Stephen Ndegwa breezes through Bloomington

MFFP was extremely fortunate to be included as one among many exciting projects for Stephen N. Ndegwa. Having just completed a research trip to Kenya and before returning to his position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at The College of William and Mary, Dr. Ndegwa participated in IU's first summer session. He describes his course, offered by the Department of Political Science and entitled "Introduction to Comparitive Politics," as a "staple course" that most political science majors are required to take. But do not let its introductory nature fool you. This intensive six-week course consisted of a detailed comparitive study of the political landscape and history of several different countries, including but not limited to: Britain, France, Japan, Russia and Mexico. "I pride myself in my teaching," says Dr. Ndegwa. "Students must work quite hard, but I try to do things to make the class fun as well."

In addition to his formidable teaching skills, Dr. Ndegwa is a prolific scholar. His book, The Two Faces of Civil Society: NGOs and Politics in Africa, which stems from his dissertation, was published in 1996 by Kumarian press and was nominated for the American Political Science Association Woodrow Wilson Award. A further addition to Ndegwa's already lengthy list of publications is an article scheduled to appear in the American Political Science Review entitled "Citizenship and Ethnicity: An Examination of Two Transition Moments in Kenyan Politics."

From Bloomington, Dr. Ndegwa may return to Kenya to do some consulting work for USAID, but intends to return to his position at The College of William and Mary in time for the Fall semester. In the spring, he has plans to begin work on his second book on land reform in Southern Africa in conjunction with a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies.