It is spare vision to regard the Ethiopian past only as a matrix of primordial loyalties whose only issue can be discord and disruption. The Ethiopian past can be a source of identifications which are associated with specific virtues of national significance, and which Ethiopian cultural leaders can draw upon to help define for their country its unique composite character.—Donald N. Levine, Wax & Gold
  Recent News and Publications: 

Selected Publications by Donald N. Levine

Books

Interpreting Ethiopia: Observations of Five Decades. Tsehai Publishers. Publication date: Autumn 2014.

Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture. Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 1965.  Phoenix Paperback, new preface by author, 1972. Midway Reprint,1986. Tsehai Press reprint, 2006. University of Chicago reprint, 2014.

Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974, 2nd ed., with a new preface, 2000. Amharic translation, Tiliqua Ityopya, Addis Ababa University Press, 2001.

Articles, Chapters, Talks
NOTABLE QUOTES

I ask the fifty-two nations, who have given the Ethiopian people a promise to help them in their resistance to the aggressor, what are they willing to do for Ethiopia? And the great Powers who have promised the guarantee of collective security to small States on whom weighs the threat that they may one day suffer the fate of Ethiopia, I ask what measures do you intend to take? . . . God and history will remember your judgment. . .It is us today. It will be you tomorrow. . . 
     — Emperor Haile Selassie I, Geneva, Switzerland. June 1936 

A country whose culture was said to based on the philosophy of human love and dignity turned into a place of terror, torture, and horrifying scenes of corpses on the streets. The tradition of appreciating the merits of bravery and kindness was replaced by judging people on their affiliation. . . .  Almost a million people died as the result of brutal civil war and . . .over a million Ethiopians left the country they loved, dispersed as refugees over all parts of the world. 
    – Tsegaye Tegenu,The Evolution of Ethiopian Absolutism.  Uppsala,1996
የኦሮሞ ጥቅምና መብት የሚከበረው የራሱም ሆነ የሌሎች ብሄሮች መብቶች ተከበረው በኢትዮጵያዊነት ጥላ ሰር በጋራ ስንኖር ብቻ ነው። (It is only when we live together under the umbrella of Ethiopianness that the interests and rights of Oromos and others will be respected.)
             – Dr. Negasso Gidada, Addis Ababa, 2010

Today is the perfect time for all Ethiopians to bury the hatchet of ethnic division, religious sectarianism, regional conflict and human rights violations. . . .to shake hands, embrace each other and get our noses to the grindstone to build a new democratic Ethiopia where the rule of law is upheld and human rights and democratic institutions respected.   — Prof. Al Mariam. Los Angeles, September, 2012

We shall support all key elements of democratic governance–the Human Rights Commission, the Peoples' Ombudsman's office, the National Elections Board, the press and media institutions, and . . . opposition parties who want to operate according to the Constitution and the law in our country      —PM Hailemariam Desalegn, Sept. 21, 2012

Recommended Reading

Videos

ESAT interview with Yesamintu Engida Prof. Donald Levine – 07 February 2012

http://www.ethsat.com - Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) 
ESAT is the first independent Ethiopian Satellite Television service and Radio Station which broadcasts to Ethiopia and the rest of the world.

To watch, click the YouTube links below:
Amharic: Part 1
English: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

External Links

FIKRU GEBRE MARIAM:AN ETHIOPIAN PAINTER FOR THE 21ST CENTURY By Donald N. Levine

................the work of Fikru Gebre Mariam has reached new levels of both aesthetic power and public recognition. The moment is ripe for looking back at Fikru’s oeuvre and taking a fresh look at his artistic development. READ MORE...

Vintage Ethiopia from the 1930's