Mary Aderonke Afolabi-Adeolu
PhD Researcher
Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
Room 2.009
Niebuhrstraße 5
D-53113 Bonn
Phone: +49 / (0)228 73 62454
mafolabi@uni-bonn.de
- Research Area A - Semantics - Lexical Fields - Narratives
- Research Group The Concept of Slavery in African History
Research Profile
Dealings of Providence?
Slavery and Asymmetrical Dependency in Selected Nineteenth Century Narratives of Recaptured West Africans
My research explores the life-writings of formerly enslaved West Africans who were brought to and resettled in the British colony of Sierra Leone from the early to late nineteenth century within the context of British campaign of ending slave trade. The involvement and partnership of the Church Missionary Society with the British colonial government in Sierra Leone resulted in the establishment of mission schools in Freetown and the education of the newly liberated individuals. As most of them became educated in these schools with many proceeding to become missionaries, evangelists and catechists, it became necessary to document their stories of enslavement, freedom and conversion to Christianity as demanded by CMS headquarters. Through a close reading of these narratives as written by themselves or dictated to others, I intend to examine how these West Africans understood their experiences of slavery, and how ideas of freedom emerged in their accounts. My research provides fresh insights into the genre of the ‘slave narrative’ which has so far primarily been explored from the perspective of African- American enslaved persons while silence remains on those West African captives who despite remaining on the continent, were displaced within Africa.
2021 – 2024
Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, Bonn, Germany.
2008 – 2010
National Teachers Institute, (N.T.I), Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
2004 – 2006
University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
1997 – 2002
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
1996 – 1999
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
1991 – 1996
Demonstration Secondary School, A.B.U. Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
1984 – 1990
A.B.U. Zaria Staff School, BZ Annex, Nigeria
2010
Post Graduate Diploma in Education
2006
Master of Arts (M.A.) History
2002
Bachelor of Arts (B.A. Hons) History Second Class (Lower Division)
1999
Diploma in Computer Science Upper Credit
1996
Senior School Certificate
1990
First School Leaving Certificate
November 2014 – August 2016:
Veritas University, (The Catholic University of Nigeria), Bwari, Abuja, Nigeria. (Assistant Lecturer in the Department of History & International Relations)
Courses Taught:
- African Diaspora Studies (Undergraduate);
- Nation Building in Africa (Undergraduate);
- Tradition and Modernity in Africa (Undergraduate);
- Middle East since 1917 (Undergraduate);
- Historical Research Methods (Undergraduate);
- Introduction to the Humanities (Undergraduate);
- United Nations and Peace keeping (Masters);
- International Organisations and the New World Order (Masters)
October 2008 – November 2014:
Zamani College, No.1, Waziri Maccido Rd, Malali, P.M.B. 7399 Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria. (Taught the subjects: History, Government & Civic Education).
February 2008 – October 2008:
Prudence International School, No.1C, Ghana Road, Malali, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria. (Taught English Language, Social Studies, and Citizenship Education).
September 2002 – August 2003:
Government Girls Secondary School, Harbour Road, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. Nigeria
(National Youth Service Corp Primary Assignment, Taught Social Studies and History).
- National Universities Commission (NUC) Stakeholders Workshop on Curriculum Review for University Education in Nigeria, April 23-27, 2001.
- First National Conference on Inter Group Relations in Nigeria in the 20th Century, Department of History, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria, June 8-11, 2005.
- “Historical Society of Nigeria at 50: Reflections on the Discipline”, Department of History, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, October 16-19, 2005.
- 2nd Keffi International Conference on Africa’s Indigenous Science and Knowledge Systems, Department of History, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, October 24-27, 2006.
- 60th Annual Conference of Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN) Historical Society of Nigeria at 60: The National Experience, Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, University of Abuja, October 11-14, 2015.
- The Toyin Falola @ 65 Conference: African Knowledges and Alternative Futures, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, January 29 – 31, 2018.
- Globalisation, Sovereignty and the Role of the Humanities in the 21st Century Africa, 2018 International Conference Organised by Faculty of Arts and Arewa House, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, July 2 – 5, 2018.
