbom Mvet, the Central African griot. When I asked to head the University Theatre Troupe, I welcomed the opportunity. I could then couple theory and practice, sustaining my courses with outstanding performances. Textual analysis with my students could then enlighten the stage work.

The 1990s were years of challenge to me. With the wind of change blowing from the form USSR and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, African leadership was shaken. The most tyrannical stood in their way. I found my works censored from my institution. From this point, another exciting moment of my career emerged. I turned to popular theatre and Augusto Boal, Bertolt Brecht, Ngugi Wa Thiong and many other scholars who used theatre to initiate social change. This work became the center of my focus. Having tried my hand successfully in grant writing with the “American Theatre Project” in 1993, I pursued other projects that were financed by the US Embassy in Yaounde and many other international Institutions. From 1994 to 2000, I obtained more than five grants that enabled me to carry out research on popular theatre practice in rural and urban Cameroon and in Tchad. In collaboration with colleagues and students, I used theatre to mobilize, entertain and educate the masses on various topics such as environmental protection, HIV/AIDS prevention, democracy and human rights etc. In national and international gatherings I was engaged with other scholars to unveil the contribution of non-Western performances to the world. My colleagues Hansel Ndumbe Eyoh, Bole Butake, and myself co-organized the 1998 International Conference(title???) which launched ???? The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre Volume 3: Africa (1997) is certainly another exciting moment of my research career. It is, without doubt an excellent instrument for scholars and students specializing in non-western world performances

In 2000, I obtained a Fulbright grant to carry out more research and finish my book on theatre as an instrument of social change. The French version Théâtre populaire et Réappropriation du pouvoir par les masses (2002) has already been published and the forth-coming English version People Theatre and Mass Empowerment will mark the beginning of a new and enriching life in the United States.

This book breaks from the traditional workshop proceedings publication, going on since the 1970s. It is made up of three parts with an appendix. The first part is the critical assessment of popular theatre practice from its inception in the world of African theatre. It is also a critical evaluation of the methodology used so far. It makes concrete and practical suggestions that leads to retrocession ??? of popular theatre to the people. The second part assesses some of the workshops. It shows role-reversal of of rural and urban peoples. It shows how the role of conception, creation and acting is successfully executed by the people. The last posits that popular theatre products are artistic products with real aesthetic preoccupations. The appendix consists of two texts and post-performance debate ercepts.excerpts? These are elements that are rarely included in most workshop reports on popular theatre. The inestimable value of the post-performance debate is that it captures the intervention of the audience in the performance. It clearly demonstrates that popular performances are moments of community osmosis and veritable instances of social dialogue.

More creative works have come up in the form of short length video-films that are used in the National Television title? and in video-club for intensive empowerment of the people. Mantrobo (2002) is a constructive criticism of electoral process in post ‘Cold War’ Africa while L’Instituteur d’Eyala [The School Teacher of Eyala, 2002] advocates the necessity of a veritable civil society where women play an imminent role. Without a strong civil society governments will always trample upon accountability. Alien in my land (1999) draws attention to the destruction of the Equatorial rain forest while L’Exciseuse de Pouss [The Genital cuter of Pouss, 1998] denounces practices such as genital mutilation that is still practiced even in African cities. Forced Marriages (1998) advocates the necessity to see all former colonial African countries access genuine democracy. These didactic short films appeal to the common people of contemporary Cameroon.

Since the year 2000, I have carried out a number of workshops here in US. The concept ‘Theatre for Social Change’ was often used. I have to admit that all these projects contributed to connect my host institutions to the community. Phambili in Marquette, MI in 2001 opened the way for the 2001 “K*C*P College Day Native American Summer Youth Program” during which Camp Niiwin and Peer Pressure (2001) were created. Can the Objiwe people revive their language and use it today? How can the Native American youth resist peer pressure that almost always leads to disaster? In Albany, the Department of Africana workshop that witnessed the creation of Cry out Africa led to the Summer 2002 STEP (Science and Technology in Education Program) program during which the Drug Abuse and Gangs project ? was created. I must admit that all the issues covered with youth from ethnic minorities such as the Native Americans of Northern Michigan, the African Americans of Albany, New York and other ethnic minorities in Indiana are serious and could be considered potential projects in Ohio. How can theatre help diffuse ethnic tensions, mobilize communities for dialogue and discussion on drug abuse, violence in schools, children adduction, domestic violence, rape etc., these are all challenges to any community today in US. I am thrilled and determined to tackle these themes within community dialogue and performance.

