Philip Uko Effiong is a Professor of Theatre Studies and Integrative Humanities at Michigan State University (MSU), where he has taught since 2017. With over 25 years of experience in higher education, he holds a PhD in Drama from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as well as a master’s degree in literature of the African Diaspora and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Calabar, Nigeria.
Before joining MSU, Philip taught drama, fiction, nonfiction, oral traditions, and writing at several institutions, including the University of Calabar; Regent University College of Science and Technology in Ghana; the University of Wisconsin–Madison; the University of Tennessee at Martin; the University of Delaware in Newark; Lincoln University in Pennsylvania; and Morehouse College in Atlanta.
At MSU, Philip’s teaching reflects a strong commitment to interdisciplinarity, spanning drama, fiction, nonfiction, and history. His research also bridges multiple fields, with interests that include:
- The appropriation and performance of divine authority as a means of
dictatorial power. - Performance traditions (dance, music, song, drama, oral forms) as tools
of survival and resistance among the Jamaican Maroons, the Garifuna,
and other Caribbean communities. - The influence of European drama and Greek tragedy on African and
African diasporic theatre. - Historical narratives that reframe African achievements in education,
architecture, science, healthcare, war, and astronomy. - The experiences of Biafran refugee descendants in the Ivory Coast and
Gabon. - The music and legacy of Nigerian icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
- African diasporic communities in India and the Philippines.
Alongside his academic work, Philip has served as a consultant and writer, producing technical manuals, coffee table books, development proposals, reports, and newsletters. He has also worked in information technology as an Oracle programmer.
Philip’s publications include a novel (Monty), a book on African American drama, and numerous scholarly articles on Africa, the African diaspora, and the humanities. As a creative writer, he has completed several fictional and nonfictional manuscripts, including his memoir of the Nigeria–Biafra War, published in 2023 by Pen and Sword Books. An expanded version of the memoir, My Biafran Scar: A War & Post-War Narrative, is scheduled for release in 2025.
Philip is married to Chinwe Effiong and together they have three daughters; Imaeyen, Amaeka, and Idara.
