Prof. Okumu Charles Nelson

Professor


Charles Nelson Okumu is Associate Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies in the Department of Languages and Literature, Faculty of Education and Humanities. I have been lecturing for over 40 years beginning as Assistant Lecturer in Makerere University (1973-89), Senior Lecturer (1985-89); University of the Northwest, 1990-1995); Vista University (1996-2001); University of Pretoria (2002-3) all in South Africa. -Assoc Prof, Gulu University, October,2009 to current).

I worked on a World Bank project: Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) as its Director, 2004-2007 and 2008- September, 2009 as the Executive. I hold the following qualifications BA Hons, Upper Second Class, MA, M.Phil. and Ph.D. all in the field of Literature and Cultural Studies. I currently teach African, English and American literatures at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and supervise students research in these areas too. I am an active participant in two high profile projects in the University: 1. Building Stronger Universities (BSU) where I was the Deputy PI and Chair of the Steering Committee from 2011-2022 and currently, Deputy PI and Chair of Executive Committee of BSU IV (2023-2028). 2. Unlocking the Potential of Green Charcoal ot Mitigate Climate Change in Northern Uganda- UPCHAIN (Upchain.gu.ac.ug) May, 2022-June, 2027.

I am Secretary to the Advisory Board and member of the Executive Committee. Both projects are funded by the people of Denmark and administered by DANIDA. My research interests are in Literature, culture, and climate change. I have attended and presented many papers at international and national conferences as indicated in my publications. My Community Engagement has been in the field of Literature, outreaches in the community on climate change mitigation through mindset change in using alternative cooking fuel (briquettes) produced from farm residues (UPCHAIN project) and the relationships between refugees and host community in Adjumani District (BSU).

Qualifications

 

 

Institution

 Period Degree obtained
Gulu University

 

 2023 PhD
 

Sheffield University, U

 1985 M.Phil.
Makerere University 1976 MA
1973 BA (Hons Upper Second Class)
University of South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

His People Bible School, Pretoria, South Africa

 

 2001 Postgraduate certificate in Negotiating Conflict
2001 Certificate in Crisis Debriefing and Trauma Counselling
2003 Certificate in HIV/AIDS Care and Counselling
1997 Diploma in Bible Study

Research Interests

My research interests and publications are in the following areas:

  1. Literary and Cultural studies with focus on the writers/scholars whose literary works are embedded in their cultures. Their Literature is written in English. Currently, I therefore teach and research in: English, American and African Literatures (fiction, drama and poetry).
  2. Refugees and host community relations in Adjumani(under BSU project)
  3. Transitional Justice focusing on reparation in Northern Uganda.
  4. Climate change with focus household changing attitudes towards alternative cooking fuel, green charcoal (briquettes) from black charcoal which is depleting forests in Acoliland

Publications

Mbazalire, E., Alidri, A., Okello, S., Christine, A., Atube, F., Okello, C., Mogensen, H., & Okumu, C. (2025) . (2025) . Historizing Gender in Household Production and Use of Cooking Fuels in Amuru District, Northern Uganda . East African Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 8(2)
Agatha, A., Atube, F., Okello, S., Aoyo, C., Ringitho, R., Okello, C., & Okumu, C. (2025). . (2025) . Unpacking the Concept “Green Charcoal,” A Cooking Fuel Innovation: The Gulu University Interdisciplinary Experience . East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources, [online] Volume 8(2). Available at: https://journals.eanso.org/index.php/eajenr/article/view/3424
Francis.A., Ojara.B.C., Richard.L.L., Daniel.M.O., Charles.N.O. . (2025) . Determinants of finger millet farmers’ choice of adaptation strategies to climate change in northern Uganda . Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44279-025-00277-6
. (2025) . Transforming Higher Education for Community Development Participatory Reflection on a Decade of Mutual Capacity-Building in Northern Uganda . In: Volume Editors: Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Tabo O. Geoffrey, Charles Nelson Okumu, Morten Kure Kattenhøj, and Inger Lassen, Transforming Higher Education for Community Development Participatory Reflection on a Decade of Mutual Capacity-Building in Northern Uganda. Available at: https://brill.com/display/title/72354?srsltid=AfmBOoqoyvA5C9Oj3qZUvQzZ3qSpOmxGrVXdrljVEoFA8RBdndODNS87
. (2025) . Educational Leadership Styles and Quality of Primary Education in Gulu City, Northern Uganda . In: , Transforming Higher Education for Community Development, pp. 133-155. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392921876_Educational_Leadership_Styles_and_Quality_of_Primary_Education_in_Gulu_City_Northern_Uganda
Ocan, Johnson, and Charles Okumu. 2025 . (2025) . Utilisation of Acoli Folktales for Mindset Modification in Post-LRA Incursions: A Sociological Perspective
Okello, S., Alidri, A., Mbazalire, E., Aoyo, C., Atube, F., Collins, O., & Okumu, C. N. (2024). . (2024) . Experiences with Green Charcoal: A Gender Consideration of Rural and Urban Households in Gulu District . East African Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 7(1)
Auma, K., & Okumu, C. (2024) . (2024) . Gender Stereotype in Tess of The D’urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald . East African Journal of Education Studies, 7(4)
Ongaya, K., Alidri, A., Onen, W. Y., Odongkara, B., & Okumu, C. (2024) . (2024) . Developing a Rational Policy on Plagiarism for Institutions of Higher Education: A Case of Gulu University . East African Journal of Education Studies, 7(3)
Ocan, J., Okumu, C., & Sekiwu, D. (2022) . (2022) . Depictions of Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Contemporary Africa Using Akachi Adimora Ezeigbo’s Trafficked and Apio Eunice Otuku’s Zura Maids . East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 5(1)
. (2021) . The Aesthetic of Acoli Oral Songs . Available at: https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol.26-Issue11/Ser-8/D2611082438.pdf
Charles Okumu . (2021) . Intertext Between Okot p.Bitek’s Song of Lawino and Acoli Oral Songs
Okumu, Charles Nelson. 2020. . (2020) . The Life and Times of Okot p’Bitek.
. (2018) . Unpacking the Concept of stability, democracy and rights . A Journal of Language, Culture and Communication, [online] Volume 5. Available at: https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/globe/article/view/2324
. (2018) . The impact of returning home after the twenty-year armed conflict in the Acoli sub-region in Uganda: the case of Nwoya , pp. 35-51

