{"id":4244,"date":"2023-07-10T15:21:15","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T22:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/?page_id=4244"},"modified":"2026-01-08T21:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T05:18:21","slug":"chimnonyerem-okorafor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/people\/graduate-students\/chimnonyerem-okorafor\/","title":{"rendered":"Chimnonyerem Okorafor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-fwkuc-482695e9a2c136ecd351cc45840d5ec3\">\n.flex_column.av-fwkuc-482695e9a2c136ecd351cc45840d5ec3{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-fwkuc-482695e9a2c136ecd351cc45840d5ec3 av_one_third  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_two_third  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><section  class='avia-team-member av-ljxe8i16-43896db30dafc6c751704d8fe63a470c  avia-builder-el-1  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\" ><div class=\"team-img-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-4562 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-4562 avia_image avia_image_team' src=\"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--225x300.jpg\" alt='Chimnonyerem Emmanuelle Okorafor'  itemprop=\"image\"   height=\"300\" width=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--773x1030.jpg 773w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--1125x1500.jpg 1125w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--529x705.jpg 529w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Google-Profile-Picture--rotated.jpg 1309w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/div><h3 class='team-member-name '  itemprop=\"name\" >Chimnonyerem Emmanuelle Okorafor<\/h3><div class='team-member-job-title '  itemprop=\"jobTitle\" > <em> PhD Candidate, Comparative Literature<\/em><\/div><div class='team-member-description '  itemprop=\"description\" ><p>M.A. in Afro-Caribbean French Literature (2019), Abia State University, Nigeria<br \/>\nB.A. in French Language (2012), Abia State University, Nigeria <\/p>\n<\/div><span class='hidden team-member-affiliation'  itemprop=\"affiliation\" >UCR | Department of Comparative Literature and Languages<\/span><\/section><\/div>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-28lbpw-f7929edb0f9297764c45dc91df1f17ac\">\n.flex_column.av-28lbpw-f7929edb0f9297764c45dc91df1f17ac{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-28lbpw-f7929edb0f9297764c45dc91df1f17ac av_two_third  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_one_third  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-ljxe9feh-4f305e2d8f025607b37d6902219adf7e '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emmanuelle Chimnonyerem Okorafor (She\/Her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Comparative Literature and Languages at the University of California, Riverside (U.C.R.). She holds an M.A. in Afro-Caribbean French Literature (2019), and a B.A. in French Language (2012), both from Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria. Apart from these degrees, Emmanuelle has bagged many professional certifications and undergone training focused on teaching, mentoring, diversity, equity and inclusion in the United States Higher Education system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, she is an Academic Student Employee at the University Writing Program at U.C.R. where she teaches undergraduates to produce college level writing based on the different writing genres. Prior to this role, she has taught French language to intermediate learners, lead classroom discussions in undergraduate courses focused on African Literature, United States Race and Ethnicity, Word Power tracing the Greek and Latin root words for English Language, and Ancient civilizations &#8211; Rome, Classical Greece, as well as Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic World.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chimnonyerem\u2019 PhD dissertation focuses on the representation of the black female body in literature, films and French comics. Nathalie Etoke, Naminata Diabate, Elizabeth Grosz, Ayo Coly amongst many others are theorists whose research on the female body direct Emmanuelle\u2019s research. Generally, her scholarly interests include Gender Studies, Francophone and Anglophone African Literatures, Global Black Literatures, Film Studies and French Comics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She will be presenting a paper titled \u201cHair Crossings: Corporeal Resistance and Female Agency in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sh\u00e9razade -17 ans, brune, fris\u00e9e, les yeux verts<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Le\u00efla Sebbar\u201d at the African Literature Association 2026 conference scheduled to take place at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Besides, she presented a paper titled \u201cBeyond the Ark of Covenant: Relics, History, and the Nation in Francophone Retellings of the Bible\u201d at the African Studies Association 2024 Conference in Chicago. Additionally, as a co-convener of the Tejumola Olaniyan Research Group, she recorded her first podcast in April 2025 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison under the sponsorship of The Tejumola Olaniyan Foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an emerging scholar committed to community service, Emmanuelle is a member of the Women Caucus of the African Studies Association where she serves as an on-site committee member. Then, being a first generation and an international scholar herself, she has mentored a student in the International Student Peer Mentor Program and currently mentors another student in the First Generation Mentorship Program both at the University of California, Riverside. Besides academic engagements, she serves as a member of the worship team and volunteers to serve in other ministries such as food bank, Guest Chef amongst many others in her faith family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emmanuelle is a lifelong learner and is open to training opportunities that will enhance her academic research, teaching and community service competency as an emerging scholar. During quarter breaks or holidays, she enjoys spending time with her biological, faith, and foster families. Participating in Book clubs, cooking, singing gospels, watching comedy, and listening to Christian music are other forms of relaxation Emmanuelle engages in. This <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/1drv.ms\/w\/c\/57aeb3e3697344c2\/IQC7MwkxZrxvTrlEaHrlcXpyASF8zZO0L8hhvKM5DWCYV-Y?e=KPcYNw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">link takes you<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to her Curriculum Vitae.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5677 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"874\" height=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor.jpg 874w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor-768x545.jpg 768w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor-260x185.jpg 260w, https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Happy-New-Year-from-Emmanuelle-Okorafor-705x500.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 874px) 100vw, 874px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":1772,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4244","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4244"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5679,"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4244\/revisions\/5679"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/complitlang.ucr.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}