BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//events.la.psu.edu//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20201101T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20200308T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:17807-101f2fe8c88f7af0534f190c64a7b66e@events.la.psu.edu DTSTAMP:20260417T120515Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251121T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251121T110000 SUMMARY:African Studies Global Virtual Forum: Decoloniality and Southern Epistem ologies—Onookome Okome DESCRIPTION:\nBio:\n\nOnookome Okome studied at the University of Ibadan \, Nigeria. He is currently full professor of African literature and cin ema at the Department of English and Film Studies\, University of Albert a\, Canada. With Jonathan Haynes\, he co-authored Cinema and Social Chan ge in Nigeria (Nigerian Film Corporation\, Jos\, 1997). His edited volum es include\, Before I am Hanged: Ken Saro-Wiwa\, Literature\, Politics a nd Dissent (World Press\, New Jersey\, 2000)\; Ogun’s Children: The Lite rature and Politics Since the Nobel (Africa World Press\, New Jersey\, 2 004)\, Writing the Homeland: The Poetry and Politics of Tanure Ojaide (B ayreuth African Studies Press\, 2002)\, Global Nollywood: An African Vid eo Film Industry (co-editor\, Indiana University Press\, 2013)\, and Pop ular Culture in Africa: The Episteme of Everyday Life (co-editor\, Routl edge\, New York\, 2014). A pioneer teacher and scholar of Nollywood Stud ies\, he has published extensively on the Nollywood phenomenon in West A frica\, including the co-authored essay\, “Evolving Popular Media: Niger ian Video Film\,” (Research in African Literatures\, 29/3\, 1998)\, the first scholarly work on the phenomenon. His most recent essays include “ Africa in Nollywood\, Nollywood in Africa\,” Global Africa into the 21st Century (University of California Press\, 2017) and “Islam et cinema en Afrique de I’Ouest” Tresor en Afrique de Tombouctu a Zanziaba (Silvana Editoriale\, Italy\, 2017). In 2025\, he co-edited the special issue of the Journal of African Cultural Studies (Volume 37\, 3\, 2025) on the co ntroversial film\, Taiwo Sango\, by the German journalist and cultural e nthusiast Klaus Stepan. Widely traveled\, Okome has given papers and inv ited talks in Switzerland\, Brazil\, Barbados\, Italy\, Germany\, Israel \, South Africa\, Ghana\, and the United States. He is a Humboldt Awarde e and Scholar and the Fellow of the Salzburg Seminar\, Salzburg\, Austri a.\n\nAbstract:\n\nIn a little over thirty years of operation\, Nollywoo d has emerged as Africa’s popular cinema to contend with. Initially desc ribed as a mere flash in the pan and derided by the intellectual class i n its homeland\, Nigeria\, Nollywood remains strong\, patronized by Nige rians looking to see their faces on the screen. Taking advantage of the technology of the portable and easily transportable video cassette\, Nol lywood filmmakers harvested recognizable everyday Nigeria stories\, crea ting urban fabula for Nigerians. In no time\, a national cinema emerged and in short order\, it became a continental affair. Netflix Nollywood i s the global expression of this peripheral cinema practice\, which emerg ed with the release of the evergreen film\, Living in Bondage (1992). Be yond the popular reception at home and across the continent of Africa\, this film industry has redefined what it means to make films in Africa. It has also redefined both the mode of cinematic address as well as cine ma spectatorship in Africa. What were the local conditions that gave ris e to Nollywood? What accounts for the transformation of its peripheral s tatus as a cinema practice into a global cinema. This brief presentation deals with these and other questions.\n\nFor more details: https://even ts.la.psu.edu/event/afr-global-virtual-forum-onookome-okome/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Bio:

Onoo kome Okome studied at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is currently full professor of African literature and cinema at the Department of En glish and Film Studies, University of Alberta, Canada. With Jonathan Hay nes, he co-authored Cinema and Social Change in Nigeria (Nigeri an Film Corporation, Jos, 1997). His edited volumes include, Before I am Hanged: Ken Saro-Wiwa, Literature, Politics and Dissent (World Press, New Jersey, 2000); Ogun’s Children: The Literature and Polit ics Since the Nobel (Africa World Press, New Jersey, 2004), Wri ting the Homeland: The Poetry and Politics of Tanure Ojaide (Bayreu th African Studies Press, 2002), Global Nollywood: An African Video Film Industry (co-editor, Indiana University Press, 2013), and Popular Culture in Africa: The Episteme of Everyday Life (co-editor , Routledge, New York, 2014). A pioneer teacher and scholar of Nollywood Studies, he has published extensively on the Nollywood phenomenon in We st Africa, including the co-authored essay, “Evolving Popular Media: Nig erian Video Film,” (Research in African Literatures, 29/3, 1998), the fi rst scholarly work on the phenomenon. His most recent essays include “Af rica in Nollywood, Nollywood in Africa,” Global Africa into the 21st Cen tury (University of California Press, 2017) and “Islam et cinema en Afri que de I’Ouest” Tresor en Afrique de Tombouctu a Zanziaba (Silvana Edito riale, Italy, 2017). In 2025, he co-edited the special issue of the Journal of African Cultural Studies (Volume 37, 3, 2025) on the con troversial film, Taiwo Sango, by the German journalist and cultural enth usiast Klaus Stepan. Widely traveled, Okome has given papers and invited talks in Switzerland, Brazil, Barbados, Italy, Germany, Israel, South A frica, Ghana, and the United States. He is a Humboldt Awardee and Schola r and the Fellow of the Salzburg Seminar, Salzburg, Austria.

Abstr act:

In a little over thirty years of operation, Nollywood has eme rged as Africa’s popular cinema to contend with. Initially described as a mere flash in the pan and derided by the intellectual class in its hom eland, Nigeria, Nollywood remains strong, patronized by Nigerians lookin g to see their faces on the screen. Taking advantage of the technology o f the portable and easily transportable video cassette, Nollywood filmma kers harvested recognizable everyday Nigeria stories, creating urban fab ula for Nigerians. In no time, a national cinema emerged and in short or der, it became a continental affair. Netflix Nollywood is the global exp ression of this peripheral cinema practice, which emerged with the relea se of the evergreen film, Living in Bondage (1992). Beyond the popular reception at home and across the continent of Africa, this film industry has redefined what it means to make films in Africa. It has als o redefined both the mode of cinematic address as well as cinema spectat orship in Africa. What were the local conditions that gave rise to Nolly wood? What accounts for the transformation of its peripheral status as a cinema practice into a global cinema. This brief presentation deals wit h these and other questions.

For more details: https:// events.la.psu.edu/event/afr-global-virtual-forum-onookome-okome/

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