New Book Challenges Western Monopoly on Public Address Studies by Centering 20 Landmark African Speeches

University of Nebraska-Lincoln scholar analyzes speeches from Mandela to Lupita Nyong'o, arguing that the communication canon is incomplete without African voices

LINCOLN, Neb. - If you took a public address course at any American university, chances are a Western figure delivered every speech you studied. A new scholarly work by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) professor argues that this is not just an oversight but a structural failure in how the discipline has been taught for decades.

Dr. Dane Kiambi, Associate Professor of Strategic Communication at UNL's College of Journalism and Mass Communications, has published Public Address in Africa: An Analysis of Great Speeches by African Personalities (Peter Lang International Publishers, 2025), a 284-page work that brings rigorous rhetorical analysis to 20 speeches by African leaders, activists, and cultural figures spanning 65 years.

"For too long, public address studies have been dominated by Western voices," said Dr. Kiambi. "This book challenges that narrative by showcasing the rich rhetorical tradition that has emerged from Africa's complex journey through colonialism, independence, and modern nation-building."

Why It Matters Now

At a time when universities across the country are re-examining what belongs in the academic canon, Dr. Kiambi's book offers a concrete, scholarly intervention. Speech analysis is a foundational discipline in American communication and rhetoric programs, yet the speeches that students encounter are overwhelmingly drawn from U.S. and European contexts. Africa, a continent of slightly over 1.5 billion people with a deep and layered oratorical tradition, has been virtually absent.

The book fills that gap with an analysis of speeches that shaped the political, social, and cultural trajectory of an entire continent. These are not obscure texts. They include Nelson Mandela's 1964 Rivonia Trial speech ("I am Prepared to Die"), Kwame Nkrumah's 1963 call for African unity, Thomas Sankara's 1984 address to the United Nations, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai's 2004 lecture on environment and peace, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's 2011 Harvard commencement address as Africa's first elected female head of state, and Lupita Nyong'o's 2014 speech on Black beauty and African identity at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.

Scope of the Work

The collection spans from Patrice Lumumba's 1960 independence address in the Congo to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo's 2023 call for global structural economic reforms at the UN General Assembly. The 20 speeches represent multiple generations, countries, and languages, with translations from French and Portuguese to capture the full linguistic range of African oratory. Each speech is analyzed for its historical context, rhetorical strategies, and lasting impact on national and pan-African consciousness.

Four of the speeches come from Kenyan figures, including President Mwai Kibaki's 2002 inaugural address marking Kenya's democratic transition, Wangari Maathai's Nobel lecture, trade leader Mukhisa Kituyi's address on global value chains, and Lupita Nyong'o's speech on Black beauty and identity.

Dr. Kiambi's analysis reveals common threads that unite these speeches across six decades: the legacy of colonialism, the pursuit of continental unity, economic self-determination, and the ongoing struggle for global recognition and respect.

About the Author

Dr. Kiambi brings a rare dual perspective. Born and raised in Kenya, he worked for eight years as a journalist and public relations practitioner in Nairobi before furthering his education in the United States, ultimately earning his Ph.D. in Media and Communication. He has been on the UNL faculty since 2013 and specializes in crisis communication and international public relations with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

"Having worked as a journalist and PR practitioner in Kenya, I witnessed firsthand the power these speeches had in shaping public discourse and national identity," said Dr. Kiambi. "These weren't just political moments; they were defining communications that resonated across the continent and beyond. Yet in academic literature, they were largely absent."

His students won first place nationally in the 2022 PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition. Dr. Kiambi turned the pain of watching both his parents struggle to find resources to fight cancer in Kenya into purposeful teaching, deliberately selecting cancer-fighting organizations as clients for his capstone public relations students. After the Bateman win, he encouraged the Lymphoma Research Foundation, the client for the 2022 PRSSA Bateman case study competition, to pilot a campus student ambassador program, an idea he tested with his Fall 2025 capstone course at UNL, where students well embraced it.

What Scholars Are Saying

Dr. Ronald L. Jackson II, Professor at the University of Miami and past President of the National Communication Association, calls the book "a wonderful compendium of sub-Saharan African orators" and "a necessary resource unmatched by any other rhetoric text available."

Dr. Mary E. Stuckey, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Communication at Penn State University, notes that the volume "fills an important gap in the study of political communication" and "illustrates just how much we learn by including international examples of political oratory in the canon of essential speeches."

Theodore F. Sheckels, Professor Emeritus at Randolph-Macon College, who wrote the book's preface, notes: "The public address curriculum ought to take the student well beyond the United States and, to a small extent, Western Europe. Public Address in Africa facilitates that shift, allowing the opportunity to be seized and the challenge to be accepted."

Availability

Public Address in Africa: An Analysis of Great Speeches by African Personalities is available in hardcover, paperback, and digital formats through Peter Lang Publishers and major academic booksellers. Here is a link to the book: https://www.peterlang.com/document/1289257

Book cover and author photos are available for download from this Google Drive link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sJqAeh4DUGEzy0-0MI0jg8mi2mll4k8k?usp=drive_link

Dr. Kiambi's PRSSA students win in national competition: https://news.unl.edu/article/husker-bateman-team-wins-national-competition

Dr. Kiambi talks about his teaching approach: https://news.unl.edu/article/kiambi-channels-grief-into-teaching-student-experiences

Lymphoma Research Foundation campaign by Kiambi students: https://news.unl.edu/article/student-led-campaign-pilots-national-health-program

Media Contact:
Dane Kiambi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
College of Journalism and Mass Communications
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Email: danekiambi@gmail.com
Cell Phone: 513-593-0619

Full Postal Address:

College of Journalism and Mass Communications
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
147 Andersen Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0443

Press Contact:

Dr. Dane Kiambi
Email: danekiambi@unl.edu
Phone: 513-593-0619

Dr. Dane Kiambi is an Associate Professor of Strategic Communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications. His research focuses on international public relations, crisis communication, and public address in sub-Saharan Africa. A former journalist and public relations practitioner in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Kiambi is the author of Public Address in Africa: An Analysis of Great Speeches by African Personalities (Peter Lang, 2025). His students won first place nationally in the 2022 PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition.

This release was published on openPR.