Former Rice professor dies in Kenya

By Margeux Clemmons     3/12/09 7:00pm

Atieno Odhiambo, groundbreaking African history scholar and Rice professor of History for nearly two decades, died Feb. 25 after being diagnosed with a degenerative illness. He was 63. A contributor to 14 books as author, co-author and editor, Odhiambo also wrote countless articles and chapters concerning African historiography, colonialism and various aspects of historical development in East Africa.

"He was a member of one of the pioneering generation of African historians," History Department Chair Martin Wiener said. "[He was] among the first people to really excavate and bring back to life the history of his people, so it really was a serious kind of life work."

Odhiambo was a Fulbright Scholar at Syracuse University in 1978, and taught at Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University before coming to Rice in 1989, where he later led the Department of History's Center for the Study of Cultures.

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"His breadth of interest and of knowledge spanned the globe," Associate Professor of History and long-time family friend Edward Cox said. "There is hardly an intellectual debate covering any region that Dr. Odhiambo wasn't able to contribute to. He looked at Africa and African studies globally."

Odhiambo earned his bachelor's degree from Makerere University in 1970 and his doctorate from the University of Nairobi in 1973.

He was jailed for a month in 1986 during the political situation in Kenya, and upon his release Odhiambo became an exile, Wiener said. David Cohen, University of Michigan Professor of African Anthropology and History, was a friend and research collaborator of Odhiambo's, and wrote in a remembrance piece that the repression and detention of Odhiambo in Kenya during that time revealed Odhiambo's courage and commitment to scholarly excellence.

Cohen said that this commitment extended to his teaching.

"Where some of my colleagues in my field might be hard to find in their offices, Atieno was always there listening to students and lecturers, responding to questions, sharing his own library of published and unpublished work," Cohen said. "He did not ... go in hiding during the purge-like times when Kenyan security attempted to control free speech and expression and freedom of organization on the Nairobi campus and beyond."

Odhiambo was the vice president of the Historical Association of Kenya, acted as the deputy editor of the Journal of Eastern African Research and Development from 1976 to 1995 and served on several fellowship selection committees, as well as the scientific committee for AFRICA ZAMANI: A Journal of African History.

Cox said Odhiambo's contributions extended beyond African studies, for his former colleague was intellectually generous and would often share articles and books, relating his studies and experiences in Africa to Cox's focus on similar developmental history in the Caribbean.

"I well remember, some years ago, African studies had a commission hosted in Houston," Cox said. "Dr. Odhiambo was asked to give one of the [major] addresses, and for the first time, I realized how well regarded he was in the academy. When he was there and delivered that address, he literally brought down the house with the insights and the sharp focus he was able to bring to the postcolonial theorem, and it was really a joy to see seasoned scholars coming up to him afterward. The academy will be worse off for his passing."

Odhiambo retired from Rice in 2008 due to his extended illness and returned to Kenya during that time. Wiener attended a going-away party for Odhiambo hosted by the Kenyan Society of Houston at Texas Southern University and said the event held in his honor was indicative of Odhiambo's influence outside academia.

"It was amazing how many people were there," he said. "A number of people made speeches about how helpful he had been to local Kenyans in Houston. He was a local statesman."

Wiener said that in addition to leaving behind a legacy of graduate students in African studies through the years, Odhiambo was a sensitive, thoughtful, humane individual, and an intellectually stimulating presence in the department.

Odhiambo is survived by his wife, Jane, and his four children, Susan, Caroline (Brown '94), Michael (Baker '97) and Samson (Lovett '03).

A burial ceremony for Odhiambo was held March 7 in Siaya, Kenya.

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