Introducing our international Guest Fellow James Yékú

We are delighted to introduce our esteemed CEDITRAA fellow for June 2023, James Yékú. As an Assistant Professor of African digital humanities at the University of Kansas, James Yékú’s research delves into the realm of digital literary studies, focusing on the platformization of African cultural productions. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the fields of African cultural studies, social media and visual culture, shedding light on the transformative power of the digital sphere in shaping contemporary African society.
Published 2022 by Indiana University Press, his book, “Cultural Netizenship” explores the aesthetic and cultural dimensions of internet citizenship. He examines how digital subjects in Nigeria, known for its vibrant digital sphere, deconstruct state power through viral protest selfies, Nollywood-derived memes, GIFs, hashtags, and political cartoons. By analyzing these visual texts, Yékú uncovers the logic of remediation inherent in both the internet’s remix culture and the generative materialism of African popular arts.
In addition to his groundbreaking work on digital cultural studies, James Yékú is an accomplished poet. His poetry collection, “Where the Baedeker Leads,” published by Mawenzi House, Toronto, invites readers to embark on a journey through delicate layers of experiences between departures and arrivals. Yékú’s co-edited anthology of poems, “Sọ̀rọ̀sóke: An #Endsars Anthology,” serves as a testament to the resilience and determination of a youth movement against state violence and is an essential contribution to contemporary literature, capturing the spirit of the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.
In his public lecture at Johannes Gutenberg University on June 20, Yékú will explore the intersection of African literature, cancel culture, and the algorithmic age. He investigates the role of algorithms in shaping digital platforms and fostering outrage within literary conversations. By analyzing literary controversies on social media and digital platforms, Yékú highlights the challenges and complexities of African literary discourse in the era of digital culture and extractive data relations.