African Studies Academy sponsoring lecture series

Faculty members from two universities in Nigeria and a professor from Davidson College will be guest speakers for a spring lecture series organized by the University’s African Studies Academy.

Enajite Ojaruega, senior lecturer, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria, will present “Songs Only Women Sing: Female Struggle with Identity in African Traditional and Modern Poetry” at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 24. Ojaruega researches African women and conflict in literature and gender studies.

Mary Kolawole, dean of the Graduate School and head of the Department of English, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria, will discuss “African Female Intellectuals and Their Impact on the Academy” at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 12. Kolawole specializes in the study of African feminism and gender studies and is the author of several books.

Davidson College’s Tracey Hucks will present “A Quest for Africa: Yoruba in the U.S. Diaspora” at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, April 21. Hucks is the James D. Vail III Professor and chair of the Africana Studies Department and is an authority on African religions in the diaspora and researches Yoruba studies in the diaspora.

All lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be in Denny Building, Room 220.