I am a Senior Lecturer of literature at the Department of Languages Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, (AAMUSTED) Kumasi. I have a natural tendency to favor a learner-centered strategy. By providing each student a voice in my classes on literature and communication skills, I always put the learner at the center of the learning activities. I place a special emphasis on diversity and practical experiences. Although learner-centeredness is the foundation of my teaching philosophy, this does not imply that I agree with everything the students want to accomplish. I make sure that learner-centeredness doesn’t devolve into anarchy or into the mindless realization and acceptance of every wish made by the learner, regardless of its utility or necessity.

My research interests are within the scope of postcolonial literature, emerging discourses on Literature and the Environment, contemporary perspectives on Africana Womanism and emerging discussions on Migration and African Migrants. I have attended several conferences both locally and internationally and presented papers at some of these conferences.

Academic Qualifications

• • Doctor of Philosophy in English
  • Masters of Philosophy (M.Phil) in English
  • Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) in English

Professional Affiliations/ Memberships

• • African Literature Association (ALA), USA
  • Literature Association of Ghana (LITAG)
  • University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG)

Teaching Interests

• • Introduction to Literature
  • Introduction to African Oral Literature
  • Studies in Poetry
  • Fiction and Non-Fiction
  • Postcolonial Literature
  • Literary Criticism
  • 17^th Century Literature
  • 18^th Century Literature
  • 19^th Century Literature
  • 20^th Century Literature
  • Contemporary Ghanaian Literature
  • Shakespeare and His Works

Research Interests and Supervision

• • Postcolonial Literature
  • Emerging discourses on Literature and the Environment
  • Contemporary perspectives on Africana Womanism
  • Emerging discussions on Migration and African Migrants

Selected Publications

Books

• • Essuman, J. (2019). Survival Kit: A Literature-in-English Course Book. Waama Ark Publications, ISBN: 978-9988-2-9067-2
  • Essuman, J. (2015). The Key (Multiple Choice Questions on Othello and Model Essays, Literature-In-English). Hampton Press, ISBN: 978-9988-2-2292-5

Articles:

• • Essuman, J. (2022). “Masking for Survival: An Exploration of Alex La Guma’s In the Fog of a Season’s End. Hybrid Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies, 4(1):42-58. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8266-1918.
  • Essuman, J. (2022). “Violence, the language of the Oppressor and the Oppressed: Alex La Guma’s The Stone Country (1967)”. Steadfast Arts and Humanities, 2(1):7-18. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8266-1918.
  • Essuman, J. (2021). “Projecting the African Society and Cultural Values: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958). Research in Advanced Humanities, 2(4):60-71. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8266-1918.
  • Essuman, J., ResCue, E. (Ph.D) & Yeboah, P. A. O. (Ph.D) (2021) “A Pragma-Stylistic approach to analysing proverbs: a review of some selected proverbs in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (EHASS) 2(8):92-107. DOI: 10.38159/ehass.2021281
  • Arhin, A. K., Essuman, J. & Arhin, E. (2021). Analysis of Item Writing Flaws in a Communication Skills Test in a Ghanaian University. African Journal of Teacher Education, 10(2):121-143. http://doi.org/10.21083/ajote.v10i2.6762
  • Essuman, J., Ben-Daniels, F. (Ph.D.) & Ohene-Adu, K. B. (2021). “Satire in Post-Independence African plays: A study of Efo Kodjo Mawugbe’s Prison Graduates (2015). Research Journal in Advanced Humanities 2(1):44-58 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5857-8986
  • Ben-Daniels, F. (Ph.D.), Essuman, J. & Ohene-Adu, K. B. (2020). “Defining the African Writer’s Duties: Efo Kodjo Mawugbe’s Grave Yard People.” Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(5), 21-27: DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-10-04
  • Ampofo, Z., Essuman, J., Arhin, E. & Ansah, R. (2020). “A Tool of Success: A Critical Content Analysis of Naana’s Character in Ayi Kwei Armah’s Fragments”. Advances in Literary Study, 8:23-33. https://doi.org/10.4236/als.2020.81003
  • Essuman, J., & Meni-Glover, N. (2018). “The Lost Dignity: The Reading of Alex La Guma’s A Walk in the Night.” Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(8):61-70.

Conference Papers Presented

• • “Moving in, Fitting Not: An Autopsy of City Life in Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow”, presented at 48^th Annual Conference of African Literature Association on 27^th May, 2023 at Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
  • “‘The Altered Body’: Presentation of Disability in Isidore Okpewho’s The Last Duty” presented at Conference in honour of Distinguished Scholars in Language and Literary Studies organized by Department of English, University of Cape Coast, Ghana at University of Cape Coast, from September 7-9, 2022.
  • “Remediation of the African Woman’s Image in Nuruddin Farah’s Novels” presented at Third International Conference FEmale Creations in Literary and Intercultural Education (3rd CICELI) organised by the research group TALIS from the Department of Language and Literature Teaching (Universitat de València, Spain), held from July 14th to 16th 2022
  • “A Pragma-Stylistic approach to analysing proverbs: a review of some selected proverbs in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.” Present at the Second African Pragmatics Conference (AFPCON2022) organized by African Pragmatics Association at University of Nairobi from 2^nd-4^th February, 2022