Dr ivan van sertima biography

  • Ivan van sertima died
  • Jacqueline van sertima
  • Lawrence van sertima

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    Van Sertima, Ivan 1935–

    Historian

    Published Book of Poetry

    Theorized African Voyages to Americas

    Disputed Critics’ Arguments

    Selected writings

    Sources

    A mild-mannered scholar of British-Caribbean background, Ivan van Settima unleashed a revolution in the popular historical imagination with his 1977 book They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America. In that book, van Sertima argued that explorers from the great cultures of ancient Egypt had traveled to the Western Hemisphere and deeply influenced pre-Columbian cultures there, in contrast with other possible early visitors such as the Vikings, who left few cultural traces of their presence. Along with van Sertima’s later work exploring other facets of African influence in ancient cultures, the book stands at the center of efforts to develop African-centered models of primary and secondary education. However, the validity of van Sertima’s research has often been questioned by schol

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    Dr. Ivan Van Sertima

    The Late Dr. Ivan Van Sertima is an author, literary critic, anthropologist and linguist who has given over 30 years of service to Rutgers University as a professor in the Africana Studies Department at Rutgers-New Brunswick. He has lectured at more than 100 universities and engagements in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, South America and Europe. 

    As a linguist, he compiled the Swahili Dictionary of Legal Terms, based on his field work in Tanzania, East Africa in 1967. In 1968, he wrote Caribbean Writers: critical essays, a collection of critiques on the Caribbean novel. He also authored several major literary reviews published in Denmark, India, Britain, and the United States. He was recognized for his work in this field by being requested bygd the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature from 1976 to 1980. 

    In 1976, Dr. Van Sertima published They Came Before Columbus, now in its 21st printi

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    Ivan Van Sertima

    Ivan Van Sertima is a Top 100 AALBC.com Bestselling Author Making Our List 17 Times

    Biography of Ivan Van Sertima

    Guyanese born Dr. Ivan Van Sertima (January 26, 1935 to May 25, 2009) is a literary critic, linguist, anthropologist, and writer.  In 1977 he wrote They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America, for which he won the Clarence L. Holte Prize for excellence in literature and the humanities relating to the cultural heritage of Africa. He is the editor of the Journal of African Civilizations, and has edited numerous recent books including African Presence in Early America, Great African Thinkers, and Great Black Leaders: Ancient and Modern.

    In They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America, which was reprinted over 20 times, Van Sertima defends this highly controversial thesis before the Smithsonian, which has recently published his address.

    Check out the reading list compiled by Dr. Iva

  • dr ivan van sertima biography