Oluwatoyin Adepoju - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Oluwatoyin Adepoju

Research paper thumbnail of Ekene Philosophy and Mysticism Developing the Universal Significance of the Theology and Shrine Culture of Devotion to  the Ekene Water Spirit of Agbarha in the Niger Delta

An exploration of the universal significance of the theology and shrine culture of devotion to th... more An exploration of the universal significance of the theology and shrine culture of devotion to the Ekene water spirit of Agbarha in the Niger Delta through reflection on its synthesis of nature, humanity and spirit.

The book constructs an understanding of existence and seeks to penetrate into the essence of reality through the image of the mobility and nourishing force of water understood in terms of consciousness.

The work operates in terms of scholarly analysis, poetic meditation and devotion and imaginative creation. The first part is largely a piece of scholarly, critical exploration.

The second part employs poetic meditations as a means of pursuing a relationship with Ekene, the water spirit. The third part imagines Ekene reflecting on the future of his worship. Apologies if any inaccurate portrayals of Ekene and the culture of devotion to him occur in that section. The book closes with another cycle of scholarly exploration.

The verbal text of this composition is complemented by images of the work of Niger Delta artists Salubi Onakufe, Afuevo Onakufe and Bruce Onobrakpeya, the communicative force of the images amplified through commentary on the works of art.

Also included is a picture of Orisa religion mystic Susan Wenger in meditation by the Oshun river, understood as embodying the goddess Oshun, a ontemplative image incidentally exemplifying the ethos of Ekene culture represented by reverential relationships between humanity, nature and spirit.

Research paper thumbnail of African Environmental Ethics

This chapter explores the metaphysical foundations of classical African environmental ethics, hig... more This chapter explores the metaphysical foundations of classical African environmental ethics, highlighting the logic of this metaphysics, developing a speculative description of the reflective processes through which it was constructed, examining its capacity for adaptation beyond its temporal and cultural origins and the possibility of its internalization by individuals, facilitating commitment to the holistic environmental culture it represents. The chaper is consummated by an account suggesting the practical experience of such an adaptive process. The dialogical form is used in order to simulate and encourage the reflective processes the chapter foregrounds. The discussion between two interlocutors suggests the dialectical method through which knowledge is developed by the individual in dialogue with themselves or by a person in discourse with others, either through direct contact or through the medium of texts.

Research paper thumbnail of Dynamic Monumentalities: Toyin Falola’s In Praise of Greatness and its Intercultural Resonance in the Context of Classical Yoruba Hermeneutics

This essay studies Toyin Falola's In Praise of Greatness: The Poetics of African Adulation, a ... more This essay studies Toyin Falola's In Praise of Greatness: The Poetics of African Adulation, a book of biographical portraits and reflections on mortality/immortality, by developing an approach to the study of biography by adapting ideas from classical Yoruba thought. This is correlated with an evaluation of the significance of Falola's multi-disciplinary achievement exemplified by the book.

Research paper thumbnail of African Art

African American Studies Center, Apr 27, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Womb Wisdom to Cosmic Wisdom: Women and African Spiritualities in Africa and the Diaspora

Research paper thumbnail of Epistemic Roots, Universal Routes and Ontological Roofs of African “Ritual Archives”: Disciplinary Formations in African Thought

Yoruba studies review, Dec 21, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Navigation as a Hermeneutic Paradigm Ifa, Heidegger and Calvino

Springer eBooks, Nov 23, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Philosophy and Artistic Creativity in Africa

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2017

This chapter explores the conceptual issues of art, creativity, and philosophy through an examina... more This chapter explores the conceptual issues of art, creativity, and philosophy through an examination of African visual and verbal art. Adepoju concludes that some of the greatest African philosophical expression is demonstrated by its verbal arts and in the relationships between its verbal and visual art. Within this context, the chapter attempts to demonstrate the ultimate unity of classical African thought through examples of its verbal and visual creativity, projecting the continuities between the classical and the post-classical achievement. Adepoju also critically explores conceptions of the nature, interrelationships, origin, and direction of humanity, the terrestrial world, and the cosmos in relation to a broad span of classical and post-classical African expressive forms, from the Ifa/Afa/Fa/Afan to Owusu Ankomah’s development of an original cosmic vision.

