Praise Zenenga

Praise Zenenga serves as Associate Professor and Department Head of Africana Studies within the College of Humanities at the University of Arizona. He holds an Interdisciplinary PhD in Theater and Drama from Northwestern University and specializes in theater history and dramatic literature with a focus on Africa and the African Diaspora.

His research employs interdisciplinary approaches to examine identity, race, aesthetics, politics, social change, and social justice across literature, music, visual arts, and performance arts of Africa and African Diaspora communities. He investigates Digital Africana Studies, Global Hip-Hop elements, and Zimbabwean performing arts—including theater, dance, sport, and everyday life performance—with emphasis on masculinities, censorship, avant-gardism, and political protest.

Dr. Zenenga's scholarly output appears in journals such as Theater History, Theater, African Identities, South African Theater Journal, and Dance Research Journal, alongside publications from Oxford, Cambridge, Rodopi, and Routledge. His current monograph explores contemporary popular theater in Africa, analyzing artist-donor-state dynamics.

He teaches AFAS 150B1 (Contemporary Afro Brazil), AFAS 218 (Introduction to Hip-Hop Dance), AFAS 371 (Hip-Hop Cinema), and AFAS 475 (USA & South Africa: Comparative Historical & Political Perspectives), reflecting his commitment to Africana Studies education.