WikiIndaba conference 2019/Submissions/Mapping the Web Historiography of Nigerian Historical Scholarship

Submission no. 023

Mapping the Web Historiography of Nigerian Historical Scholarship

By Arogundade Abdullah, University of Ibadan

Lecture Presentation Style

Abstract

Digital humanities is gaining currency across disciplines in the arts/humanities. History is a field of study that deals with facts and evidence placing much premium on the sources to reconstruct what happened in human past. Since the history of the internet is relatively new, but its impact and influence is yet unmatched having defied the questions of limited accessibility and culture of secrecy in the Nigerian academe. Historiography is the methodology and approach of writing History. To be sure, web historiography is applying digital technologies to produce historical collection of materials, research via digitised resources and online reference guides. This presentation seeks to initiate a web-based project that chronicles the trajectory of Nigerian historical scholarship under five themes which include: The First Three Generations of Nigerian Historians since 1948; The Historical Society of Nigeria, HSN; Advocacy of History as a Subject in Schools Recorded in the Print Media; Journals of History (Nigerian); and Centres of Area Studies.

This presentation offers its audience some nuggets on how they could foster and encourage young minds in a particular field to nurture passion and bring it into fruition despite the challenges and struggles. The story of Nigerian History is one that shook the mind, puncture the heart and break heads! By using the web and promote free culture and open access, young scholars see for themselves alternative ways they can make impact in their fields instead of the traditional way of just good grades and better jobs.

This lecture presentation is open to all categories of contributor. A major takeaway of this presentation would be how such can be replicated in old disciplines in Nigeria.