Research paper thumbnail of Womb Wisdom to Cosmic Wisdom

Springer eBooks, 2020

This chapter explores the contributions of five women to the philosophical and spiritual signific... more This chapter explores the contributions of five women to the philosophical and spiritual significance of the feminine through the lens of female biology. These women are Susanne Wenger, Ayele Kumari, Bello Olarinmoye, Tiara Kristine, and Nyornuwofia Agorsor, who have either immersed themselves in African spiritualities or are African-American or African but define themselves through either African cosmologies or a blend of African and non-African spiritualities. The focus of the chapter is on African and African-American thought, defined in terms of either the cultural sources of the ideas discussed or the ethnic identities

Research paper thumbnail of Adapting Yorùbá Epistemology in Educational Theory and Practice in Nigeria

Yoruba studies review, Dec 21, 2021

What is the value of Yoruba epistemology, theory of knowledge, particularly its philosophy of per... more What is the value of Yoruba epistemology, theory of knowledge, particularly its philosophy of perception, to humanity in general, and to contemporary Nigeria, in particular? How does Yorùbá epistemology connect with educational theory and practice in Nigeria? This essay recognizes but goes beyond the more general overviews on classical Yoruba education and its contemporary significance represented in works of Yorùbá and Africanist scholars. I demonstrate the significance of Yoruba philosophy of education beyond its cultural context, by projecting its universal and timeless value, foregrounding its distinctive concepts in dialogue with ideas from other cultures. In its engagement with Nigerian educational dynamics, the essay concentrates, first, on Yoruba epistemology in its intersection with ethical and metaphysical perspectives from Yoruba thought. Second, the essay deploys the African art-centered investigations of the role of the senses in relating with art, understood as paradigmatic of navigating the world.

Research paper thumbnail of Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet, by Douglas E. Cowan. Routledge 2005. 224 pp., pb. £21.99/$32.95, ISBN-13: 9780415969116; hb. ?80.00/$125.00, ISBN-13: 9780415969109

International Journal for the Study of New Religions, Aug 14, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Stealing Fire from Heaven : The Rise of Modern Western Magic by Nevill Drury

Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Gulu

Encyclopedia of African Religion

Research paper thumbnail of Beja

Encyclopedia of African Religion

Research paper thumbnail of Toyin Falola@65 Conference: African Knowledge and Alternative Futures

Yoruba Studies Review, 2021

A defining moment for me at the Toyin Falola@65 Conference titled “African Knowledges and Alterna... more A defining moment for me at the Toyin Falola@65 Conference titled “African Knowledges and Alternative Futures” that ran from the 29th to the 31st of January 2018 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, was the declaration at a paper presentation session by a scholar from a Nigerian university that the culture of making promotion of Nigerian academics dependent on publication in journals outside Nigeria, particularly from the West, is ultimately counterproductive to the development of a robust academic culture in Nigeria. “Do US or British academics, for example, have to publish in Nigerian journals?” he asked. This loaded question is at the heart of the challenges and paradoxes provoked by the conference. Another definitive encounter for me was another presenter’s outlining of the concept of an African, as different from an Asian or a Western epistemology or way of arriving at relating to knowledge. Yet another was Emmanuel Ofuasia’s explanation of what he describes as the Yoruba orig...

Research paper thumbnail of A Journey with Nimi Wariboko from Abonnema to the Infinite : Inspirational Texts

A selection of inspirational texts on the work and life of the philosopher, theologian and econom... more A selection of inspirational texts on the work and life of the philosopher, theologian and economist Nimi Wariboko, providing a concise but evocatively expansive distillation of his thought as I have understood it so far, projecting its power through poetic and narrative strategies dramatizing its intimate significance for me in a way that could touch other people.

Research paper thumbnail of From Cosmological Developments  to Artistic Dynamism, from Cambridge University Press to Compcros, from Newton's City  to Lagos: Publishing Models and Forms of Access:The Journey of Rowland Abiodun's Yoruba Art and Language : Seeking the African in African Art

A presentation of the publishing history of Rowland Abiodun's Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking th... more A presentation of the publishing history of Rowland Abiodun's Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art (2014; 2022, forthcoming) in terms of the book's focus on cognitive, expressive and cosmological implications of artistic dynamism in Yoruba art and thought, relating these to my personal history with the book in my quest for ultimate meaning.

Research paper thumbnail of Ifa and Odu

Research paper thumbnail of Orisha

Research paper thumbnail of Iro Eweka The Human Face, the Human Mind and the Possibility of a Mysticism Inspired by Benin Olokun Symbolism

xa.yimg.com

... 16 Quoted in Juliet Okonkwo, “Elechi Amadi “, Perspectives on Nigerian Literature, Vol. Two: ... more ... 16 Quoted in Juliet Okonkwo, “Elechi Amadi “, Perspectives on Nigerian Literature, Vol. Two: 1700 to the Present. Ed. Yemi Ogunbiyi. ... Okonkwo, Juliet “Elechi Amadi “, Perspectives on Nigerian Literature, Vol. Two: 1700 to the Present. Ed. Yemi Ogunbiyi. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Ekene Philosophy and Mysticism Developing the Universal Significance of the Theology and Shrine Culture of Devotion to  the Ekene Water Spirit of Agbarha in the Niger Delta

An exploration of the universal significance of the theology and shrine culture of devotion to th... more An exploration of the universal significance of the theology and shrine culture of devotion to the Ekene water spirit of Agbarha in the Niger Delta through reflection on its synthesis of nature, humanity and spirit.

