Oluwatoyin Oduntan, Ph.D.

Biography

I teach and research African cultural, social and economic histories with specialization on West Africa and Nigeria. I am particularly interested in local narratives and intellectual ideas, which have shaped African societies, and in how these voices and epistemologies have survived in spite of the dominant knowledge production system.

Selected Publications

“Power Politics among Abeokuta Elites during the 19th century” African Nebula 1 (2010): 12-25.
“Samuel Johnson 1846-1901.” in Encyclopedia of African Thought. Edited by Abiola Irele and Biodun Jeyifo (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010).
“Obafemi Awolowo.” In Dictionary of African Biography. Edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Emmanuel Akyeampong. (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
“Iwe Iroyin and the Representation of the Universal in 19th century Abeokuta,” History in Africa 32, 2 (2005): 295-305.

Recent Book Reviews

“An Encyclopedic Narration of Yoruba Women.” Yoruba Women, Work and Social Change. By Majorie McIntosh. The Journal of African History, 52, 3(2011): 421-422.

Recent Presentations

“Changing Tides: The Exclusion of Educated Africans from Colonial Service in Lagos, Nigeria, 1890-1930, ” American Historical Association, Annual Meeting 2015.

Awards

Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC, Canada)Doctoral Award, 2009-2010.
FGS Scholarships, Dalhousie University, Canada, 2006-2009.
Senate Award to the Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Arts, Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria, 1990. 

Courses Taught

Fall 2023
HIST 135	History of Africa to 1900
HIST 161	World History Since 1300
HIST 328	The Making of Colonial Africa