A Husker writer and literary scholar has received a fellowship that is among the most prestigious distinctions in the humanities. 

Ng’ang’a Wahu-Mũchiri, associate professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, was named a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, a program that supports outstanding scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. He is one of 62 fellows, selected from among more than 2,300 applicants, in the 2025 cohort. ACLS fellowships provide up to $60,000 to support scholars in full-time research and writing for six to 12 months, which will ultimately result in a major scholarly work. 

Wahu-Mũchiri is dedicating his fellowship to a book focused on how African writers and artists imagine water ecosystems — from the tiniest streams to vast oceans and everything in between — in their work. He envisions the book, tentatively titled “Water and Waterscapes in Writing from the African Continent,” as a tool for communities in Africa and beyond as they work to conserve and protect their water ecosystems. 

Though his focus is on eastern and southern Africa, Wahu-Mũchiri expects the book’s themes to resonate in Nebraska and other locations across the globe.  

“I think the same concerns — water conservation and protecting water aquifers — are being discussed here in Nebraska and elsewhere,” he said. “Communities from across the world can share resources, work more efficiently and sustainably, and learn from each other. While the subject matter is African, I hope the tools will be useful and intriguing to communities in the Midwest, as well.”

The work is a natural extension of Wahu-Mũchiri’s first book, “Writing on the Soil: Land and Landscape in Literature from Eastern and Southern Africa,” which explores how representations of land and landscape perform metaphorical work in African literature. That book — which received the 2024 Bethwell A. Ogot Book Prize from the African Studies Association — served as a natural segue to exploring water’s role in African art, including its portrayal in Kenyan communities’ fables and praise songs, its use in colonial land treaties and its representation in the visual arts, among other topics. 

Wahu-Mũchiri, who grew up in Kenya, will travel to eastern Africa in November to conduct field work, interview writers and artists, and continue work on the manuscript. He will also take photos and video of waterscapes in Africa, which he aims to include in an online exhibition that both generates interest in the book and focuses communities on the multiple meanings and purposes of water — from sustenance, food and agriculture to pleasure and leisure. Wahu-Mũchiri has already launched a trial exhibition that will eventually feature his imagery. 

“I’m really interested in using the web as a digital artifact, with videos and images creating an interest in the text and getting communities to ask questions about the water spaces that are around them,” he said.

He is also focused on the ways in which African languages serve as rich repositories of ecological knowledge. In the book, Wahu-Mũchiri will examine Swahili and Gĩkũyũ — both of which he is fluent in — to present his arguments. 

Though there have been other water-based writings focused on Africa, they have been region-specific, proposing interventions for certain geographic areas. Wahu-Mũchiri’s book will be the first to take a broader view, focusing on water issues shared among communities and universal approaches.

“There are very few texts that look at these issues comparatively, delving into what strategies are shareable across the continent; what challenges are unique in each region or in each space; and what solutions communities could implement on the local level,” he said.

Another major innovation of the book is a section focused on the connection between water in Africa and the artificial intelligence boom. AI’s water footprint is significant: The data centers that power the technology generate a large amount of heat, which requires cooling to prevent servers from overheating. The most common cooling methods require substantial amounts of fresh water. On the flip side, AI could vastly improve predictive capacity and efficiency related to water management. 

Wahu-Mũchiri’s book will be at the forefront of exploring these linkages.     

“That has not been done: This argument that thinking about water necessarily means thinking about the future of technology,” he said.

Wahu-Mũchiri’s ACLS fellowship will conclude in June 2026, and he anticipates a publication date in 2028. Ultimately, he is hoping the book can spotlight the power of the humanities to add another dimension to politics and public debate over important societal issues, which are often dominated by policy documents. 

“Literature and art can get to the emotional part of conservation in a way that’s more long-lasting and more impactful in communities,” he said.

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