Valentin-Yves Mudimbe, emeritus professor of literature at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, passed away on April 21. He was 83 years old.
At Duke University, Dr. Mudimbe served as the Neman Ivey White Professor of Literature. He taught courses on French existentialism, phenomenology, mythical narratives, and African epistemologies. Earlier in his career, he held teaching positions with the Universities of Louvain in Belgium, Paris-Nanterre University in France, the National University of Zaire, Stanford University in California, and Haverford College in Pennsylvania.
As a scholar, Dr. Mudimbe’s work spanned the fields of philosophy, literature, linguistics, history, politics, geopolitics, and cultural studies. He authored numerous works of poetry, novels, and scholarly publications that centered on African identities and histories, including The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge (Indiana University Press, 1988).
Born in what was then the Belgian Congo, Dr. Mudimbe received his doctorate from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
