User:Jgima/Pius Ngandu Nkashama

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Pius Ngandu Nkashama was a professor, writer, playwright, poet and literary critic. He was born September 4, 1946 in Mbujimayi in the province of Kasai Oriental in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He died on December 19, 2023 in Baton-Rouge, Louisiana, US.

Biography
After earning a degree in philosophy and letters from Lovanium University in 1970, he was appointed assistant professor and then professor at the National University of Zaire (Lubumbashi). He also led the Centre for African Studies. In the late 1970s, he moved to France where he obtained in 1981 a Doctorate in Literature and Humanities at the University of Strasbourg. He then traveled the world, teaching in various universities (Annaba and Constantine in Algeria, Limoges and the Sorbonne in France). In 2000, he settled in the United States, working from then up through his final years as professor of French Language and Literature at Louisiana State University.

In 2004, he received the Fonlon-Nichols Award, which recognizes African writers for "excellence in creative writing and contributions to the struggle for human rights and freedom of expression".

Career

 * 1970-1975: Assistant then Senior Researcher at Lovanium University in Kinshasa as well as at the National University of Zaire (Lubumbashi Campus) in the French Department, Faculty of Arts.
 * 1975-1978: Associate Professor, National University of Zaire in the French Department, Faculty of Arts.
 * 1978-1980: Honorary Professor at the National University of Zaire and at the Higher Teacher Training Institute of Kananga.
 * 1979-1982: Professor and Department Head at the National University of Zaire and at the National Institute of Arts in Kinshasa.
 * 1982-1989: Assistant Professor then Associate Professor at the University of Annaba (Algeria).
 * 1989-1990: Professor at the University of Annaba and University of Mentouri in Constantine (Algeria).
 * 1990-1991: Associate Professor and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Limoges (France) in the French Department, Faculty of Arts.
 * 1991-1997: Lecturer at the University of Limoges in the French Department, Faculty of Arts.
 * 1997-1998: Lecturer at the University of Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle.
 * 1997-1998: Associate Professor at the University of Limoges (Department of General and Comparative Literature, Faculty of Arts).
 * 1998-2000: Associate Professor at the University of Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle.
 * 2000-2023: Professor at Louisiana State University (Department of French Studies).