Africana Studies / Rites and Reason Theatre

 

 

Research and Teaching: Dr. Nneoma Onyinye Onwuegbuchi (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2026) is an interdisciplinary scholar of African cultural studies specializing in gender and sexuality, African Literature‑in‑English, and global Black digital and screen media. Her research and teaching examine gendered and queer articulations of agency in contemporary African media, with a particular focus on Black queer aesthetics, literary and filmic cultures, and transnational body politics.

 

Situated at the nexus of African literary and cultural studies, feminist and queer theory, and media studies, her current book project investigates the cultural and political possibilities of marginalized gender and sexual identities, with particular attention to how digital media shape practices of visibility, aesthetic representations, intimacy, and surveillance in postcolonial Africa and its diasporas. She also holds a Ph.D. minor in Gender and Women’s Studies and graduate certificates in Designing Feminist Research and Intersectionality as Theory and Method from The New School for Social Research, New York.

 

Awards and Honors: Before joining the faculty at Brown, Dr. Onwuegbuchi’s work has been supported by major fellowships and competitive awards, including the Duberman‑Zal Fellowship at CLAGS (CUNY), the Ebrahim Hussein Fellowship, the West African Scholars Mobility Fellowship, the Tejumola Olaniyan International Award, and the UW‑Madison Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. Her broader record of scholarly recognition includes additional competitive grants and faculty nominations across the United States and West Africa.

 

Public Scholarship: Committed to public scholarship and community advocacy, she has delivered invited talks for the African Feminist Initiative at Penn State, Oakton’s International Education Week, Africa Talks, and GSAFE. She has served as a Gender and Sexuality Policy Maker for Amnesty International’s UW‑Madison Chapter and has organized public‑facing initiatives across Africa, including Queer Human Rights Education, Pride in Lagos, and the Pride in Lagos Equality Summit.

 

Professional Background: Her scholarship has been presented at the National Women’s Studies Association, African Studies Association, Lagos Studies Association, African Literature Association, and American Comparative Literature Association.