By Abraham Dereje
Ethiopia has been attracting the love and attention of many who are not its citizens. Some of them have even left a more towering effect on the lives and history of its people as compared to its citizens. Donald Nathan Levine is one of them. The American sociologist had devoted most of his life on the people and history of Ethiopia and had produced several books and research papers on issue related to the social, political and cultural aspects of Ethiopia and its people. Professor Levine had passed away, at the age of 83, last Saturday, April 4, 2015. We wish his soul to rest in peace. This piece is aimed at recollecting Levine's contribution to the world in general and to Ethiopia in particular.
In 1953 G.C. Donald Levine was a graduate student at the University of Chicago. By then there were a handful of Ethiopians living there. One of them was Tadesse Terefe. He was Ethiopia's Ambassador to America. When he wanted to return back to Ethiopia, Levine wanted to buy his bicycle. On the occasion, Levine asked Tadesse from where he hails. He told him that he is from Ethiopia. "Where is Ethiopia?" Levine asked eagerly. Tadesse tried to explain to him and it was that moment which deepened the acquaintance between Levine and Ethiopia. At that time it is hard to imagine Levine could spend almost half a century in studying about Ethiopia after this incident. But it has happened and Ethiopia and Levine now share a historic link unforgettable in the minds of many Ethiopians. Donald Nathan Levine was an American sociologist, educator, social theorist and writer. He had been serving for the last five decades in different areas like undergraduate education, sociological theory, Ethiopian studies, and the Japanese martial art aikido. Levine made distinctive contributions to the teaching of undergraduates throughout five decades of service at the University of Chicago. In the area of social theory, Levine published one hundred papers and five books.
In addition to this, Levine was more focused on the area of Ethiopian Studies for over half a century. He is widely considered as a central figure in Ethiopian Studies. In this, field he published two seminal books and dozens of papers. He had played a key role in the preparation of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies at the University of Chicago in 1978.
As a scholar devoted to the social, cultural and traditional life of Ethiopian, he also had served as consultant to public and governmental organizations, including the U.S. Department of State, the United States Senate, and the Peace Corps. Before joining the Chicago faculty in 1962, he had taught at Ethiopia's University College of Addis Ababa. Levine had eventually received a Doctor of Letters honoris causa in 2004 from Addis Ababa University. On the occasion, his citation read "Ethiopianist, sociological theorist, educator: you have succeeded in all three vocations. Your pioneering work, Wax and Gold, has become an Ethiopian classic. As manifested in its title, yours is an exceptionally imaginative quest to reach an understanding of Amhara society from the internal point of view. The very concept of 'Wax and Gold' has taken a life of its own: it figures at once in our understanding of Ethiopia's pre-modern culture and in our coming to grips with Ethiopia's reception of modernity. Greater Ethiopia draws attention to the deep fact that Ethiopian life is rooted in multicultural identities, and it also demonstrates the salient bonds that hold them together."
Donald Levine's interdisciplinary study makes a substantial contribution both to Ethiopian interpretive history and to sociological analysis. In 1979, Levine introduced himself with Aikido, the Japanese martial art. In 2003, Levine had a 4th-degree black belt from the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba.
Among the books written by Levine on Ethiopia's social and traditional manifestations, Wax and Gold is one. In our traditional poetry, the Wax is the obvious (surface) meaning and the gold (deeper) is what is hidden with in the obvious. In Wax and Gold Levine explores mid-to-late-twentieth-century Ethiopian society on the same two levels, using modern sociology and psychology to seek answers to the following questions: What is the nature of the traditional culture of the dominant ethnic group, the Amhara, and what are its enduring values? What aspects of modern culture interest this society and by what means has it sought to institutionalize them? How has tradition both facilitated and hampered Ethiopian efforts to modernize? Enriched by the use of Ethiopian literature and by Levine's deep knowledge of and affection for the society of which he writes, Wax and Gold is both a scholarly and a personal work.
