Simon Gikandi

Simon Gikandi is the Robert Schirmer Professor and Chair of the Department of English at Princeton University, with affiliations in Comparative Literature, African American Studies, and African Studies. Previously, he held the Robert Hayden Collegiate Professorship at the University of Michigan and directed its Comparative Literature Program.

• PhD from Northwestern University
• MLitt from University of Edinburgh
• BA with first-class honors from University of Nairobi

His research spans Anglophone literatures of Africa, India, the Caribbean, and postcolonial Britain, focusing on literary theory, black Atlantic and African diaspora studies, and the English novel. Current projects explore slavery and modernity, African philology, and novel cultures. His publications include seminal works on postcolonial aesthetics, colonial narratives, and literary modernism, revealing tensions between cultural identity and imperial legacy.

Key trends in his scholarship include transatlantic slavery studies, material culture analysis, and decolonial literary theory. His edited works like the Routledge Encyclopedia of African Literature and The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature have redefined reference standards in the field.

Scientific recognition includes:

• MLA's James Russell Lowell Award (2011)
• Melville J. Herskovits Award (2011)
• Guggenheim and ACLS Fellowships
• Howard T. Behrman Award at Princeton (2017)
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2018)

He served as MLA President (2019), First Vice President (2018), and Second Vice President (2016), and edited PMLA (2011-2016). His work bridges historical analysis, cultural theory, and literary form, with global impact on postcolonial and African diaspora studies.