Program Schedule

Translating Ngũgĩ: From Here to There | From Then to Now
   
A  Celebration

Thursday and Friday, November 13-14, 2025

Location: 1030 HG | 135 HIB | William Gillespie Studios CTSA





Thursday, November 13
(1030 HG)


11:30 — 12:00 PM

Lunch at the patio outside 1030 HG
Drummers
Anindo Marshall
Nani Victor Agbeli


12:00 — 12:15 PM

Introductions


Adriana Johnson
Dean Tyrus Miller 


12:15 — 12:30 PM

Ketu Katrak
Wangui wa Goro


12:30 — 1:30 PM

Session 1: Remembering Ngũgĩ


Ketu Katrak
Simon Gikandi (Zoom)
James Ogude (Zoom)
Ndirangu Wachanga


1:30 — 2:30 PM

Session 2: Decolonising the Mind: Contemporary Postcolonial Ideas


Gabriele Schwab
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak


2:30 — 3:00 PM

Coffee Break



3:00 — 4:00 PM

Session 3: Remembering Ngũgĩ – Then and Now 


Ketu Katrak
Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ
Nyambura Sallinen
Mumbi wa Ngũgĩ
Njoki wa Ngũgĩ
Nducu wa Ngũgĩ


4:00 — 5:00 PM
Session 4: Legacies: Ngugi and the International Center for Writing and Translation


Jane O. Newman
Jerry Lee
Karen Lawrence
Colette LaBouff
Mukul Kumar
Baba Badji


5:00 — 6:00 PM

Reception in the patio of 1030 HG



6:00 — 7:30 PM

Session 5: Performing Ngũgĩ 1 (McCormick Screening Room)


Ketu Katrak
Joel Veenstra
S. Ama Wray
Jaye Austin Williams
Carla Wilson
Screening of The Making of The Trial of Dedan Kimathi



Friday, November 14
(135 HIB)


11:30 — 12:00 PM

Lunch at 135 HIB



12:00 — 1:15 PM

Session 1: Ngũgĩ and Reversing the Lens on Humanitarianism


Cecelia Lynch
Cilas Kemedjio
Paa-Kwesi Heto
Akosua Adomako Ampofo (Zoom)


1:15 — 2:30 PM

Session 2: A Decolonizing Life


Jerry Lee
Gabriele Schwab
David Theo Goldberg
Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan
Angela Davis


2:30 — 3:00 PM

Coffee Break



3:00 — 4:00 PM

Session 3: Performing Ngũgĩ 2

“The Upright Revolution”
Munyao Kilolo
Glaydah Namukasa
Fred Moten (Zoom)
Jimmy Centeno
Idza Luhumyo (Zoom)
Bwesigye Bwa-Mwesigire
Chimee Adịọha

“The Perfect Nine”
Ketu Katrak
Kwame Rigii (Video)
Nyambura Sallinen
Nyambura Nducu


4:00 — 4:15 PM

Coffee Break
(Walk over to the School of the Arts)



4:30 — 6:00 PM

Session 4:  The Harambee: Orality in Motion (African Dance, Music, Multimedia Performance, and Workshop)
(William Gillespie Studios, Center for Contemporary Art)


Choreographers
Cyrian Reed
S. Ama Wray

Filmmaker
Sela Adjei

Dancers
Zina Eleonora
Kaidynn Hogains
Lauren Lim
Madison Marsh
Jayden Medeiros
Tyler Oko
Lyrik Salausa
S. Ama Wray

Musicians
Nani Agbeli
Anindo Marshall

Composer
Rah Hite

Singer/Songwriter
Kwame Rigii
Bosibori Obuchi

Remix
Cyrian Reed

Dance & Song Leader
Nii Armah Sowah


6:00 — 7:00 PM

Reception at the Contemporary Arts Center Plaza










The Celebration of the Life and Work of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is made possible through the support of the:

UCI Office of the Chancellor
Dean of the School of the Arts
Dean of the School of Humanities
Dean of the School of Social Sciences
Humanities Center
International Center for Writing and Translation
UCI Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality
Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies
Office of Inclusive Excellence
UCI Illuminations: The Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative
Alex Glasser The Center for the Power of Music and Social Change
Department of Anthropology
Department of Comparative Literature
Department of Drama
Department of English
Department of Dance

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Organized by:

Adriana Johnson
Jane O. Newman
Gabriele Schwab
Ketu Katrak
Jerry Lee
Cecelia Lynch
S. Ama Wray