African History Scholar Inaugurates Distinguished Professorship with Lecture

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, professor and head of African-American studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will deliver the inaugural lecture of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

Zeleza, a leading authority on modern African social and economic history, will present "In Search of the Diaspora: A Personal and Intellectual Odyssey" at 2 p.m. in Illinois Room B, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St.

Zeleza will trace his personal and professional voyage from Malawi in Southern Africa to the United States and how it has impacted his research.

His talk will include material from his award-winning book, "A Modern Economic History of Africa," which examines the development of African economies in the 19th century, and his current book project "African and Its Diasporas: Dispersals and Linkages," which explores a global history of the dispersal of African peoples around the world.

Dwight A. McBride, dean of the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will formally bestow on Zeleza the title of distinguished professor, given to exceptional faculty for their contributions to the college and UIC community.

Zeleza is the author of more than 20 books and numerous articles, essays and reviews published in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and North America. His scholarship focuses on 19th- and 20th-century African economic, labor, gender, intellectual and social and diaspora histories. Last year Zeleza was elected president of the African Studies Association for the 2008-09 term.

He recently published "The Study of Africa. Volume 1: Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Encounters," and "The Study of Africa. Volume 2: Global and Transnational Engagements," which examine the development of African studies in social science and humanities disciplines and in different world regions.

Prior to joining UIC last year, Zeleza held appointments at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also has taught at Trent University, Kenyatta University, the University of the West Indies and the University of Malawi. He earned a doctorate from Dalhousie University.

Distinguished professors are selected annually from nominations submitted by the college faculty and receive a one-time research account to support their studies.

With more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is UIC's largest. It comprises 21 departments and programs offering more than 60 undergraduate major fields of specialization, 40 minors, nearly 70 graduate degrees at the master's and doctoral levels and more than 1,000 courses. The college features programs in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.