New: Dr. Dawit appointed Director of Internal Research Projects at Bahir Dar University

Research

Research statement

Literature, mind and society

Dr. Dawit’s research is interdisciplinary by design. Its centre of gravity is psychoanalytic literary criticism, particularly mourning, melancholia and ambivalence in contemporary Amharic novels, but it extends into comparative and postcolonial readings of African writing, the cultural politics of Gə’əz, proverbs and ecological knowledge, and empirical studies of language teaching and learning.

Recent work examines how artificial intelligence unsettles long-standing ideas of authorship and reader agency, and what academic integrity should mean for African higher education in the age of generative AI.

Open to collaboration

Dr. Dawit welcomes collaboration on comparative and African literature, psychoanalytic criticism, Gə’əz and Ethiopian studies, qualitative and inclusive research methods, and AI in education. Joint grant proposals, co-authored papers, visiting lectures and PhD co-supervision are all welcome.

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Themes

Research themes

01

Curriculum, Pedagogy & Educational Theory

Curriculum and syllabus design, outcome-based education, pedagogical theory, teacher development and the philosophy of education in language and literature.

02

Development, Policy & Higher Education Studies

Higher education policy, development studies, institutional capacity building and the role of universities in national development.

03

Digital Humanities & Technology in Society

Digital humanities, technology and society, digital scholarship and the impact of technology on culture, education and research.

04

Ecology, Environment & Indigenous Knowledge

Environmental humanities, ecological knowledge, indigenous wisdom and human-environment relationships — including proverbs, storytelling and traditional ecological knowledge.

05

Ethics, Integrity & Public Life

Ethics, academic integrity, research ethics and public morality — including responsible conduct, ethical dilemmas and the ethics of AI in society.

06

Feminist, Gender & Queer Literary Criticism

Gender, feminism and queer theory in African and Ethiopian literature — including feminist counter-archives, women's writing, female representation and queer ecological resistance.

07

Heritage, Memory & National Identity

Cultural heritage, collective memory, national identity and the politics of remembrance — including archives, monuments, oral tradition and national narratives.

1 project
08

Language, Power & Society

Sociolinguistics, language policy, language and power, multilingualism and the social dimensions of language use in Ethiopia and Africa.

09

Literary Theory & Philosophy

Classical and contemporary literary theory, philosophical foundations of criticism, hermeneutics, aesthetics and the history of literary movements.

10

Media, Communication & Society

Media, communication, public relations and information dissemination in society — including social media, community engagement and strategic communication.

11

Migration, Diaspora & Identity Studies

Migration, displacement, diaspora, belonging and identity in African and Ethiopian literature, culture and society — including transnational and intercultural perspectives.

12

Multilingualism & Language Policy

Language policy, multilingualism, language planning and the role of language in education and national identity in Ethiopia and Africa.

13

Music, Nationalism & Cultural Politics

Popular music, nationalism, humanism and democratic expression in Ethiopian culture — including the intersection of art, politics and identity.

14

Peace, Conflict & Reconciliation Studies

Peace, conflict, reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction — including communication in conflict, memory and healing, and community resilience.

15

Psychology & Mental Health in Society

Psychological dimensions of loss, grief, identity and well-being in literature and society — drawing on psychoanalysis, educational psychology and cross-cultural psychology.

16

Research Methods & Methodology

Qualitative, case-study and mixed-methods research design; systematic review and meta-analysis; data analysis and interpretation; research ethics and inclusive methods.

17

Youth, Education & Social Change

Young people, education systems, social transformation and civic engagement — including student activism, leadership development, and the role of education in social change.

18

Psychoanalysis & Amharic Literature

Mourning, melancholia and ambivalence in contemporary Amharic novels, read through Freudian and post-Freudian meta-psychology.

1 project
19

African & Comparative Literature

Nation, gender, memory and the supernatural in Ethiopian and wider African writing, in dialogue with world literatures.

20

Gə’əz Heritage & Decolonial Scholarship

The history, vitality and digital revival of Gə’əz, and curriculum design for Ge’ez studies.

1 project
21

AI, Ethics & Higher Education

Authorship, reader agency and academic integrity in the age of artificial intelligence, with a focus on African universities.

22

Language Teaching & Assessment

Reading, listening and grammar pedagogy, language testing, CALL and materials development for EFL contexts.

2 projects
23

Cultural Studies, Proverbs & Ecology

Proverbs, oral tradition, music and intergenerational storytelling as archives of social and ecological knowledge.

1 project
Research projects

Current & recent projects

All projects
Outputs

Selected publications

Full list