James Henshaw's The Jewels of the Shrine

 Thursday, August 25, 2016

Students began the quarter and the contemporary African literature unit by reading in class James Henshaw's The Jewels of the Shrine.  Henshaw (1924-2007), a Nigerian playwright of the Efik people, studied medicine in Ireland and Wales and specialized in thoracic medicine in Nigeria.  Published in 1956, The Jewels of the Shrine was Henshaw's second play.

"Ageing in Nigerian literature:  James Ene Henshaw's the jewels of the shrine, " a retrospective article published in a special 1999 edition of the British medical journal The Lancet, noted Henshaw as Nigeria first modern playwright and Nigeria's "most popular playwright" from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.

Students filled out a three-by-five index card with their first and last name and the name of the cultural group to which they most identify.  They took a quiz over the play at the end of the period.

No homework was assigned.