36.3121, Confs: Panel at the 10th Annual Conference of the Lagos Studies Association: The Power of Names: Naming, Renaming, and African Identity (Nigeria)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3121. Fri Oct 17 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3121, Confs: Panel at the 10th Annual Conference of the Lagos Studies Association: The Power of Names: Naming, Renaming, and African Identity (Nigeria)

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Date: 15-Oct-2025
From: Abdussalam Olawale Amoo [amooabdussalam at fuwukari.edu.ng]
Subject: Panel at the 10th Annual Conference of the Lagos Studies Association: The Power of Names: Naming, Renaming, and African Identity


Panel at the 10th Annual Conference of the Lagos Studies Association:
The Power of Names: Naming, Renaming, and African Identity
Short Title: LSA @ 10
Theme: The Power of Names: Naming, Renaming, and African Identity

Date: 16-Jun-2026 - 20-Jun-2026
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Contact: Abdussalam Olawale Amoo
Contact Email: amooabdussalam at fuwukari.edu.ng

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics; Historical
Linguistics; Pragmatics; Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s): English (eng)

Submission Deadline: 15-Dec-2025

Call for Panellists
The Power of Names: Naming, Renaming, and African Identity
The 10th Annual Conference of the Lagos Studies Association
Conference Theme: The State of African Studies in the 21st Century:
The Lagos Studies Association @ 10
Naming is one of the most enduring acts of identity, memory, and
power. Across Africa, names of people, places, and institutions bear
the imprint of history, spirituality, and politics. This panel
interrogates the politics of naming and renaming as crucial sites of
memory, resistance, and identity-making in African societies.
>From colonial impositions of foreign toponymies to postcolonial and
contemporary struggles over renaming, names embody competing claims to
legitimacy and belonging. They preserve indigenous heritage while also
serving as tools of erasure or domination. The renaming of streets,
monuments, and institutions in Africa today reflects ongoing debates
about decolonization, nationalism, religion, and cultural pride.
This panel opens up conversations across disciplines such as
linguistics, history, anthropology, literature, and political science
about how power is contested and identities reshaped through the act
of naming. We invite papers that analyse naming practices across
historical and contemporary contexts. How do African societies
negotiate the symbolic power of names in public and private life? In
what ways does renaming rewrite historical narratives or reclaim
suppressed identities? How do names reflect intersections of language,
politics, and spirituality? This panel seeks contributions on (but not
limited to) the following themes:
 - Colonial and Postcolonial Toponymies: How do place names embody
power relations and historical memory?
 - Renaming as Decolonial Practice: What does renaming mean in
movements for decolonization, nationalism, and cultural reclamation?
 - Personal and Family Names: How do naming practices reflect
identity, spirituality, or resistance to cultural erasure?
 - Memory, Heritage, and Erasure: In what ways do names preserve or
obscure indigenous histories?
 - Institutional and Monumental Renamings: What are the implications
of renaming schools, streets, and landmarks in Africa today?
 - Language, Politics, and Authority: How do linguistic choices in
naming reflect competing claims to legitimacy and power?
Panel Organiser: Abdussalam Olawale Amoo, Federal University, Wukari,
Nigeria
Submission Guidelines:
We invite interested scholars and practitioners to submit abstracts
(250 words), including the title, author’s full name, institutional
affiliation, and a short bio. Please send submissions to:
amooabdussalam at fuwukari.edu.ng.



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