Graduate Research Symposium

8:15-8:30 CT (14:15 to 14:30 UTC) Welcome and Opening Remarks- Dr. Glenn Adams (Director, Kansas African Studies Center)- Bailey 109 

Zoom Link: Session1A 

8:30-10:00 CT (14:30 to 16:00UTC)SESSION 1A – Bailey Hall, Room 109 

Zoom Link: Session 1A 

 Chair: Dr. Rahina Muazu 

1. Tending to the Post-Patriarchal Imaginations of Robert Sobukwe and Joshua Nkomo: A Laminographic Discursive Psychological Study. Thabolwethu Maphosa (Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University). 
2. Exploring the Unconscious Dynamics of Queen Bee Behaviour in African Female Leadership: Towards a Contextualized Leadership development Competency Framework. Khensane Ledwaba (Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand). 
3. Beyond Patriarchy: Forging Positive Masculinity in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. John Kombe (Department of English Language and Literature, University of Lubumbashi). 

8:30-10:00 CT (14:30 to 16:00 UTC)SESSION 1B – Bailey Hall, Room 204 

 Zoom Link: Session 1B 

 Chair: Dr. Julie Morris 

1. Seawater Desalination as A strategic Option to Enhance Water Security in Morocco in the Face of Climate Change. A Case Study of Casablanca. Loubna Abkadri (Department of Geography, Mohammed V University). 
2. Impacts of Resource Extraction Practices on Coastal Communities of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria. Philip Ojetola (Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University). 
3. Energy Interconnection to Realize the Moroccan European Partnership: A Geo-Economic and Geo- Strategic Approach. Aziza Hrich (Department of Geography, University of Mohammed V). 
4. The Role of the NSCDC in Managing Hybrid Security and Transnational Realty Conflicts in Oyo State. Adefunmilayo Finioloro (Department of Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Ibadan). 

8:30-10:00 CT (14:30 to 16:00 UTC)SESSION 1C – Bailey Hall, Room 1 

Zoom Link: Session 1C 

 Chair: Agnes Phoebe 

1. Moral Responsibility, Moral Luck, and Social Order in Contemporary Nigeria: An Aristotelian Reflection. Michael Aina (Department of Philosophy, Obafemi Awolowo University). 
2.  Lesbian Love and Intimacy in the Context of Decolonial and Intersectional Queer Scholarship. Nicola Hartell (Psychology Department, Stellenbosch University). 
3. Dis/Continuities in the Marital Dynamics of Immigrant Yoruba Couples in the United Kingdom, 2010-2025. Esther Abiola (Department of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos). 

10:00am to 11:30am CT (16:00 to 17:30 UTC) SESSION 2A- Bailey Hall, Room 109 

Zoom Link: Session 2A 

Chair: Oguchukwu Chidimma 

1. Nigerian Transnational Cinema and African Diaspora Fashion Culture in the United States. Oluwatobi Sotanmide (Department of Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Ibadan). 
2. Frameless Faith: Investigating the Dutch Reformed Church’s Role in Apartheid Through Animated Virtual Reality Documentary. Kebafilwe Kotsedi (Department of Digital Arts, University of the Witwatersrand). 
3. Reviving the Absent Stage: Exploring the Role of Applied Drama in the Re-imagining of Culturally Grounded Rites of Passage inTsuvulani.  Tokollo Molapo (Department of Theatre and Applied Drama, University of the Witwatersrand). 
4. Social Media Cross Platform flow and African Epistemologies. Deborah Dike (Department of African Studies, University of Bayreuth). 

10:00am to 11:30am CT (16:00 to 17:30 UTC) SESSION 2B- Bailey Hall, Room 204 

Zoom Link: Session 2B 

Chair: Dr. Rachael Pasierowska 

1. Indigenous Maternal Health Knowledge and African Epistemologies of Care: Community-Based Practices in South-Western Nigeria. Damilola Ibitogbe (Department of History, Obafemi Awolowo University). 
2. “If Someone Takes Fire and Burns Your Mouth…” Tensions of Forgiveness and Revenge in Akan Proverbs. Louis Tawan (Department of Clinical Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University). 
3. Exploring the Role of Multilingual Pedagogies in Enhancing Mathematics Learning in Grade 8: A Case Study of Selected Schools in Gauteng. Nandipha Titima (Department of Education, University of the Witwatersrand). 
4. Exploring the Experiences and Perspectives of Unemployed Humanities Graduates Pursuing Postgraduate Studies in South African Higher Education Institutions. Lerato Sauhats (Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand). 

10:00am to 11:30am CT (16:00 to 17:30 UTC) SESSION 2C- Bailey Hall, Room 1 

Zoom Link: Session 2C  

Chair: Oluwakorede Ajibona 

1. Afropolitan Pentecostalism and the Reimagining of Diaspora. Oluwaseun Abimbola(Department of African Studies, University of Ibadan). 
2. Towards a Story-Driven Governance Framework in Nigeria: Exploring Indigenous Knowledge Systems through Selected Igbo Stories in Nchikota Akụkọ Ndi Igbo. Ihuoma Okorie (Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Bayero University Kano). 
3. Spiritualization of Social Identity in Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone.   Anasticia Azuma (Department of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos). 

11:30am to 1:00pm CT (17:30 to 19:00 UTC) SESSION 3A- Bailey Hall, Room 109 

Zoom Link: Session 3A 

Chair: Dr. Amal El Haimeur 

1. Resilience and Mental Health of Adolescents Living in Climate-vulnerable Communities in Ghana: A Public Health Perspective. Queen Norman (Department of Psychology, University of Ghana). 
2. Exploring the Meaning-Making of Schizophrenia Amongst Colored (Kullid) Communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Mohhadiah Rafique (Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University). 
3. Mentalities in the Pursuit of Survival among Zimbabweans. Yuba Masimba (Department of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand). 
4. Theorizing Fear: Gendered Fear and the Sociopolitics of Public Space Violence Against Women. Helen Ugah (Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Kansas). 

11:30am to 1:00pm CT (17:30 to 19:00 UTC) SESSION 3B- Bailey Hall, Room 204 

Zoom Link: Session 3B 

Chair: Syed Omar 

1. A Comparative Study of Service Users’ Perceived Efficacy of African Traditional Healing Practices and Western Psychodiagnostics Interventions for Mental Health.  Vuyo Seloane (Department of Psychology, University of the Witwatersrand). 
2. Mental Health struggles and Coping Mechanisms of African Teenage Boys Who Survived Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Ayatolah September (Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University). 
3. Narratives of South African Colored Women and Their Experiences of Intergenerational Trauma. Cindy-Lee Norman (Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg). 
4. Adapting and Piloting Doing What Matters in Times of Stress for Young Adults in Ghana:A University-Recruited Sample. Abigail Adade (Department of Clinical Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University). 

1:00pm to 2:00pm CT (19:00 to 20:00 UTC) Lunch Break- Bailey Hall, Room # 109 

2:00pm to 3:30pm CT (20:00 to 21:30 UTC) SESSION 4A- Bailey Hall, Room 109 

Zoom Link:Session 4A 

Chair: Dr. Thomas Keegan 

1. The Impact of Cultural Diplomacy on Political Calculus in Nigeria, Interrogating how the Strategic Projection of Culture Influences Foreign Policy Decisions, Domestic Political Legitimacy, and International Partnerships. James Adeleke (Department of Diaspora and Transnational Studies, University of Ibadan). 
2. Negotiating Legality and Legitimacy: Cocoa Smuggling in Border Towns in the Volta Region. Benjamin Agbanyo (Department of Sociology, University of Ghana). 
3. Political Economy and the Impact of Gold Mining in Ilesha, 1980-2019. Adeyemi Haastrup (Department of History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos). 
4. Icons of Life: The History of the Sourcing, Use of, and Attitudes toward Fetal, Infant, and Juvenile Remains and their Changing Status in Medical and Health Science Education in South Africa. Neave Geoghegan (Department of Archeology, University of the Witwatersrand). 

2:00pm to 3:30pm CT (20:00 to 21:30 UTC) SESSION 4B- Bailey Hall, Room 204 

Zoom Link:Session 4B 

Chair: Dr. James Yeku 

1. Yoruba Cultural Ecological Thought in the World Ifa Festival in Ile-Ife. Adenugba Akinrinmade  (Department of Anthropology, University of Ibadan). 
2. Contemporary Narratives of Racialized People. The Individualization of the Experience of Ethnically Marginalized People in Ser Mujer Negra en España and Um Preto Muito Português. Caio Castro (Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Kansas) 
3. AI adoption in South African Schools. Maida Sitoe (Department of Education, University of the Witwatersrand). 
4. Can We Be Pan-African about AI? Oluwakorede Ajibona and Elizabeth Chunda (Department of Philosophy & Department of American Studies, University of Kansas). 

3:30pm to 5:00pm CT (21:30 to 23:00 UTC) SESSION 5A- Bailey Hall, Room 109 

Zoom Link:Session 5A 

Chair: Dr. Asmaa Benbaba 

1. Music as a Historical Source and Narrative: A Comparative Study of Connections Between the Yoruba in West Africa and Afro-Brazilians in Bahia, Brazil. Adedolapo Adewuye  (Department of History, University of Kansas). 
2. Women’s Suicide Notes as Living Voices from the Margin within African Locale. Vivian Ejiaso (Department of Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies, York University). 
3. Shoulder to Shoulder: Women Engaging in Solidarity Entrepreneurship in Moshi, Tanzania. Alicia Houser. (Department of History, University of Kansas). 
4. Democratic Sustenance in a Coup-Prone Region: Examining the Case of Ghana in Contemporary West Africa. Francis Pimpong (Department of African & African American Studies, University of Kansas). 

3:30pm to 5:00pm CT (21:30 to 23:00 UTC) SESSION 5B- Bailey Hall, Room 204 

Zoom Link:Session 5B 

Chair: Asmaha Heddi 

1. Visualizing Òrìsà: Media Representation and Historical Memory of African Traditional Religion in Ilé-Ifè and Salvador. Emmanuel Ofon-Ikot (Department of African & African American Studies, University of Kansas). 
2. Language, Health, and the Unseen: Communication Accommodation Strategies in Nigerian Ruqyah Culture. Ajetunmobi Olansile (Department of Communication Studies, University of Kansas). 
3. Focus Construction in Tem. Esther Acheampong (Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas). 
4. Migration and Language Change: Variation in Akan Definite Marking. Abena Amoh Yankyera (Department of Linguistics, University of Kansas).