- Slavery and Dependency: New Perspectives on Heritage and German Global History, 2022. International Conference Organised by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Germany, July 6-8, 2022.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Reclaiming the Muted Voices in German Colonial East Africa through Historical Fiction: An Examination of Asymmetrical Dependency between the German Colonial Army and the Askari in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives” paper presented at the International Conference Organised by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Germany, July 6-8, 2022, on the theme, Slavery and Dependency: New Perspectives on Heritage and German Global History.Afolabi, Mary A. “Shifting Values: Exploring African Feminist Epistemes in Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's The First Woman”. Paper presented at the Historical Fictions Research Conference, February 18, 2023, online.Afolabi, Mary A. “Knowledge and Colonialism: The Power of Prefaces, Letters and Appendices in the Journals of Nineteenth Century Niger Expeditions”. Paper presented at the International Conference: “Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Colonial Correspondences”, 11-14 April 2023, University of Bayreuth.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Inter Group Relations in the 20th Century Nigeria: A Historical Survey”, a paper presented at the First National Conference on Inter Group Relations in Nigeria in the 20th Century, Department of History, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, June 8-11, 2005.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Conceptualising Issues Related to Science and African Indigenous Knowledge Systems”, a paper presented at the 2nd Keffi International Conference on Africa’s Indigenous Science and Knowledge Systems, Department of History, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, October 24-27, 2006.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “History Education for Self-Sustenance”, a paper presented at the 60th Annual Conference of the Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN), Oct. 12, 2015
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Ethnicity, Fluid Identities and Nation Building in 19th Century Lagos, Nigeria”, a paper presented at The Toyin Falola @ 65 Conference: African Knowledges and Alternative Futures, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, January 29 – 31, 2018.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Introducing and Emphasising Digital Humanities as a new Sub-Discipline to African Universities”, a paper presented at the 2018 International Conference Organised by Faculty of Arts and Arewa House, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, July 2 – 5, 2018 on the theme, “Globalisation, Sovereignty and the Role of the Humanities in the 21st Century Africa”.
- Afolabi, Mary A. "Reclaiming the Muted Voices in German Colonial East Africa through Historical Fiction: An Examination of Asymmetrical Dependency between the German Colonial Army and the Askari in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives", a paper presented at the International Conference Organised by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn, Germany, July 6-8, 2022, on the theme, Slavery and Dependency: New Perspectives on Heritage and German Global History.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Shifting Values: Exploring African Feminist Epistemes in Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's The First Woman”. Paper presented at the Historical Fictions Research Conference, February 18, 2023, online.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Knowledge and Colonialism: The Power of Prefaces, Letters and Appendices in the Journals of Nineteenth Century Niger Expeditions”. Paper presented at the International Conference: “Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Colonial Correspondences”, 11-14 April 2023, University of Bayreuth.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Inter Group Relations in the 20th Century Nigeria: A Historical Survey” in O. Akinwumi, Okpeh Okpeh and J.D. Gwamna (Eds) Inter Group Relations in Nigeria in the 19th and 20th Century (Makurdi, Aboki Publishers, 2006).
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Book of Enoch”, in David M. Fahey (Ed) Milestone Documents of World Religions: Exploring Traditions of Faith through Primary Sources (Dallas, Schlager Group, 2010).
- Barbara A. Moss and Mary A. Afolabi. “Truth” in Films about the Rwandan Genocide in J.C. Friedman and W.L. Hewitt (Eds) The History of Genocide in Cinema – Atrocities on Screen (London, I.B. Taurus, 2017).
- Afolabi, Mary A. “The History of and Transformation of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 1955-2017 in P. Afaha (Ed) Advocacy for History, A Festschrift in Honour of Prof. C.B.N. Ogbogbo (Abuja, Nigeria, Command Publishers, 2018).
- Tor, A and Afolabi-Adeolu, M.A. “The Arab Spring and Its Legacies: A Preview into What the Future Holds for the Arab World” in Wuam, T. et al (Eds) Democracy in Nigeria – A Reader (Makurdi, Nigeria, Aboki Publishers, 2019).
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Ethnicity and Fluid Identities in Nineteenth-Century Lagos in Afolayan (Ed), A. Identities, Histories, and Values in Postcolonial Nigeria (Lanham, Rowman and Littlefield, 2021).
- Chinyere S. Ecoma, Ph.D, Mary A. Afolabi-Adeolu and Lequome E. Ecoma. “Women and Development in Post-colonial Nigeria, 1960 – 2010, VUNA Journal of History & International Relations, A Peer Reviewed Journal, A Biannual Publication of the Department of History and International Relations, Veritas University (The Catholic University of Nigeria), Abuja-Nigeria, July, 2015.
- Afolabi-Adeolu, Mary Aderonke and Chinyere S. Ecoma, PhD. “An Assessment of ECOWAS and UN Joint Peace Keeping Operations in the West African Sub-Region: 1990-2003, VUNA Journal of History & International Relations, A Peer Reviewed Journal, A Biannual Publication of the Department of History and International Relations, Veritas University (The Catholic University of Nigeria), Abuja-Nigeria, July, 2015.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “Italian Colonies in Africa”, “Okri, Ben” in Encyclopedia of Blacks in European History and Culture, Eric Martone (Ed), Greenwood Publishers, Connecticut, U.S.A., 2008.
- Afolabi, Mary A. “The Concept of a ‘Third’ World” (Textbook Article), “Wole Soyinka: Towards a Sustainable Development (1996)”, “Bible: Matthew (100)”; “W.E.B. Du Bois: An Appeal to the World (1947)”; “Jim Crow (1832)” (Document Overviews), www.milestonedocuments.com, 2013.
- Afolabi, Mary A. Review of Richard Peter Anderson, Abolition in Sierra Leone. Re-building lives and identities in nineteenth-century West Africa, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2020, in: sehepunkte 22 (2022), Nr. 10 [15.10.2022], URL: http://www.sehepunkte.de/2022/10/37458.html.
Blog Post
- Dependency Blog: “The World of Colonial Letters” (June 2023)