The Harriet Tubman Institute is proud to announce the new Co-Editors for the Journal of African and African Diasporic Studies/ La revue des études sur l'Afrique et la diaspora africaine (JAADS/READA), Ify Okadigbo and Cheikh N’Guirane!
Ifeyinwa (Ify) Okadigbo is a decolonial scholar-activist and Ph.D. researcher in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies at York University, Toronto. With dual master’s degrees in Gender and International Development (University of East Anglia, UK) and Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies (York University, Canada), her research investigates decolonial perspectives in African feminism, gendered power, and spirituality. Her work reflects her fervent desire to critically examine the ramifications of the colonial encounter and its enduring legacies on the lives, aspirations, and future trajectories of African women in the Igbo and Hausa communities of Nigeria. Her work delves into the intersections of coloniality, African spirituality, and western religion, highlighting the resilience and adaptability of African women in navigating these spaces.
Ify is an active participant in the academic community, having presented her research at numerous international conferences, including the Harriet Tubman Institute and the Black African Feminism Conference. Her presentations have covered a wide range of topics, such as indigenous spirituality, feminist theory, and the gendered implications of postcolonial power dynamics. She also regularly contributes to campus discussions, offering insights into African postcolonial and decolonial feminisms.
In addition to her research, Ify is committed to fostering scholarly growth and collaboration. She serves as a committee member for the Ph.D. admissions process in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies at York University and holds a student representative role within the Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies Association.
Ify’s interdisciplinary approach, rooted in decolonial methodologies, including oral histories, storytelling, and critical analysis, to challenge traditional narratives and amplify marginalized voices. By centering African epistemologies and feminist perspectives, Ify contributes meaningfully to the advancement of decolonial thought and the broader understanding of African feminism and gender studies.
Her work has been supported by many Grants and Fellowships.
Cheikh Nguirane, a native of Senegal, is an associate professor in Anglophone Studies at the Université des Antilles (Martinique). He completed his PhD at the University of Poitiers (France). His broad research interest includes Global Pan-Africanism, African Thought traditions, race-based issues and education in the African Diaspora.
As a fully bilingual academic, he approaches the African Diaspora from an interdisciplinary and internationalist perspective. He is currently working on a research project (in French) which reexamines the history of Pan-Africanism beyond renowned figures and congresses by including the circulations of ideas across the Black Atlantic and black women involvement in twentieth century internationalism and anti-colonial mobilizations.