Akinloyè Òjó – författare

This book considers how the establishment and/or improvement of gender equality impacts on the social, economic, religious, cultural, environmental and political developments of human societies in Africa and its Diaspora. An interdisciplinary team of contributors examine the role of gender in development against the background of Africa’s convoluted and arduous history of state formation, slavery, colonialism, post-independence, nation-building and poverty. Each chapter highlights and stimulates further discussion on the struggles that many African and African Diaspora societies grapple with in the perplexing issue of gender and development - concentrating on gains that have been made and the challenges yet to be surmounted.

This book considers how the establishment and/or improvement of gender equality impacts on the social, economic, religious, cultural, environmental and political developments of human societies in Africa and its Diaspora. An interdisciplinary team of contributors examine the role of gender in development against the background of Africa’s convoluted and arduous history of state formation, slavery, colonialism, post-independence, nation-building and poverty. Each chapter highlights and stimulates further discussion on the struggles that many African and African Diaspora societies grapple with in the perplexing issue of gender and development - concentrating on gains that have been made and the challenges yet to be surmounted.

Africans and Globalization: Linguistic, Literary, and Technological Contents and Discontents considers the substance and dissatisfactions of globalization on Africa and its Diaspora. Although variously framed across disciplines, globalization has generally entailed non-milieu bound interactions, which alters the existence of its participants. The concerns about the impact of globalization have been raised in relation to Africa and have related to the helpful and deleterious effects. Increasingly, industrialization (without consideration of environmental impacts) and westernization (including erosion of indigenous values) are perceived as synonymous with globalization. This multidisciplinary collection contends that in theory, globalization linked Africa with the world through trade and information sharing, thereby increasing development. This collection provides reflections based on contemporary research within the linguistic, literary, and technological areas of study. It illustrates that globalization is not a single process but rather a complex set of processes that seemingly operate in an oppositional manner. The collected works make for exciting appraisal as they highlight some of the contents and discontents of globalization across multiple areas of human endeavor in Africa and its diaspora.

Akínwùmí Ìsòlá (1940–2018), renowned writer, scholar, and sentinel of indigenous African languages, contributed to the development of Yorùbá literary traditions by producing most of his literary works in Yorùbá. His artistic pacesetting in Yorùbá literature included his anthology, Àfàìmò Àti Àwon Àròfò Mìíràn (1978), which contains poems composed over a significant period in his life. Language, Translation, and Poetic Realities considers Ìsòlá’s language use in this anthology; his contributions to the promotion of Yorùbá and African linguistic and cultural values; and the procedures, benefits, and challenges of translating his poetry into English. In so doing, Akinloyè Òjó examines the understudied relationship between African oral traditions and contemporary African literature, addressing in particular the influential role of traditional forms of praise-singing in contemporary Yorùbá poetry.

Continental Complexities: A Multidisciplinary Introduction to Africa is a practical introduction to African studies. This collection provides contextualized information in order to educate, clarify, and illustrate the story of the continent.The topics have been deliberately chosen to highlight issues that are currently relevant to discourse on Africa. These topics are also commonly covered in introduction to Africa courses. They include:geology and geomorphologyhistoryreligionsocial institutionsgender relationsliterature, drama, theatre and musicregional integrationContinental Complexities is unique in that the selected readings have been written by scholars with highly specialized expertise on their chosen topics and with years of teaching experience in the area. Additionally, many of the contributors have spent extensive amounts of time in Africa or are currently teaching their respective topics in courses at African universities.Each of the fourteen chapters in the book is followed by a set of review questions and a detailed bibliography. There are also suggestions for additional reading.This multidisciplinary anthology offers deep insight into Africa and its people, leaving readers with a much greater understanding of the continent and its issues.

Africa’s diversity is best illustrated linguistically. Thousands of endogenous and exogenous languages are linked to and central to the identity and reality of Africans. Language is a vital lens for analyzing these multifaceted challenges in Africa, where a deeper understanding of the entire linguistic landscape is germane to understanding sociopolitical and cultural systems. Concentrating on instrumental and emblematic functions of language in Africa, Language, Society, and Empowerment in Africa and Its Diaspora argues for the critical value of African languages beyond functionality into philosophical consideration of their importance for African unity and advancement. Akinloyè Òjó calls for the development and empowerment of African languages to serve in various domains, including the support of basic literacy and daily survival of their users. Òjó propagates ways to empower African languages for African sociocultural and economic development in the twenty-first century. The author productively engages works by linguists and language pedagogues to provide an ardent case for the empowerment of African languages in the renewed era of globalization, the internet, and an emergent Global Africa. Òjó posits and accentuates some of the notable modalities for empowering African languages in specialized domains for national and continental development.