Candidate’s Statement on Teaching
A. Teaching philosophy.
‘Nous sommes des inventeurs d’âmes, des propagateurs d’âmes”, I quote Aimé Césaire by mind to lay emphasis on the teaching profession. To teach is to mould the human clay into the social forms. I consider myself to be the making of my educators. But I came to teaching despite myself. My elementary and high school prepared me to become either a translator or an interpreter. I was one of the rare Cameroonians that the ambitious Minister of Education Williams Aurelien Eteki Mboumoua chose in 1963 for his bilingualism project. He set up to carve a generation of bilingual Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians in a special school set in the former British Cameroon bay of Slavery: Man O’ War Bay. The Bilingual Grammar School extended through my high school graduation in 1974. This school was directed and administered by a competent staff made up of French, British, and American elite humanists selected by the Minister himself. Subjects were given in French and English with Spanish as the only option. The agent who specifically diverted me to teaching was Woodbridge.

Woodbridge was an American, carved in mind and body as a perfect piece of art in mohogony. He was known for his strictness in attire. He was the tallest person in school but also the nearest at heart. Woodbridge brought me to believe in my creative capacity. He not only read and commented om the first poetic lines I wrote in my first year, but also typed and bound them in a volume I kept with me up to my graduation. But what Woodbridge bequeathed to me was his method of teaching. He taught the English language in a way that marveled all the Francophones. As early as 1967 he instilled inventiveness, for his classes were never a set of boring sessions. He ended every month of the academic year with a short song. We did not only sing, we performed all of the songs. Our classroom was transformed into a theatre. There is no doubt in my mind that Woodbridge’s teaching strategy led me to the 'Creative-Acting Pedagogy’ I so strongly encouraged in the Performing Arts Section of the University of Yaoundé 1. Whether in a class or in the field, this method stimulates the imagination of students to learn with the objective of creating.

Thus, I have come to build my teaching philosophy on three driving forces: Creativity, Communicability, and Adaptability. Every work of literature that I teach is a pretext for creativity. I once asked each of my students to write a line on love. I then ask one to collect all and organize in the form of stanzas. They all shrilled to hear a collective poem the class had composed on love. I almost always exploit theatrical elements. I consider theater a profession where individual creative forces can be developed to the full capacity. It places individuals in a better position to interact with others, to educate and be educated, and to address the burning issues of the community. I have come to read every piece of literature with the performance eye.

Creating powerful works useful to communities is not enough. It is vital to channel well-thought solutions to the community. Once more, theatre gives the students the possibility to develop their communicative abilities. It is the only field where verbal and non-verbal tools of communication can be acquired and ably used in different cultural contexts.

Finally, I view an able man of the 21st Century as the one who can adapt to any context. The US is a living example of the global village. Consequently, young men and women should be trained to be successful wherever fortune lands them. My teaching activities have prepared some of my students to become Peace Corp Members. I myself am a living example of my teaching philosophy. Theatre has given me the opportunity to live and create performances with the Pygmies of equatorial rain forest in Central Africa, the Native American of Northern Michigan, and African Americans in New York. I have used theatre in conflict resolution, and in raising the consciousness of collectivities.

A keen interest in the learner is one of the factors that determine the success of many young men and women who embarked on college and university studies after high school. Woodbridge made me believe this. Every student learner wants to know that his/her opinion counts, and that s/he is capable of great achievement. And when s/he is hotly congratulated at the proper time and moment, s/he becomes inflamed and carries out tremendous achievements. My creative-acting methodology has transformed shy and reserved students into veritable social builders.

B. Teaching Strategies:
In my graduate and doctorate courses such as “Semiotics of Modern African Drama” at the University of Yaoundé 1, I compound individual and isolated texts reading with workshops, class debates, and group work. These are instances that offer me the opportunity to detect in my students learning, thinking, communicating, and interacting abilities. It is also in these instances that I bring them to develop their creative abilities. Through improvisation and narrative techniques, I bring my students to create their own version of Wole Soyinka’s Kongi’s Harvest; WereWere Liking’s Dieu chose, Bernard Bilin Dadie’s Béatrice du Congo etc. The same thing is applied to European or American playwrights that I teach in my ‘Theatre in the world course. Thus, they always create their own version of Racine’s Phèdre or Britannicus; Williams Shakespeare’s Macbeth or Othello; Aimé Césaire Tragedy of King Christopher etc.