Projects

CONSCOV (consequences of covid-19 for adolescent and youth reproductive health) Project
    Dr. Alidri Agatha, Prof. Okumu Charles Nelson
BSU IV: Life long Learning and Hybrid Learning
    Dr. Okumu John Bismarck, Prof. Okumu Charles Nelson, Dr. Alidri Agatha
Unlocking the Potential of Green Charcoal to Mitigate Climate Change in Northern Uganda (UPCHAIN)
    Dr. Collins Okello, Dr. Alidri Agatha, Dr. Tabo Geoffrey Olok, Prof. Okumu Charles Nelson, Dr. Alidri Agatha
Building Stronger Universities (BSU)
    Prof. Charles N. Okumu, Dr. Agatha Alidri, Dr. Geofrey Tabo, Ms. Judith Awacorach, Assoc. Prof. Komakech Daniel

Supervision

I have supervised many students in Makerere, University of the North-West, Vista and University. Since joining Gulu University in 2009 to current, I have supervised third year undergraduate students and six Masters students to graduation. We have not yet introduced PhD by research due to delay in accreditation by the National Council for Higher Education. We have one application whom I will supervise once the Literature program is approved.

More Information

More Publications
1. ‘The Form of Okot p’Bitek’s Poetry: Literary Borrowing from Acoli Oral Traditions’, Research in African Literatures, Fall 1992, vol 23.3, pp53-66. Reprinted in: Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism: Vol. 149. Thomson Gale. 2004. pp 66-73.

2. ‘The Place of Oral Poetry in Contemporary Uganda Society: The Oral Artist as a Historian and Commentator’, Oral Traditions and its Transmission: The Many Faces of the Message. The Campbell Collections, edited by Meg Cowper-Lewis and Nigel Bell. University of Natal Durban Press, 1994. pp 329-345.

3. ‘Acoli Orality’ and Towards and Appraisal of Criticism on the Poetry of Okot p’Bitek, Uganda: The Cultural Landscape. Ed. Eckhard Britinger. Institut fur Afrikastudien, Universitat Bayreuth Press, Germany. African Studies,1999: No. 39.

4. ‘Okot p’Bitek’ in Encyclopaedia of African Literature: edited by Simon Gikandi. Rutledge, London. 2003. Three entries: pp85, 402 and 409-411. CN Okumu (1975) The Genres of Acoli Oral Literature Volume One: MA Thesis. University of Nairobi Digital Repository. https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke Co-complier of Fountain Dictionary, Foundation Publishers, Kampala.

Professional Editor:

  1. Edited: Lwoo-English Dictionary. Alexander Odonga (2005). Fountain Publisher, Kampala.
  2. Edited, the following books by Professor Emmanuel Igwaro Odongo-Aginya The Director Murdered. (2018). Author-House, Bloomington, USA. What A Life (2024). Published by Scriptor House, USA The Black Lawyer (accepted for publication).
  3. Edited Hidden Scars. By Aliker p’Ocitti (2021): Amazon Books.
  4. Edited: Justice in the Hague (a poetry collection) by James Onono Ojok (2020). Wordsmith Publications, Uganda Limited.
  5. Edited: Lwod by Maliam Lakareber Okelo (2020 Revised 2023). Pot-Printers: Kampala
  6. Edited: Dongo ki Pwonye pa Litino Acoli Macon by Maliam Lakareber Okelo (2022) Pot-Printers: Kampala
  7. Edited: Acoli Dictionary by Prof. Alexander Odonga ( 1999): Fountain Publishers, Kampala.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Support to the teaching of Literature in Secondary Schools in Gulu District

Participated in the organisations of poetry festivals for students in Northern Uganda under Author-Aliker Project as a Patron and Final Judge ( 2021 to current). The next festival is 23rd October, 2025. The Annual Festival has produced many young talented poets and we are compiling their poems for publication under Author-Aliker publication.

Through UPCHAIN, under Work Package-2, I have participated in research on mindset change in the use of green charcoal (briquettes) made from farm residue  instead of continuing to use black charcoal from  trees which are disappearing fast. Gulu University through Upchain, is supporting the Presidential ban on the use of use of black charcoal. We have worked with community members in Gulu City, Paboo in Amuru and Adjumani. Our finds have been published in two papers. We have also introduced the concept of the green charcoal in some schools in Amuru through Work Package. Some of the learners from these schools have become innovative and developed their own tools and methods of producing green charcoals which their parents use.

Through BSU too, I  have been involved in community engagement with the refugees and host communities is important. I have been working with colleagues from Denmark with Adjumani District Elders’ Forum (ADEFO) in establishing a ‘Documentation Center’ in a structure that was built by the Japanese Government for use by the refugees and the host community. ADEFO with support from BSU, signed a MoU with the District which has allowed BSU to support ADEFO with materials to operationalize the Center. This has created space for researchers who come to Adjumani to use the facility. Recently, BSU Work Package 3 went to Adjumani recommended that ADEFO locates a room for researchers while they are in Adjumani on research on refugees and host community.

My community engagement continues.