In his other book Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society, Levine combines history, anthropology, and sociology to answer two major questions. Why did Ethiopia remain independent under the onslaught of European expansionism while other African political entities were colonized? And why must Ethiopia be considered a single cultural region despite its political, religious, and linguistic diversity?
This work showcases the totality of Ethiopia's historical experience in a way that emphasized the deeply-rooted attachment of many people of this great polity. The political, social and cultural challenges that the country has faced are comprehensively reflected. Professor Levine is known for repeatedly advising for proponents of change that the most productive and liberating sort of social change is that built on continuity with the past. An Ethiopian journalist who got the chance to be a guest in Levine's residence had witnessed that Levine's home is even decorated with Ethiopian musical instruments and art. Had it not been for his deep rooted love for Ethiopia, he could have surrounded himself with mementos of his Jewish heritage or American landscapes, but he chose to remain Ethiopian at heart time and again. Levine calls himself ሊበን ግብረ ኢትዮጵ in Amharic, which, in English, literary means 'The servant of Ethiopia'.
In his book "Greater Ethiopia", Liben Gebre-Ethiopia draws upon the testimony of classical Greek historians like Diodorus Siculus from the first century B.C. and Placidus from the sixth century so that Ethiopians can feel at home with their past. He writes:
"Certainly [the Ethiopians] are loved by the Gods because of justice. This even Homer indicates in the first book by the fact that Jupiter frequently leaves heaven and feasts with them because of their justice and the equity of their customs. For the Ethiopians are said to be the justest men and for that reason the gods leave their abode frequently to visit them".
In a nutshell, Levine had helped us in our arduous struggle to strengthen our unity through a shared vision of Ethiopia for a better and enduring future. We have lost the true lover of Ethiopia. We wish his soul to rest in peace and in heaven. On this occasion, this writer would like those interested Ethiopian scholars to collect the works of Donald Nathan Levine and make them accessible for the future generation with in a given separate centre.
Source: AllAfrica
Ethiopia has been attracting the love and attention of many who are not its citizens. Some of them have even left a more towering effect on the lives and history of its people as compared to its citizens. Donald Nathan Levine is one of them. The American sociologist had devoted most of his life on the people and history of Ethiopia and had produced several books and research papers on issue related to the social, political and cultural aspects of Ethiopia and its people. Professor Levine had passed away, at the age of 83, last Saturday, April 4, 2015. We wish his soul to rest in peace. This piece is aimed at recollecting Levine's contribution to the world in general and to Ethiopia in particular.
In 1953 G.C. Donald Levine was a graduate student at the University of Chicago. By then there were a handful of Ethiopians living there. One of them was Tadesse Terefe. He was Ethiopia's Ambassador to America. When he wanted to return back to Ethiopia, Levine wanted to buy his bicycle. On the occasion, Levine asked Tadesse from where he hails. He told him that he is from Ethiopia. "Where is Ethiopia?" Levine asked eagerly. Tadesse tried to explain to him and it was that moment which deepened the acquaintance between Levine and Ethiopia. At that time it is hard to imagine Levine could spend almost half a century in studying about Ethiopia after this incident. But it has happened and Ethiopia and Levine now share a historic link unforgettable in the minds of many Ethiopians. Donald Nathan Levine was an American sociologist, educator, social theorist and writer. He had been serving for the last five decades in different areas like undergraduate education, sociological theory, Ethiopian studies, and the Japanese martial art aikido. Levine made distinctive contributions to the teaching of undergraduates throughout five decades of service at the University of Chicago. In the area of social theory, Levine published one hundred papers and five books.
In addition to this, Levine was more focused on the area of Ethiopian Studies for over half a century. He is widely considered as a central figure in Ethiopian Studies. In this, field he published two seminal books and dozens of papers. He had played a key role in the preparation of the Fifth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies at the University of Chicago in 1978.
