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Green-blue-brown cloud, in which the outlines of skyscrapers, a turbine, laboratory equipment and a network diagram of a human head with a torso can be seen © UA Ruhr
New research professor at the College of the UA Ruhr

The Relationship Between Humans and the Environment

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Engaging the public in debates about current societal issues such as environmental problems and migration is a key objective of Prof. Dr Sule Emmanuel Egya. He is newly appointed research professor of ‘Public Social Sciences and Humanities: Key Societal Debates’ at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities of the University Alliance Ruhr and the Department of Anglophone Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

The interdisciplinary research field of environmental humanities examines the complex relationships between humans and the environment from the perspective of the humanities. Prof. Dr Sule Egya is one of the leading scholars in this area. He analyses environmental issues within the context of colonial history and global imbalances: “In nearly all societies of Africa, the ecological is profoundly entangled with the social. The extraction of raw materials on the African continent goes hand in hand with environmental destruction that affects the local population.” As a literary scholar, he is particularly interested in how literature and art address these socio-ecological issues. He is also an author himself, publishing novels and poetry under the pen-name E. E. Sule. He has received several awards for his work, including the 2013 Commonwealth Book Prize Africa Region.

Through his research professorship, Sule Egya aims to foster dialogue on key societal issues such as the environment and migration with cultural institutions, artists, and civil society, for example through discussion events and a blog. “I consider it important to include perspectives from different parts of the world, particularly the Global South,” says Egya. 

Within the UA Ruhr, Sule Egya intends to expand contacts to departments with thematic interfaces to his research. He will continue collaborations with researchers in the UK, the USA, India and Nigeria, and he is planning a conference that will critically examine the side effects of the global energy transition.

Prior to his appointment, Sule Egya was Professor of African Literature and Environmental Humanities at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University in Nigeria (2014–2026), where he served as Director of the Centre for Arts and Indigenous Studies (2020–2025). He received several research fellowships in Germany, including Humboldt fellowships at the University of Oldenburg and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as well as further fellowships at LMU Munich and the College in Essen.

 

Further information:

Interview with Sule Egya: www.college-uaruhr.de/features

Research professorship ‚Public Social Sciences and Humanities: Key Societal Debates‘: https://www.college-uaruhr.de/research/research-professors/public-social-sciences-humanities

Contact: 

Prof. Dr Sule Emmanuel Egya, College for Social Sciences and Humanities & University of Duisburg-Essen, Department of Anglophone Studies, Phone: 0201/183 65 71, sule.egya@college-uaruhr.de

Press contact: 
Melina Wachtling, Phone: 0201/183 65 42; e-mail: melina.wachtling@college-uaruhr.de

 

About the College for Social Sciences and Humanities

The College for Social Sciences and Humanities is part of the Research Alliance Ruhr founded in 2021. It promotes high-profile research in the social sciences and humanities within the University Alliance Ruhr and advances international cooperation and visibility. As an Institute for Advanced Study, the College provides a cross-university forum for exploring innovative fields of research and stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration in the social sciences and humanities. The cornerstones of the College are research professorships, research groups, and the international Senior Fellowship Programme.

 

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