At the graduate and doctorate level, courses such as “Rituals and playwriting in contemporary Africa” always contain a component of field research that exposes students to people of all walks of life. Students must then connect the University to the community. Similarly, my “Popular Theatre” course enables graduate students to target communities for collective analysis and solution of issues they face.

My undergraduate courses at the State University of New York at Albany, strategically include the objective to open the horizons of students and assist them in searching out their majors. “FRE 201: African Cinema” (Up to 40 participants) and “FRE 397: French on stage” I have come to realize that most students are driven to choose.???

My dream for the next years is to develop a “Learn, Research and Teach Abroad” program open to students and faculties of various departments where the objective is to travel to a Central African Francophone country. Participants would interact with rural and urban communities using informal methods to teach people of all walks of life as well as collect data for future projects.


Candidate’s Statement on Service
A. Coordinator of French
B. Program Development:
In 1987, I was recruited at the former University of Yaoundé with the objective to develop a ‘Theatre Minor’ at the Department of French. My direction of the the University Theatre Troupe in 1989 brought more visibility to the Department. Marcel Pagnole’s Topaze, Molière’s Les fourberies de Scapin, Racine’s Phèdre, were not only issues of debate in French classes but were discussed all over the campus once these plays were performed. This led to increased ambition, and the creation of a Performing Arts Section within a Department geared primarily towards cultural activities such as Music, Film, Fine Arts and Theatre. The dream became realized when my colleagues and myself were asked to conceptualize a program for the Department of Arts and Archaeology comprising four Sections: Performing Arts, Fine Arts, Musicology and Archaeology. Since 1994, the department is functioning and it has grown into three important sections where teaching and research......????

D. Director of Yaounde University Theatre.
In 1975, “Le Théâtre Universitaire’, a student club, was created but attached to the cabinet of the chancellor of the University. It was headed for many years by a French actor???, Jacqueline Leloup. When Leloup left Cameroon in 1988, another French Director took over but left at the end of the year. I was then asked to direct the troupe. Contrary to the previous directors, I had my full teaching load in the Department of French. For a year, I volunteered to the point of using my personal funds to run the troupe. In as much as this was rewarding, I could not only stage plays commanded by the University authorities but also classical piece in the program the Department of French and my own plays. not clear!!!!

E. Editor of Ecritures Revue de Sémiotique critique of the Department of French.
I took over the editing service for Ecritures, the semiotics review of the Department of French in 1994 from Lucienne Ngoue a French national married to a Cameroonian. The review had barely had three issues by the time I took over. My first successfull issue was Ecritures no 4 (1995) with setting as an analytical concept. By then the review was limited to the faculty of the Department of French. I suggested that it should be opened to colleagues of other departments and research units. This was a way to close the gap between scholars of the same institutions who sometimes went for years with no knowledge of one another. I was prompted to this because I realized that within our institutions, there was a kind of duplication of research topics. That is why Ecritures no 5, (1996) no 6 (1997) welcomed papers from all the social sciences departments. It was enriching to read more information on the theme ‘Exoticism’.

One other achievement was to bring the faculty place the review under the supervision of a professional publishing house. What killed intellectual endeavour is to see excellent book, by this I mean the content, wrapped in badly made materials. My suggestions however encounter some resistance. This was due to the fact that the review encouraged individual contribution. I contacted Editions CLE not only because of the know-how but also because it was the first editing house created after the independences in the 1960s. CLE enjoyed the international reputation and circuit of distribution that a University review does not have. not clear!!!!!

Ecritures no 7 : Le Regar de l’autre [The Others’ Gaze, 1988] gave me the opportunity to go ahead and serve my colleagues with a review of excellent quality. I applied for a grant from the French Embassy and the issue was welcome not only for the quality of the papers, but also for the edition work. I stepped down in 2000 but the review is faring well and the collaboration of Editions CLE has been accepted by all.