Sections | English Department | Faculty of Humanities

Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju, PhD

09107 Chemnitz, Reichenhainer Strasse, zi. 208

Tel: +49 (0) 15737922338

Short Curriculum Vitae

Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju is a George Forster Scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He holds a B.A. in English and Christian Studies, an MA in English (Applied Linguistics), MA in TEFL, and a PhD in English (Stylistics and Semiotics). He has taught courses and supervised students in English Language, African Literature and Applied Linguistics for over two decades, mostly at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. He is a Catalyst fellow of the University of Edinburgh, and had been a study fellow of the British Council and research fellow of the Nordic Africa Institute.

Teaching and Research

Oloruntoba-Oju’s teaching and research have largely been in Applied and Sociolinguistics (language, society and culture), with representations in: language and gender, ideology and class relations, style, urban and youth languages, communication skills pedagogy, multilingualism and language policy, contrastive rhetoric and comparative paroemiology. His research is rooted in Africanity and Applied Language, with a strong interdisciplinary perspective..

Selected Publications (see CV for full list of publications)

BOOKS

Oloruntoba-Oju, T., Schmied, J., & van Pinxteren, B. (Eds.) (2022). Language of Education and Development in Africa. Prospects for Decolonisation and Empowerment. REAL 20. Göttingen: Cuvillier. Open Access.

Schmied, J. and Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (Eds.) (2019). African Youth Languages: The rural-urban divide. (REAL 11). Gottingen: Cuvillier, pp. 174.

Schmied, J., Oloruntoba-Oju, T. and D. Jolayemi (Eds.) (2019). Pragmatics, linguistics, language and literature: Essays in honour of Professor E.E. Adegbija. Göttingen_ Cuvillier, pp. 378.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. and Petersen, Kirsten (Eds.) (2013). Culture and the contemporary African. Sandared, Sweden: Recito Forlag AB/Nordic African Institute), pp. 452.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (1998). Language and style in Nigerian drama and theatre. Ibadan: BEN-EL Books, pp. 192.

Journal Articles and Contributions to Books

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2020). Youth language in virtual space in Nigeria: Indexicality, multimodal affordances & youth identities. Linguistics Vanguard 6(s4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2019-0082.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2019). Linguistic framing and unconscious identities: Africanity and psychosis in the works of Bessie Head. In J. Schmied, T., Oloruntoba-Oju & D. Jolayemi (eds.), Pragmatics, linguistics, language and literature: Essays in honour of Professor E.E. Adegbija, (261–276). Gottingen: Cuvillier.

Schmied, J. and Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (eds.) (2019). Imperatives of indigenous grammar and rhetoric perspectives in African urban and youth language scholarship. In J. Schmied & T. Oloruntoba-Oju (Eds.). African youth Languages: The rural-urban divide (REAL 11), (1–6). Gottingen: Cuvillier.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2017). “Contestant hybridities in African urban/youth languages.” In Hurst-Harosh, Ellen and Erastus, Fridah (Eds.). African Youth Languages: New media, performing arts and sociolinguistic development. London: Palgrave, pp. 151-170.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2017). “Crisis of culture: Towards an African-European paroemiology.” In Sandten, Cecile, Gualtieri, Claudia, Pedretti, Roberto (Eds.). Crisis, Risks and New Regionalisms in Europe. Trier: WVT, pp. 195-218.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2016). “Of revolutionary style and the Festus Iyayi debate.” In Raji, W. and Idaevor, B. (Eds.). An idea we must not forget: A celebration of Festus Iyayi. Ibadan: Kraftbooks, 371-384.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2015). “Plagiarism and communication skills pedagogy.” AMU: Journal of the Humanities, Adekunle Ajasin University2 (1) 23-48.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2015). “Invective in Western and Nigerian literary criticism” The Nasarawa Journal of the Humanities, 5/2:109-135.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2014). “The African protoproverbial in a multipolar world.” African Dynamics in Multipolar World. Lisboa, Portugal: CEI, 2014. 978-989-732-364-5. pp.1698-1729.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2014). “Location of African culture: Beyond Afroscepticism and the new cosmopolitan exotic. In Oloruntoba-Oju and Kirsten Holst Petersen (Eds.) Sandared, Sweden: RecitoForlag AB/Nordic African Institute), 44-61.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. & Oloruntoba-Oju, O.O. (2013). “Conflicting tropes of gender, sexuality and sexual politics in Nigerian literature: A common ground and critical discourse appreciation.”Intel’Actuel. Revue de Lettres et Sciences Humaines l’Université de Dschang (Journal of Arts and Humanities of the University of Dschang).No 12, 165-196.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2011). “Sexuality indices in Yoruba language and culture.” Sexuality in Africa Monographs (Africa Regional Sexuality Research Centre, Lagos), Vol. 7, Issue 2: 14-20. Nigeria.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2009). “Language and gender performatives in the Nigerian context.” In Odebunmi et al (Eds.). Language, gender and politics. Lagos: Concept Publications, for Centre for Black and African Culture (CBAAC), 213-236.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2009). “Translation shifts in African Women writing: The example of Nigerian women writers.” Ed. Rudiger, Petra and Gross, Konrad (Eds.). Translation across cultures (Cross/Culture Series Vol 107). New York/Amsterdam: Rodopi, 273–290.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. 2008. “Perspectives on rhetorical patterns in Nigeria: Contrastive rhetoric and the politics of culture.” Issues in intercultural communication, Vol 2, Issue 1: 41-61.

Oloruntoba-Oju, T. (2007). “Body image, culture, beauty and language in the Nigerian African context.” Understanding human sexuality (2007 Series). African Regional Sexuality Research Centre.

(See CV for publication list)

Recent Interventions

https://www.africaknows.eu/author/oju/

https://readymag.com/ono.ono/2425814/28/

https://www.africaknows.eu/panels/#9006

https://youtu.be/nVcy_OdOkfk

https://www.africaknows.eu/panels/#9009

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fjtb-0zzwHk

https://www.africaknows.eu/podcasts/