As a scholar devoted to the social, cultural and traditional life of Ethiopian, he also had served as consultant to public and governmental organizations, including the U.S. Department of State, the United States Senate, and the Peace Corps. Before joining the Chicago faculty in 1962, he had taught at Ethiopia's University College of Addis Ababa. Levine had eventually received a Doctor of Letters honoris causa in 2004 from Addis Ababa University. On the occasion, his citation read "Ethiopianist, sociological theorist, educator: you have succeeded in all three vocations. Your pioneering work, Wax and Gold, has become an Ethiopian classic. As manifested in its title, yours is an exceptionally imaginative quest to reach an understanding of Amhara society from the internal point of view. The very concept of 'Wax and Gold' has taken a life of its own: it figures at once in our understanding of Ethiopia's pre-modern culture and in our coming to grips with Ethiopia's reception of modernity. Greater Ethiopia draws attention to the deep fact that Ethiopian life is rooted in multicultural identities, and it also demonstrates the salient bonds that hold them together."
Donald Levine's interdisciplinary study makes a substantial contribution both to Ethiopian interpretive history and to sociological analysis. In 1979, Levine introduced himself with Aikido, the Japanese martial art. In 2003, Levine had a 4th-degree black belt from the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba.
Among the books written by Levine on Ethiopia's social and traditional manifestations, Wax and Gold is one. In our traditional poetry, the Wax is the obvious (surface) meaning and the gold (deeper) is what is hidden with in the obvious. In Wax and Gold Levine explores mid-to-late-twentieth-century Ethiopian society on the same two levels, using modern sociology and psychology to seek answers to the following questions: What is the nature of the traditional culture of the dominant ethnic group, the Amhara, and what are its enduring values? What aspects of modern culture interest this society and by what means has it sought to institutionalize them? How has tradition both facilitated and hampered Ethiopian efforts to modernize? Enriched by the use of Ethiopian literature and by Levine's deep knowledge of and affection for the society of which he writes, Wax and Gold is both a scholarly and a personal work.
In his other book Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society, Levine combines history, anthropology, and sociology to answer two major questions. Why did Ethiopia remain independent under the onslaught of European expansionism while other African political entities were colonized? And why must Ethiopia be considered a single cultural region despite its political, religious, and linguistic diversity?
This work showcases the totality of Ethiopia's historical experience in a way that emphasized the deeply-rooted attachment of many people of this great polity. The political, social and cultural challenges that the country has faced are comprehensively reflected. Professor Levine is known for repeatedly advising for proponents of change that the most productive and liberating sort of social change is that built on continuity with the past. An Ethiopian journalist who got the chance to be a guest in Levine's residence had witnessed that Levine's home is even decorated with Ethiopian musical instruments and art. Had it not been for his deep rooted love for Ethiopia, he could have surrounded himself with mementos of his Jewish heritage or American landscapes, but he chose to remain Ethiopian at heart time and again. Levine calls himself ሊበን ግብረ ኢትዮጵ in Amharic, which, in English, literary means 'The servant of Ethiopia'.
In his book "Greater Ethiopia", Liben Gebre-Ethiopia draws upon the testimony of classical Greek historians like Diodorus Siculus from the first century B.C. and Placidus from the sixth century so that Ethiopians can feel at home with their past. He writes:
"Certainly [the Ethiopians] are loved by the Gods because of justice. This even Homer indicates in the first book by the fact that Jupiter frequently leaves heaven and feasts with them because of their justice and the equity of their customs. For the Ethiopians are said to be the justest men and for that reason the gods leave their abode frequently to visit them".
In a nutshell, Levine had helped us in our arduous struggle to strengthen our unity through a shared vision of Ethiopia for a better and enduring future. We have lost the true lover of Ethiopia. We wish his soul to rest in peace and in heaven. On this occasion, this writer would like those interested Ethiopian scholars to collect the works of Donald Nathan Levine and make them accessible for the future generation with in a given separate centre.
Source: AllAfrica
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