Word: essien
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1960
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Amid the excitement and prevailing uncertainty of what has been called "Africa's year," Essien U. Eissien-Udom, teaching fellow in Government, views the emergence of his native continent with a pan-african visionary's zeal tinged by a natural skepticism for politicians and a deeply felt attachment to traditional, but passing, customs. He is, as he says, "a traditionalist and a modernist...
Born in the Eastern Region of Nigeria and educated at Oberlin and the University of Chicago, Essien U. Essien-Udom (literally, in Ibibio, Essien, the first son of Udom and grandson of Essien) has an almost Jeffersonian aversion to urbanization: "It is very important that we preserve the communities. In the village you're not just a part of the crowd, going to the theatre or whatever, anonymous; you can be a whole man....In my village if I saw someone ten times a day, we would shake hands ten times a day. If I came...
Coupled with his high regard for village life, however, goes a fear of the stigma of provincialism. In answer to the question of what village he came from, Essien-Udom said, "You know, we're very sensitive about not being 'universal men'; it's bad enough to say you're from Eastern Nigeria, but to say what village is really too much...
Problems of contemporary Africa will receive attention in a seminar led by Essien-Udom Essien-Udom, teaching fellow in Government. Essien-Udom, a citizen of Nigeria, is currently on leave from the University of Chicago...