I am in interdisciplinary scholar with degrees in Culture and Performance and in Architecture. My work sits at the intersection of cultural studies, spatial theory, urbanism, and religious studies. My current research examines the impact of Pentecostal Christianity on African cities. My dissertation City on Edge: Constructing Efficacious Sites in Lagos examined the relationship between that city and the Pentecostal sites that have emerged in and around it. Using data gathered during ethnographic research conducted at three immense Pentecostal sites, I analyzed the performative and discursive mechanisms deployed by Pentecostals in order to create a perception of efficacy around their sites. I am presently revising my dissertation into a book manuscript and conducting further research on Nigerian Pentecostals’ activities in other African cities.
Presentations
The Art of Citizenship in African Cities Conference, Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University, 2011
“City on Edge: Constructing Efficacious Pentecostal Space on the Periphery of Lagos”
African Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2010
“Nigerian Pentecostalism and the Africanization of Global Christianity”
American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, 2010
“The City and the Spirit: Nigerian Pentecostalism as a Response to the Urbanism of Lagos”
Men, Masculinities, and Family Planning in Africa Conference UCLA, 2010
“Spirit Wives, Rich Husbands and Fertile Bodies: Contesting Masculinity in Pentecostal Lagos”
UCLA African Activist Association Symposium, 2008
“Painters, Blacksmiths, and Wordsmiths: Building Molues in Lagos”
UCLA Department of Spanish & Portuguese Graduate Students’ Conference, 2006
“Contested Modernity: Brazilian Architecture and the Yorubas of Lagos”
Publications
African Arts, Fall 2008
“Painters, Blacksmiths, and Wordsmiths: Building Molues in Lagos”
Awards
UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship, 2010-2011
Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF), 2009-2010
UCLA International Institute Summer Fieldwork Fellowship, 2008
Clifton Webb Fine Arts Scholarship
Elaine Krown Klein Fine Arts Scholarship