Joseph Mwantuali
Professor of French
Throughout much of the 1980s, prior to coming to the United States, Joseph Mwantuali served as a teacher, trainer and language coordinator at the U.S. Peace Corps training centers in Zaire and Burundi. He has written five books in French: Michel Leiris et le Négro-Africain, Paris: Nouvelles du Sud, 1999; Septuagénaire, University Press of the South, New Orleans, 2000, and L’impair de la nation, Yaoundé, Clé, 2007, Tell This to My Mother (novel). Texas: SBPRA (2013), and Le Discours africain à l’ère des exorcistes (“African Discourse in the Era of the Exorcists”). Panafrika/Silex/Nouvelles du Sud, Paris. 2014. He also has written several articles on French and African literatures. He earned his doctorate in French at Pennsylvania State University.
Recent Courses Taught
Introduction to French Studies
Francophone Cultures
Studies in Francophone Literature: The African Novel
Distinctions
- Honored by the University of South Africa, October 2011
- Received the Hamilton College Class of 1963 Excellence in Teaching
- Received the Penn State Excellence in Teaching, 1994
- The Couper Scholarship Award recipient, 1998
- Laureate, Literary competition Zaïre-Canada / Short Story category, 1989
Selected Publications
- Le Discours africain à l’ère des exorcistes (“African Discourse in the Era of the Exorcists”). Panafrika/Silex/Nouvelles du Sud, Paris. 2014.
- Tell This to My Mother (novel). Texas: SBPRA (2013)
- Les Enseignements de l’Eveilleuse d’étoiles (Ed. Of Werewere Liking). Panafrica/Nouvelles du Sud, Paris. 2013.
- L’impair de la Nation, novel.
- Septuagénaire, New Orleans: University Press of the South.
- Michel Leiris et le Négro-Africain, Paris/Ivry: Silex/ Nouvelles du Sud, Ivry-Sur-Seine. July 1999.
- “Une des faces cachées de l’Afrique Noire,” in Werewere Liking, L’Enseignement de l’Eveilleuse d’Etoiles. Paris, Panafrika/Silex/Nouvelles du Sud, 2013.
- "Michel Leiris: Poésie et ‘mystique du langage’” Montpelier: Cahier Leiris, 2011.
- “L’autre face de l’Afrique ” in L’Enseingement d’une réveilleuse d’étoiles, by Werewere Liking, (book published by NEI).
- “Pour un discours exorciste.” In La littérature congolaise postcoloniale, bilan et perspective d’avenir. University of South Africa Press. PDF format available.
- “Au commencement était le ver(s)” in The Original Explosion that Created World": Essays on the Art and Writings of Werewere Liking, Irene d’Almeida and John Conteh-Morgan, Edit. Paris, Rodopi, Amsterdam/New York.
Professional Affiliations
Modern Language Association (MLA)
African Literature Association (ALA)
Conseil d'Études Francophones (CIÉF)
Association of Congolese Writers
The World Poetry Movement
Appointed to the Faculty
1995Educational Background
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
M.S., Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, New Hampshire
M.A., University of Zaire, I.S.P. de Bukavu
B.A.,University of Zaire, I.S.P. de Mbandaka
