Date: 27th-28th March 2025
Zoom Link: https://shorturl.at/lEs44
Background of the Conference:
The story of the early independence era in Africa, is often told without sufficiently acknowledging the concurrent burgeoning force of cultural and intellectual knowledge production together with institutional initiatives which drew to them intellectuals committed to establishing centres of knowledge production on the continent. The Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, the first such institution in post-independent Africa was inaugurated with a powerful mandate from Pan-Africanist leader Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Efua T. Sutherland, path finding pan-Africanist author, scholar, cultural activist, dramatist and institution builder, joined a cohort of outstanding intellectuals and creatives in the early 1960s at the Institute. Among other icons may be cited musicologists, Ephraim Amu and J.H. Kwabena Nketia. Other African icons such as Paulin Hountondji, Wande Abimbola, Hampâté Bâ, Zulu Sofola, and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o also insisted that African knowledge systems be the palpable foundation for scholarship in and about Africa.
Sutherland’s centenary (1924-2024) presents a significant opportunity for the bearers and heirs of such knowledge to reflect on the commitment of these pioneering scholars towards a natural progression or an organic evolution of research pathways and methods that are grounded in the histories, creativity and possibilities of Africa. Cultural and educational concerns, such as Sutherland’s Anansegoro Concept, and the Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST), provide a rich context for appraising African institutional development and the philosophical foundations that are crucial to our understanding of African institutions.
A cardinal goal of the conference is to ensure that Sutherland’s seminal contribution represents a shift towards giving women their due recognition in the making of history. Secondly , we seek to initiate a timely evaluation on whether there has been a deviation from the vision and objectives of the early scholar-activists such as Sutherland and the Africa-based institutions with which they were associated from the 1960s. We further aim to critically examine the impact of the body of knowledge accumulated ,theories developed, and methodological pathways forged through their vision and journeys of self-discovery.
To facilitate these discussions and honour Sutherland's legacies, we are initiating a multi-year, multiformat, and multi-local series of conversations commencing at the Institute of African Studies University of Ghana on the 27th and 28th of March 2025. Subsequently we look forward to discussions centred around the work of Abiola Irele in Ibadan, Paul Hountundji in Benin, and Amadou Hampâté Bâ in Dakar
Theme of the conference:
The Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, the Center for African Studies and Mason Gross Theatre, Rutgers University and the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana are hosting a conference in celebration of Efua Sutherland’s centenary on the theme:
“ Efua Sutherland and the Creation of African Scholarly Paradigms Since 1960: Continuity or Rupture”
PROGRAMME OUTLINE
DAY ONE: March 27, 2025
9.30 – 11.00 - OPENING PLENARY
Guest of Honour : Provost, College of Education (Vice Chancellor's Representative)
Keynote :Professor Kofi Anyidoho : The Ancestral Path Must Never Be Lost
Writer, Scholar, Performer and Inaugural Occupant of the Kwame Nkrumah Chair in African Studies.
11 – 11.15 - HEALTH BREAK
11.15 – 12.30 – PANEL ONE: GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
Chairperson: Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Institute of African Studies, Legon.
- Federick Amoateng: Consciencism: A philosophical framework for solving the African problem of development
- Rukaya Maisara Wali: The role of sociological thought in addressing colonial legacies, social inequalities, gender and governance
- Rose A. Sackeyfio: African Women’s Literary History
- Mprah Ruhaimatu: Gender, cultural capital, and the role of Ghanaian women in Efua Sutherland’s Edufa: A post-colonial exploration of social and cultural dynamics
11.15 – 12.30 – CREATIVE WORKSHOP IN AKAN ON EFUA SUTHERLAND’S PRAXIS (Efua Sutherland Drama Studio)
Facilitated by Esi Sutherland-Addy; Sarah Dorgbadzi
12.30 – 13.30: Lunch Break/FILM SCREENING
13.30-14.45: PANEL TWO
: EFUA SUTHERLAND AND KNOWLEDGE CREATION IN AFRICA
Chairperson: Professor B. Obironke- Center for African Studies, Rutgers University
- Kayode Omoniyi Ogunfolabi: Efua Sutherland, Postcolonial Discourse, and the Urgency of Auto-heteronomic Aesthetics
- Nina Seyram Aidam: Reclaiming cultural paradigms: Continuity or rupture in the Efua Sutherland’s legacy of African knowledge production
- Ouseinna Alidou: The Influence of Efua Sutherland on the development of the postcolonial literature of the Sahel
- Vida Yamoah: Revitalising indigenous justice: The Role of court-connected alternative dispute resolution in African knowledge paradigms
13.30 -14.45 CREATIVE WORKSHOP : FANTE MOSES/OMPE MUSIC AND DANCE FORMS AS AN ABSTRACTION FROM GHANAIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS.
