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About “This Protean Life”
This site was established in 2007 as azjamon.com; a contraction of AZ (Arizona), JA (Jamaica), and MON (Montreal). After graduating in 2013 as an Interdisciplinary Studies, Human Rights, and African and African American Studies academic, it evolved into michaelmufasa.com (origin below), and finally, I added a second domain name: “This Protean Life”, which represents the variety of styles, locations, genres, etc., in which I work.
“Protean” is defined as tending to, or able to, change frequently or easily: able to do many different things; being versatile: at home in a wide range of styles (not to be confused with the nutrient protein).
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Affirmation (2008)
Humanity is a fabric; weaved through interaction and solitude.
Through an infinite number of focal points and coincidences, we intersect.
My adventures in cultural photojournalism have been transcendent.
Being the only Obruni in an Accra market was amazing.
Crouching into the depths of a West African slave dungeon; overwhelming.
Sharing my home with couch-surfers from Geneva, Florence, Munich & Sydney; illuminating.
Discussing life for hours on a bamboo bench in upcountry Jamaica; surreal.
Interacting with people from all walks of life dispels the stereotypes we have of each other.
We are connected by our ancestry, and inseparable through our humanity.
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Thank you for visiting my site. My images and words are copyrighted. The opinions are my own.
“Michael Mufasa” is a nom de guerre; an assumed name under which a person writes, paints, fights, etc. People recognize Mufasa as a popular Disney character, however historically, Mufasa was the last king of the Bagada people of pre-colonial Kenya.
I chose that pseudonym after being nick-named “Mufasa” by some of my African Studies classmates. The enthusiasm I had for African Studies was often questioned, critiqued and judged by others on a scale that ranged from pathological to paramount – but in the end, other people’s opinions of me are none of my business.
In 2013, I earned a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies from Arizona State University. My concentrations were in African and African American Studies, and Human Rights.
I was named the 2013 Outstanding Graduate from the Arizona State University School of Letters and Sciences, and I was the recipient of the 2013 Leanor Boulin-Johnson Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in African and African American Studies.
In 2016, I earned a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. My academic focus was Videography, Global Justice, and Ideology.
From August, 2016 until August 2022, I was an Interdisciplinary Studies and Organizational Leadership instructor in the Arizona State University College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (CISA), on the faculty of Leadership and Integrative Studies (LIS).
My interdisciplinary-based mixed media work has been exhibited in a variety of venues, including as featured artist for the 2011 and 2012 “Valley of the Sun Juneteenth Day Festival”. My freelance writing has appeared in newspapers and other publications.
What comes next? I’m about to find out…
***Update 2023*** As my journey continues, I am happy to announce that I had a short story published in September 2023. The piece “The Straggler”, was chosen to appear in the Flash Fiction Magazine, and can be found >here<. I am very proud to have completed my own “creative quadruple”, with projects in photography, mixed-media, filmmaking and writing.
And here’s my one minute of fame (wait until the end):
