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Historical Scholarship and Training at Ife: Growth, Personalities, and Professorships, 1962–2022

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2022

Saheed B. Amusa*
Affiliation:
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Abimbola O. Adesoji
Affiliation:
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: saheedamusa43@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper is the first part of a detailed historical assessment of historical scholarship and training at the Department of History of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. It examines the growth and development of the Department since the inception of the University in 1962. It discusses the pioneer academic staff of the Department and subsequent people that taught in the Department over the years. The paper shows that the Department of History at Ife has excelled in all areas of historical scholarship over the years and that its professors and other scholars have contributed immensely to the reconstruction of African past. This is done through brief but succinct profiling of the professors and their professorial inaugural lectures as well as other scholars affiliated with the Department. The paper concludes that the Department of History at the Obafemi Awolowo University is a force to reckon with in the comity of schools of history in sub-Saharan Africa.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article est la première partie d’une évaluation historique détaillée sur les productions scientifiques et la formation au département d’histoire de l’université Obafemi Awolowo d’Ile-Ife au Nigeria. Il examine la croissance et le développement du département depuis la création de l’Université en 1962. Il se penche sur les premiers enseignants-chercheurs du département et leurs successeurs qui ont travaillé dans le département au fil de la années. L’article montre que le département d’histoire d’Ife a excellé dans tous les domaines de la production scientifique historique au fil des ans et que ses professeurs et autres chercheurs ont énormément contribué à la reconstruction du passé africain. Cet article dresse une série de portraits des professeurs et de leurs conférences inaugurales ainsi que celui d’autres chercheurs affiliés au département. L’article conclut que le département d’histoire de l’université Obafemi Awolowo est une force avec laquelle il faut compter au sein des écoles d’histoire d’Afrique subsaharienne.

Type
History from Africa
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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