Manthia Diawara is a writer, film producer, cultural theorist and art historian. He was born in 1953 in Bamako (Mali) and now lives in New York, where he is Director of the Institute of Afro-American Affairs at New York University. His dissertation on the topic of politics and aesthetics in African cinema laid the groundwork for his further research, with which he has made a significant contribution to "Black Studies". His publications include "Black American Cinema" (Routledge: 1993), "We won't Budge: An African Exile in the World"(Basic Civitas Books, 2003), "African Film: New Forms of Aesthetics and Politics" (Prestel, 2010) among others.

Manthia Diawara has collaborated with celebrated author Ngûgî wa Thiong'o in making the documentary SEMBENE OUSMANE: THE MAKING OF AFRICAN CINEMA, and directed the German-produced documentary ROUCH IN REVERSE. In addition, Diawara has recently produced and directed BAMAKO : SIGI KAN, an intimate look at his hometown. Dr. Diawara is also Director of NYU's Institute of Afro-American Affairs and Director of the Africana Studies Program. A native of Mali, he received his education in France and later traveled to the United States for his university studies. He has taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Black-American Cinema: Aesthetics and Spectatorship (1993), African Cinema: Politics and Culture (1992), and In Search of Africa (1998). He has published widely on the topic of film and literature of the Black Diaspora.

EDUCATION
1985
Ph.D., Indiana University (Comparative Literature)
1978
Master of Arts, American University (Literature)

WORK EXPERIENCE

Current Position
* University Professor, and Director of the Institute of African-American Affairs, NYU

1992-2000
* Professor of Comparative Literature and Film
New York University
* Director of Africana Studies and the Institute of African American Affairs

1991-1992
* Professor of English
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
* Associate Director of The Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

1990 to 1991
* Acting Associate Director at the Center of Black Literature and Culture University of Pennsylvania
* Visiting Associate Professor in the English Department at the
University of Pennsylvania,

1989
* Associate Professor with Tenure, Black Studies and French/Italian
University of California, Santa Barbara

1988
* Acting-Chair, Dept. of Black Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara

Sources:
www.hkw.de/en/programm/2012/wassermusik_2012/veranstaltungen_69235/veranstaltungsdetail_78388.php
www.nyuiaaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Diawara_cv11.pdf
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Nació en 1953, en Bamako (Malí) y se educó en Francia. Cursó estudios de Cinematografía en Estados Unidos. Colaboró con el famoso autor Ngûgî wa Thiong'o en la realización del documental SEMBENE OUSMANE: THE MAKING OF AFRICAN CINEMA, y dirigió el documental alemán ROUCH IN REVERSE. También ha dirigido y producido BAMAKO : SIGI KAN, una visión intimista de su ciudad natal. Actualmente, es profesor de Literatura Cinematográfica Comparada; director de los Estudios Africanos y del Instituto Afroamericano de la Universidad de Nueva York. Ha publicado African Cinema : Politics and Culture (1992), Black-American Cinema :Aesthetics and Spectatorship (1993), y In Search of Africa (1998).También es autor de varias publicaciones de cine y literatura sobre la diáspora africana.

Biography supplied by the person concerned