Dr. Caesar Alimsinya Atuire, a lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Philosophy Department has been elected Visiting Fellow for the Hilary and Trinity Terms at All Souls College, Oxford in the 2020-21 academic year.
Dr Atuire won the fellowship in Philosophy, a discipline which he says is “increasingly being abandoned by Ghanaians in favour of more ‘practical’ and economic-oriented fields.” He adds: “Philosophy, which encourages critical thinking and analysis to foster wisdom and synthetic visions, is all the more necessary for a people that have experienced centuries of colonization and are going through a process of finding their place and re-defining their identity in a rapidly changing world.”
Every year dozens of the best graduates and registered post-graduate students from Oxford sit for the All Souls Prize Fellowship. Only two are normally selected. To be admitted to All Souls College as a Prize Fellow, candidates have to sit for a keenly contested examination. In 1959, a Ghanaian, William Abraham, who later became a head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Ghana was admitted to All Souls as a Prize Fellow.
From 1966 when All Souls College established a Visiting Fellowship Programme for distinguished scholars from anywhere in the world to study, research and participate in the academic life of the college, every year, a large number of applications from all parts of the world are assessed. Only 7% of applicants are successful.
Oxford University is one of the top and oldest centres of learning in the world, is home to over 20 thousand students.
Congratulations to Dr. Atuire. We wish him the best as he prepares to undertake this fellowship.
