John Hunwick
Encyclopedia
John Owen Hunwick is a noted professor
, author
, Africanist
. He has published several books, articles and journals in the African Studies field. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University
having retired in 2004 after 23 years of service.
, in England, to Rev. Cyril Owen Hunwick, a Methodist minister and his wife (whom he married in 1929) Doris Louise Miller. In 1938 they moved to Horsham, Sussex, where John first went to school. In 1942 the family moved to Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). In 1945 they moved to Bridport, Dorset, and in the following year John entered Grammar School, where he began to learn French
and Latin
.
In 1950, he was sent to Kent College, a Methodist boarding school in Canterbury. Whilst he was there the family moved to Shrewsbury, Shropshire. When John left Kent College, at age 18, he was drafted into the army, his home town being Shropshire, he had to join the local regiment, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
. Soon he was selected as a potential officer candidate and sent off to train at a Light Infantry camp near York. In February 1955 he was selected for full officer training, and spent four months at an officer training camp near Chester, ending up as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was given options of how and where to serve, and rather than joining his home regiment, partly involved in anti-Mau Mau fighting in Kenya
, he volunteered to serve in the Somaliland Scouts
, a force in what was then British Somaliland, whose regular soldiers were Somalis and its officers British. He sailed to Aden and then flew to Hargeisa
in September 1955. In Somaliland his service took him first to Burao, then to Company A in Ainabo, which later moved to Hargeisa and later to Adedle.
In September 1956 he attended the School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS), University of London
. There he spent three years studying Arabic, with some courses in Islamic history and culture with professors such as Bernard Lewis. Peter Holt, and Ann Lambton, whilst his primary teacher of the language was Marsden Jones
. In 1959 he graduated with a 1st Class Honours degree in Arabic.
Early in 1960 John took a position teaching Arabic at the University of Ibadan
, Nigeria
(then called University College, a branch of the University of London), a few months later he was offered a "Lectureship" in Arabic, which he readily accepted. He remained at The University of Ibadan till 1967, during his time there he established a Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, he also helped establish a Centre of Arabic Documentation for the microfilming of Arabic manuscripts, and at the same time began a journal, the Research Bulletin, to publish information on the microfilmed manuscripts and articles about the manuscript tradition.
In 1967 John took a temporary Lectureship at SOAS to teach Arabic. He taught there for two academic years. Early in 1969 he was offered the position of Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Ghana (Legon). By then he had already begun research into historical aspects of Islam in Africa, beginning with interest in the Timbuktu tradition and the Songhay empire.
After leaving SOAS he registered himself to do a Ph.D. there as an "external student". In Ghana he began by teaching a year-long undergraduate course in the history of the Islamic empire from the life of the Prophet through to the 16th century in North Africa. In his first years there he also worked hard on his Ph.D. thesis, editing and translating with commentaries and introduction the replies of al-Maghili to questions put to him by Askiya al-hajj Muhammad of Songhay, using manuscripts he had first started studying when at the University of Ibadan. The thesis was presented and approved at SOAS in 1974, and eleven years later became the basis of his published book Shari'a in Songhay the first of his books and public lectures.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, Africanist
Africanist
Africanist may refer to:*A specialist in African studies*A strand of African nationalism during the activism against apartheid in South Africa particularly associated with the Pan Africanist Congress...
. He has published several books, articles and journals in the African Studies field. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
having retired in 2004 after 23 years of service.
Biography
Born 1936 in Chard, SomersetChard, Somerset
Chard is a town and civil parish in the Somerset county of England. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon border, south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 12,000 and, at an elevation of , it is the southernmost and highest town in Somerset...
, in England, to Rev. Cyril Owen Hunwick, a Methodist minister and his wife (whom he married in 1929) Doris Louise Miller. In 1938 they moved to Horsham, Sussex, where John first went to school. In 1942 the family moved to Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). In 1945 they moved to Bridport, Dorset, and in the following year John entered Grammar School, where he began to learn French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
In 1950, he was sent to Kent College, a Methodist boarding school in Canterbury. Whilst he was there the family moved to Shrewsbury, Shropshire. When John left Kent College, at age 18, he was drafted into the army, his home town being Shropshire, he had to join the local regiment, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
The King's Shropshire Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. The KSLI was amalgamated with three other county light infantry regiments in 1968 to became part of The Light Infantry...
. Soon he was selected as a potential officer candidate and sent off to train at a Light Infantry camp near York. In February 1955 he was selected for full officer training, and spent four months at an officer training camp near Chester, ending up as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was given options of how and where to serve, and rather than joining his home regiment, partly involved in anti-Mau Mau fighting in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, he volunteered to serve in the Somaliland Scouts
Somaliland Scouts
The Somaliland Scouts was a Brigade in the British Army, formed after the liberation of British Somaliland from Italy in December 1941 and the dissolution of the Somaliland Camel Corps, formerly tasked with the defense of the protectorate....
, a force in what was then British Somaliland, whose regular soldiers were Somalis and its officers British. He sailed to Aden and then flew to Hargeisa
Hargeisa
Hargeisa is a city in the northwestern Woqooyi Galbeed region of Somalia. With a population of approximately 2 million residents, it is the second largest city in the country. Hargeisa is the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region...
in September 1955. In Somaliland his service took him first to Burao, then to Company A in Ainabo, which later moved to Hargeisa and later to Adedle.
In September 1956 he attended the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
(SOAS), University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. There he spent three years studying Arabic, with some courses in Islamic history and culture with professors such as Bernard Lewis. Peter Holt, and Ann Lambton, whilst his primary teacher of the language was Marsden Jones
Marsden Jones
John Marsden Beaumont Jones , known as Marsden Jones, was an emeritus professor and the founder and first director of the Center for Arabic Studies at the American University in Cairo....
. In 1959 he graduated with a 1st Class Honours degree in Arabic.
Early in 1960 John took a position teaching Arabic at the University of Ibadan
University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
(then called University College, a branch of the University of London), a few months later he was offered a "Lectureship" in Arabic, which he readily accepted. He remained at The University of Ibadan till 1967, during his time there he established a Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, he also helped establish a Centre of Arabic Documentation for the microfilming of Arabic manuscripts, and at the same time began a journal, the Research Bulletin, to publish information on the microfilmed manuscripts and articles about the manuscript tradition.
In 1967 John took a temporary Lectureship at SOAS to teach Arabic. He taught there for two academic years. Early in 1969 he was offered the position of Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Ghana (Legon). By then he had already begun research into historical aspects of Islam in Africa, beginning with interest in the Timbuktu tradition and the Songhay empire.
After leaving SOAS he registered himself to do a Ph.D. there as an "external student". In Ghana he began by teaching a year-long undergraduate course in the history of the Islamic empire from the life of the Prophet through to the 16th century in North Africa. In his first years there he also worked hard on his Ph.D. thesis, editing and translating with commentaries and introduction the replies of al-Maghili to questions put to him by Askiya al-hajj Muhammad of Songhay, using manuscripts he had first started studying when at the University of Ibadan. The thesis was presented and approved at SOAS in 1974, and eleven years later became the basis of his published book Shari'a in Songhay the first of his books and public lectures.
Published books
- The Hidden Treasures Of Timbuktu (2008)
- Arabic Literature of Africa Vol. II, IV
- Jews of A Saharan Oasis: Elimination of the Tamantit Community
- West Africa, Islam and the Arab World Studies in Honor of Basil Davidson
- Arabic Literature of African lll
- The Cloth of Many Colored Silks
- The African Diaspora in the Mediterranean Lands of Islam
- Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire