University of London to Honour South African Author J.M. Coetzee

J.M. Coetzee will receive an Honorary Doctorate from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London for his achievements at the 2015 Graduation Ceremonies in London this week.

The South African author is one of the world’s leading novelists and critics. Coetzee was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice – for Life & Times of Michael K (1983) and Disgrace (1999) – and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.

Coetzee studied English and mathematics at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and eventually made his academic career there (by way of doctoral studies in literature, languages and linguistics at the University of Texas in Austin).

During his tenure as Distinguished Professor of Literature at UCT, he also held visiting professorships at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and the University of Chicago where, for many years, he was a member of the Committee on Social Thought.

In 2005, South Africa honoured Coetzee with the Order of Mapungubwe (Gold) for his ‘exceptional contribution in the field of literature’ and for ‘putting South Africa on the world stage’. He is Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and Ridder van de Orde van de Leeuw (Netherlands). Among his many other works are Waiting for the Barbarians, Age of Iron, and, more recently, Scenes from Provincial Life and The Childhood of Jesus.

He has lived in South Australia since 2002, and is currently Professor of Literature at the University of Adelaide.

His fellow Honorary Doctorate awardees are Grammy award-winning musiciian Toumani Diabaté for his impact in raising awareness of the West African kora as a world-class instrument,  and sinologist Dr Frances Wood for her outstanding contribution to scholarship in the arts, culture and history of China.

The 2015 Ceremonies will take place between Wednesday 22 and Friday 24th July 2015..