Dr. Dominica Dipio is Associate Professor and the current head of Literature in Makerere University

Dr. Dominic Dipio

Name: 

Dr. Dominica Dipio

Title: 

Associate Professor

Department: 

Literature

About Me: 

Dr. Dominica Dipio is Associate Professor and the current head of Literature in Makerere University. she holds an MA in Literature from Makerere University, and a PhD in film criticism from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Her current areas of research are in ritual performance and conflict resolution, folktales and legends and ethnic stereotypes. Her contact is: dodipio@chuss.mak.ac.ug , dodipio@yahoo.com , dodipio@hotmail.com

Launching: ANOTHER DOUBLE WIN FOR AFRICAN FILM AND ORAL LITERATURE

Mr. James Tumusiime (2nd L) flanked by the authors Sr. Dr. Dominica Dipio (L) and Dr. Aaron Mushengyezi (2nd R) and emcee Dr. Danson Kahyana (R) launch the two books on 31st October 2014, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda

Category: 

Humanities and Social Sciences

The month of October 2014 ended on a spectacular note when the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) held a double book launch for two of her enormous army of prolific academics and writers. The audience, most of who had to brave the afternoon downpour on 31st October 2014 to make it in time was kept entertained by Mengo Senior School students’ recitals of Kanemu Kanabiri, Mpenkoni and many other traditional play songs as derived from Dr. Aaron Mushengyezi’s Oral Literature for Children book. On the other hand Sr. Dr. Dominica Dipio’s book Gender Terrains in African Cinema left the audience more appreciative than ever of the power mothers wield over the African film industry and society in general.

Associate Professor Dominica Dipio the second author of the day is a former Fulbright Research Fellowship and African Humanities Program Fellow who has initiated and coordinated a number of projects such as the Makerere-Bergen Folklore project. Dr. Dipio is a videographer with thirteen titles of both full and short length films to her credit. She has over thirty academic journals and book chapters to her name, her most recent publication being Gender Terrains in African Cinema.

“I came into contact with Film as a Graduate student at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1999. At that time it was being taken as a window into the African world; that is for the outsider and not for the Africa,” said Dr. Dipio in giving a brief background of her inspiration. She defended her choice of Francophone films dating from 1970-2000 for her research because France’s colonial policy supported cultural engagement, which led to a flourishing film industry. “However, a similar process as I have done could be undertaken by students and scholars in East Africa because filmmaking in the region is becoming a very serious engagement” she challenged.

In her analysis of the films, she took inspiration from one African filmmaker who observed that “Evolution is not possible without women’s active involvement and that is especially true of the Arab world. The Arab man has given all he can and his achievements aren’t great. Maybe the Arab woman can reinvent the world… when I look at my mother; I see that her intelligence is intact. She hasn’t had a chance to use it” she read in quoting. Dr. Dipio’s Gender Terrains in African Cinema offers a logical analysis of whether these filmmakers and critics actually “walk the talk” in their films. She was therefore happy to discover that the filmmakers made commendable efforts at representing women and gender issues in a way that challenged the status quo.

– See more at: http://news.mak.ac.ug/2014/11/another-double-win-african-film-and-oral-literature#sthash.ANmefcjn.dpuf

– See more at: http://news.mak.ac.ug/2014/11/another-double-win-african-film-and-oral-literature#sthash.ANmefcjn.dpuf