The book constructs an understanding of existence and seeks to penetrate into the essence of reality through the image of the mobility and nourishing force of water understood in terms of consciousness.

The work operates in terms of scholarly analysis, poetic meditation and devotion and imaginative creation. The first part is largely a piece of scholarly, critical exploration.

The second part employs poetic meditations as a means of pursuing a relationship with Ekene, the water spirit. The third part imagines Ekene reflecting on the future of his worship. Apologies if any inaccurate portrayals of Ekene and the culture of devotion to him occur in that section. The book closes with another cycle of scholarly exploration.

The verbal text of this composition is complemented by images of the work of Niger Delta artists Salubi Onakufe, Afuevo Onakufe and Bruce Onobrakpeya, the communicative force of the images amplified through commentary on the works of art.

Also included is a picture of Orisa religion mystic Susan Wenger in meditation by the Oshun river, understood as embodying the goddess Oshun, a ontemplative image incidentally exemplifying the ethos of Ekene culture represented by reverential relationships between humanity, nature and spirit.

Research paper thumbnail of African Environmental Ethics

This chapter explores the metaphysical foundations of classical African environmental ethics, hig... more This chapter explores the metaphysical foundations of classical African environmental ethics, highlighting the logic of this metaphysics, developing a speculative description of the reflective processes through which it was constructed, examining its capacity for adaptation beyond its temporal and cultural origins and the possibility of its internalization by individuals, facilitating commitment to the holistic environmental culture it represents. The chaper is consummated by an account suggesting the practical experience of such an adaptive process. The dialogical form is used in order to simulate and encourage the reflective processes the chapter foregrounds. The discussion between two interlocutors suggests the dialectical method through which knowledge is developed by the individual in dialogue with themselves or by a person in discourse with others, either through direct contact or through the medium of texts.

Research paper thumbnail of Dynamic Monumentalities: Toyin Falola’s In Praise of Greatness and its Intercultural Resonance in the Context of Classical Yoruba Hermeneutics

This essay studies Toyin Falola's In Praise of Greatness: The Poetics of African Adulation, a ... more This essay studies Toyin Falola's In Praise of Greatness: The Poetics of African Adulation, a book of biographical portraits and reflections on mortality/immortality, by developing an approach to the study of biography by adapting ideas from classical Yoruba thought. This is correlated with an evaluation of the significance of Falola's multi-disciplinary achievement exemplified by the book.

Research paper thumbnail of African Art

African American Studies Center, Apr 27, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Womb Wisdom to Cosmic Wisdom: Women and African Spiritualities in Africa and the Diaspora

Research paper thumbnail of Epistemic Roots, Universal Routes and Ontological Roofs of African “Ritual Archives”: Disciplinary Formations in African Thought

Yoruba studies review, Dec 21, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Navigation as a Hermeneutic Paradigm Ifa, Heidegger and Calvino

Springer eBooks, Nov 23, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Philosophy and Artistic Creativity in Africa

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2017

This chapter explores the conceptual issues of art, creativity, and philosophy through an examina... more This chapter explores the conceptual issues of art, creativity, and philosophy through an examination of African visual and verbal art. Adepoju concludes that some of the greatest African philosophical expression is demonstrated by its verbal arts and in the relationships between its verbal and visual art. Within this context, the chapter attempts to demonstrate the ultimate unity of classical African thought through examples of its verbal and visual creativity, projecting the continuities between the classical and the post-classical achievement. Adepoju also critically explores conceptions of the nature, interrelationships, origin, and direction of humanity, the terrestrial world, and the cosmos in relation to a broad span of classical and post-classical African expressive forms, from the Ifa/Afa/Fa/Afan to Owusu Ankomah’s development of an original cosmic vision.

