Chief Femi:
Please, is the full text available online, or is it a part of the book? Thanks.
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2013 2:14 PM
To: USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - SYNOPSIS OF KEYNOTE ADDRESS FROM TOYIN FALOLA AT 60 CONFERENCE
African History Today: What Is It? Who Needs It?
Keynote Address by Professor Akin Ogundiran
Professor Ogundiran's keynote address at the Falola Conference was an incisive excursion into the biographical and professional details of Professor Falola. The address also interrogated African historiography in very great details. The speaker kept the audience in a state of suspended animation as he navigated the historical essence of Prof Toyin Falola and his contributions to the redefinition of African history and its location in the global system of knowledge production. At the basic level of correct classification of Professor Falola in the pantheon of Yoruba deities, Professor Ogundiran differed from those who have likened Falola to one or two of the Yoruba divinities such as Esu and Yemoja. In his estimation, Falola could be regarded as the son of Yemoja and the junior brother of Esu. But beyond this broad generalization, he prefers to categorize him as the deity of history, and memory, pleasure, merry-making, and wine (in the tradition of Dionysus and Bachus.
Professor Ogundiran interrogated the historical and contemporary framing of African historical scholarship. In doing this, he acknowledged the pioneering efforts of black nationalists and intellectuals such as Marcus Garvey, Carter Woodson, WEB Du Bois, Edward Blyden, Henry Sylvester Williams who worked assiduously to give the Negroes a consciousness of a past that is deep, that goes beyond slavery and colonialism. According to Ogundiran, these people recognized that it is through history that the colonized people would decolonize their minds and become not only truly educated but also useful to their people for the development of Africa and the progress of human race. The works of African scholars such as Professor Kennth Dike and Saburi Biobaku in establishing the Ibadan School of History which focused on the decolonization of the history of Africa were also highlighted.
The Keynote speaker correctly situated Falola path-breaking intellectual efforts within the broad narrative of raising consciousness and re-writing the history of Africa within the context of a dominant global capitalist system. He noted the spirited and successful efforts of Professor Falola in single-handedly creating publication series with Rochester University Press, Africa World Press, Carolina Academic Press and Greenwood. These efforts have revolutionized African population in United States of America and beyond and at the same time provided unique opportunities for generations of scholars to publish their works.
In concluding his address, Professor Ogundiran challenged the coming generation of African historians to learn from Falola through the adoption of the principle of genre bending. He also challenged them to adopt Critical Black Tradition as a way of realising the goal of a Redemptive Historiography, which infuses Aficana priorities to the study of African history. At the end of the address, the speaker received a load ovation from the audience.
excerpt
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