Dr. Ifeoma Ezinne Odinye
Deputy, Director, Centre for Gender Studies (CGS)
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
Brief Histoy
Dr. Ifeoma Ezinne Odinye is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. She currently serves as the Deputy Director at the Centre for Gender Studies of the same university. A passionate literary artist and scholar, Dr. Odinye’s academic and creative pursuits span creative writing, gender studies, African and comparative literature, and postcolonial literatures.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature (First Class Honours) from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in 2006, becoming the first student to graduate with First Class Honours since the department’s inception. Following her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, she was appointed a Graduate Assistant in 2008, in recognition of her exceptional academic record.
Shortly thereafter, she received a Chinese Government Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in Chinese Philosophy, Culture, and Literature at Renmin University and Xiamen University in China (2008–2012). She later obtained an M.A. (2014) and Ph.D. (2019) in English Language and Literature from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, where she has lectured since 2008.
Dr. Odinye currently holds a dual appointment as Associate Professor in both the Departments of Chinese Studies and English Language and Literature at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. She is also a prolific writer, with several academic publications, novels, and poems to her credit. Her debut novel, Pain in the Neck (2018), and its sequel, African-China (2019), explore diasporic experiences and cross-cultural encounters between Africa and Asia. Her poetry collection, At Sunset (2018), includes “Zion’s Zest,” the award-winning poem from the 2018 Eclectic Writers Community (EWC) International Poetry Competition. Another of her poems, “Hundreds of Days in Darkling Adventure,” earned a Grade A award in the 2020 AIFEST COVID-19 competition in India and was featured in the anthology Agony and Ecstasy of COVID-19.
Dr. Odinye has held several leadership and administrative positions, including Director of the Akachi Ezeigbo Literary Prize, Coordinator of English Courses at the School of General Studies, Coordinator of Postgraduate Programmes in the Department of English, Chairperson of the Faculty of Arts Lecture Series, and Chairperson for Grants and International Linkages. She also serves as Vice President of the James Currey Society (Oxford) and as an internal and external examiner for postgraduate candidates both locally and internationally. Additionally, she has contributed as an editor to various reputable local and international journals.
Her academic excellence has been recognized through multiple grants and fellowships, including the Chinese Government Scholarship, MIASA/CEGENSA Female Academic Grant, IBR TETFund Grant, and ECAS Grant. Dr. Odinye remains an active member of numerous academic associations and creative circles, continuing to inspire through her scholarship, leadership, and creative expression.