Prof. Wumi Raji studied English at the Universities of Ilorin and Ibadan, Nigeria specializing in Postcolonial Drama, Theatre and Literature. He first won the Alexander von Humboldt Research fellowship in 1999, utilizing it at the University of Bayreuth in 2000/2001. He has since benefitted from a number of the Alumni programmes of the Foundation, including renewed research stays, book publishing subsidy, research equipment grant, and Humboldt Kolleg grant. Professor Raji was also a recipient of the Volkswagen Foundation Research fellowship, the Nordic Africa Institute African Guest Researcher's fellowship, Vaxjo University's Guest Researcher's scholarship, Linnaeus University's Visiting Researcher's fellowship, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University's Guest professorship and the African Studies Visiting fellowship of the University of Cambridge, UK, among others. Wumi Raji has authored, edited or co-edited many scholarly books, and published several journal articles and book chapters. He has taught at the Universities of Ilorin, Benin, The Gambia, Bayreuth, Frankfurt and TU Dresden, and is the current Head of Department of Dramatic Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria. He is now once again a guest professor at the Institute of English and American Studies at the TU Dresden, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

In the following interview, he tells us more about his research in Dresden.

Name: Prof. Wumi Raji
Position: Visiting Professor
Chair: Chair of English Literatures
Institute: Institute of English and American Studies
Faculty: Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies
Duration of stay: 3 months (May 1 - July 31, 2025)

How do you like Dresden? 
Dresden is a beautiful, quiet and well-organised city. Its history is rich and I like listening to it. I like Frauen Kirche and enjoy sailing on the Elbe. Travelling to Sachsische Schweiz to see those ancient rocks remains an experience that I will cherish forever. 

Is it your first time in Germany and Dresden? 
I have visited TU Dresden as a guest researcher several times since 2002 . My wife did her postgraduate studies in Technische Universität Dresden while two of my children grew up here. 

What are your main interests as a researcher? Which topics do you focus on? 
Postcolonial Literature and Culture; Theatre Studies; Gender and Sexualities with particular interest in Masculinities; Transnationalism and Transculturalism in African Literature 

What was your most interesting research topic so far? 
Gender and Sexualities in Transdisciplinary African Humanities. 

And what will be the focus of your research at TU Dresden? 
Masculinities in Recent African Fiction. 

Which item do you absolutely need at your workplace?  
An office space, desk top, printer, scanning and photo-copying machines, accessories, writing materials, etc. 

Do you have a favourite quote? If so, what is it and from whom? 
"Justice is the first condition of humanities"
- Wole Soyinka 
"We are misers about money and property, but often so careless with the one thing we can’t get back: time. "
- Seneca 

Which book did you recently read? / Which movie/series did you watch recently? 
Wole Soyinka: You must Set Forth at Dawn 
Chimamanda Adichie: The Thing Around your Neck