Speaker: Upenyu Majee
Time: 12:00 pm- 1:00 pm CST
Venue: 206 Ingraham Hall
Recording not available.
Talk Description
In the increasingly fragmented world we live in, this book offers a transformative vision and guide for education and community building rooted in Ubuntu, the African socio-centric philosophy. The book’s journey is deeply personal, evolving from an audio address to the Form 4 East class of 2001 at Chikwariro Secondary School in Zimbabwe into a broader reflection on being human—and humane. From these experiences, Majee develops four actionable propositions named after that class—EAST: Engaging Differences, Asking Questions, Seeking Restoration, and Tending Wounds. Together, these propositions form Trending EAST. Like a compass needle finding its orientation, the framework invites us toward proximity over retreat and curiosity over assumption. It positions Ubuntu as a relational way of being and knowing— a roadmap for humanizing our shared existence.
Speaker’s Bio
Upenyu Majee is the Inaugural Director of the Institute of Ubuntu Thought and Practice (IUTP) at Michigan State University (MSU). He previously served as 1) Faculty Lead for the Reeves Scholars Program, a 2020-2025 reciprocal exchange between teacher candidates at MSU and the University of Cape Coast, Ghana and 2) Project Manager for Ubuntu Dialogues, a 2019-2023 collaboration between MSU and Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Upenyu holds a joint PhD in Educational Policy Studies and Development Studies, and master’s degrees in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis & African Languages and Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Linguistics from the University of Zimbabwe. His research and teaching revolve around internationalization and US-Africa engagement in higher education, and Ubuntu as a philosophy, epistemology, methodology, and pedagogy. Upenyu is a member of the Comparative and International Education Society and the African Studies Association. He finds joy and growth opportunities in convening and curating substantive and sustained dialogues across differences.
The event is free and open to the public.