Facilitated by Aristedes Narh Hargoe
14.50 – 16. 05 – PANEL THREE: AFRICA AND THE DIASPORA
Chairperson: Dr. Mjiba Frehiwot, Institute of African Studies, Legon
- Charlotte Biney Evadzi: From Africa to the Diaspora: The immigrant’s struggles in Adichie’s Americanah
- Kofi Akpabli: Social distance between residents and African Americans in the visitors’ books at Ghana’s slave castles
- Abdul-Gafar Tobi Oshodi: Global entanglement: Internationalism, Pan-Africanism, and nationalism in Afrobeats
- Nwani Treasure Okoronkwor: What is Africa to me? Contested notions of “Africa” between Africa and its diaspora in Ama Ata Aidoo’s The Dilemma of a Ghost and Maya Angelou’s All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
16.10 -17.25 - PANEL FOUR: FILM, ART AND CULTURE
Chair : Dr. Francis Gbormittah – School of Performing Arts Legon
- Abdulkareem Mohammed: Identification and Preservation of Cultural Capital: The Kilaf Template
- Patrick Oloko: Livability and art in Ludic Lagos: reconstituting humour as city art
- Joseph Aketema: Documentary Filmmaking as a purveyor of lived socio-cultural realities: A reflective discourse on voice and culture in the indigenous language films
DAY TWO: March 28, 2025
9.30 – 10.15 – PLENARY TW0
Chairperson : H.E. Professor Abena P. Busia
Keynote: How We Dramatized the Legacy of Efua Sutherland.
Professor Marshall Jones
Associate Dean for Equity/Associate Professor Department of Theater Arts
Mason Gross School of the Arts
10.20 – 11.35 – PANEL FIVE: ETHICS, LANGUAGE AND CREATIVE LICENSE
Chairperson : Professor Awo M. Asiedu Dean School of Performing Arts, Legon
- Kingsley Brempong Ohene Adu: Ethical breach and the making of the tragic hero: Efua Sutherland’s Edufa
- Joseph Octavius Akolgo: In search of the meaning of life: An Analysis of Efua Sutherland’s Edufa
- Edwin Asa Adjei and Hasiyatu Abubakari: Changing and rewriting history: Efua Sutherland as a pacesetter in Ghanaian children’s literature
- Betty Adu-Gyamfi: Twilized English and brofolized Twi: The artistic journey of Naana Yaa Ofosu Akyeampong
11. 35 – 11.55 – HEALTH BREAK
12.00 – 13.15 – PANEL SIX: NEW PATHWAYS FOR RESEARCH IN AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION
Chairperson: Emerita Professor Takyiwaa Manuh – Institute of African Studies, Legon
- Vuyisile Msila: Re-framing higher education: why decolonisation initiatives flounder in (South) Africa
- Sanni Abba Aliyu: What is African about universities in Africa? The example of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
- Nadir A. Nasidi and Salisu: The categorisation of oral sources: history, tradition and oral evidence
- Margaret Ismaila: Unpacking the layers: The evolution of African historiography from pre-colonial to contemporary times.
13.15 – 14.45 – LUNCH BREAK/ FILM SCREENING
14.50 – 16.05 – PANEL SEVEN: THEATRE AND INTERPRETATION
Chairperson: Dr. Moses Nii Dortey – Head, Music and Dance Unit , Institute of African Studies
- Christine Donnee Hermans: The scenic designer’s creative freedom and challenges in designing Efua Sutherland’s play Foriwa at the National Theatre of Ghana and the E.T.S drama studio at the University of Ghana
- John Edmundson: Gempied Models: A method for the re-interpretation of The Marriage of Anansewa play text as lyrics for musical theatre
- Nii Ocquaye Hammond and Marlene de Witte: “ Xevieso, Bring Me Back Home”: Heritage restoration and reclamation through the transformative power of theatre
- David Quaye: Interrogating Dance in Some Selected Works of Efua Sutherland
16.10 – 17. 25 – PANEL EIGHT: DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Chairperson : Dr. Africanus Aveh – School of Performing Arts Legon
- Rowland Chukwuemeka Amaefula and Grace Danquah: Gendering the Trickster Figure in Africa’s Digital Sites
- Grace Danquah: From Folklore to Cyberspace: The evolution of the trickster in the gendered digital tales
- Nwani Treasure Okoronkwor: Reimagining the trickster: digital oral narratives in African literature
- Martin Kyilleyang and Michelle Debrah: Theorising Anansegoro through Ghanaian Oral traditions: Akan folktale performance in focus
17. 30- 18.40 – CLOSING PLENARY: - Who But Us?: Assessing the State and Future of Collaborative International Higher Education.
Prof. Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto Associate Professor of Information Technology and Education, Department of Distance Education, SCDE & Coordinator for the International Programmes at the College of Education ,University of Ghana
Special Guest: Professor Antonio D. Tillis, Chancellor of Rutgers University - Camden Campus.
19.30 – 21.30 – EVENING PERFORMANCE – “This is Efua! – An Evening of Theatre in Honour of Efua Sutherland”
(Efua Sutherland Drama Studio )
Partners:
Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, the Center for African Studies and Mason Gross Theatre, Rutgers University and the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Busia Foundation International
Schedule of registration fees for Presenters
Non-Resident Presenters - USD 80
Non-Resident Presenters – USD 100
Resident Student Presenters - Ghc 100
African Student Presenters – USD 40
Non-Resident Student Presenters - USD 50
Online Presenters – USD 20
Note: Presentation is only possible after payment of fee.
Presenters will be eligible for a conference bag , printed brochure , stationery, conference tag, morning snack and lunch.
Fees payable on site on Wednesday 26th March 1pm-3pm & Thursday 27th March from 8am - 12noon.
Attendees do not have to pay registration fees.
Registration links:
- Presenters: https://forms.gle/7iL4gBya6hGsyd797
- Attendees: https://forms.gle/Lm5kwxMRMDX7hGx37