Research paper thumbnail of Womb Wisdom to Cosmic Wisdom

Springer eBooks, 2020

This chapter explores the contributions of five women to the philosophical and spiritual signific... more This chapter explores the contributions of five women to the philosophical and spiritual significance of the feminine through the lens of female biology. These women are Susanne Wenger, Ayele Kumari, Bello Olarinmoye, Tiara Kristine, and Nyornuwofia Agorsor, who have either immersed themselves in African spiritualities or are African-American or African but define themselves through either African cosmologies or a blend of African and non-African spiritualities. The focus of the chapter is on African and African-American thought, defined in terms of either the cultural sources of the ideas discussed or the ethnic identities

Research paper thumbnail of Adapting Yorùbá Epistemology in Educational Theory and Practice in Nigeria

Yoruba studies review, Dec 21, 2021

What is the value of Yoruba epistemology, theory of knowledge, particularly its philosophy of per... more What is the value of Yoruba epistemology, theory of knowledge, particularly its philosophy of perception, to humanity in general, and to contemporary Nigeria, in particular? How does Yorùbá epistemology connect with educational theory and practice in Nigeria? This essay recognizes but goes beyond the more general overviews on classical Yoruba education and its contemporary significance represented in works of Yorùbá and Africanist scholars. I demonstrate the significance of Yoruba philosophy of education beyond its cultural context, by projecting its universal and timeless value, foregrounding its distinctive concepts in dialogue with ideas from other cultures. In its engagement with Nigerian educational dynamics, the essay concentrates, first, on Yoruba epistemology in its intersection with ethical and metaphysical perspectives from Yoruba thought. Second, the essay deploys the African art-centered investigations of the role of the senses in relating with art, understood as paradigmatic of navigating the world.

Research paper thumbnail of Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet, by Douglas E. Cowan. Routledge 2005. 224 pp., pb. £21.99/$32.95, ISBN-13: 9780415969116; hb. ?80.00/$125.00, ISBN-13: 9780415969109

International Journal for the Study of New Religions, Aug 14, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Stealing Fire from Heaven : The Rise of Modern Western Magic by Nevill Drury

Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Gulu

Encyclopedia of African Religion

Research paper thumbnail of Beja

Encyclopedia of African Religion

Research paper thumbnail of Toyin Falola@65 Conference: African Knowledge and Alternative Futures

Yoruba Studies Review, 2021

A defining moment for me at the Toyin Falola@65 Conference titled “African Knowledges and Alterna... more A defining moment for me at the Toyin Falola@65 Conference titled “African Knowledges and Alternative Futures” that ran from the 29th to the 31st of January 2018 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, was the declaration at a paper presentation session by a scholar from a Nigerian university that the culture of making promotion of Nigerian academics dependent on publication in journals outside Nigeria, particularly from the West, is ultimately counterproductive to the development of a robust academic culture in Nigeria. “Do US or British academics, for example, have to publish in Nigerian journals?” he asked. This loaded question is at the heart of the challenges and paradoxes provoked by the conference. Another definitive encounter for me was another presenter’s outlining of the concept of an African, as different from an Asian or a Western epistemology or way of arriving at relating to knowledge. Yet another was Emmanuel Ofuasia’s explanation of what he describes as the Yoruba orig...

Research paper thumbnail of A Journey with Nimi Wariboko from Abonnema to the Infinite : Inspirational Texts

A selection of inspirational texts on the work and life of the philosopher, theologian and econom... more A selection of inspirational texts on the work and life of the philosopher, theologian and economist Nimi Wariboko, providing a concise but evocatively expansive distillation of his thought as I have understood it so far, projecting its power through poetic and narrative strategies dramatizing its intimate significance for me in a way that could touch other people.

Research paper thumbnail of From Cosmological Developments  to Artistic Dynamism, from Cambridge University Press to Compcros, from Newton's City  to Lagos: Publishing Models and Forms of Access:The Journey of Rowland Abiodun's Yoruba Art and Language : Seeking the African in African Art

A presentation of the publishing history of Rowland Abiodun's Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking th... more A presentation of the publishing history of Rowland Abiodun's Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art (2014; 2022, forthcoming) in terms of the book's focus on cognitive, expressive and cosmological implications of artistic dynamism in Yoruba art and thought, relating these to my personal history with the book in my quest for ultimate meaning.

Research paper thumbnail of Ifa and Odu

Research paper thumbnail of Orisha

Research paper thumbnail of Iro Eweka The Human Face, the Human Mind and the Possibility of a Mysticism Inspired by Benin Olokun Symbolism

xa.yimg.com

... 16 Quoted in Juliet Okonkwo, “Elechi Amadi “, Perspectives on Nigerian Literature, Vol. Two: ... more ... 16 Quoted in Juliet Okonkwo, “Elechi Amadi “, Perspectives on Nigerian Literature, Vol. Two: 1700 to the Present. Ed. Yemi Ogunbiyi. ... Okonkwo, Juliet “Elechi Amadi “, Perspectives on Nigerian Literature, Vol. Two: 1700 to the Present. Ed. Yemi Ogunbiyi. ...