An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity

The Johannesburg Review  “An Ethos of Transdisciplinarity: Conversations with Toyin Falola is an extraordinary exploration of the profound impact of transdisciplinary thinking in reshaping the boundaries of knowledge. Through engaging and reflective conversations, this book delves into the intellectual legacy of Toyin Falola, a scholar whose work transcends traditional academic silos. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the power of integrative scholarship in addressing complex global challenges. Insightful and inspiring, it highlights the transformative potential of bridging disciplines to create meaningful change in academia and beyond.” —Daphne M. Cooper, Interim Chairperson, Department of History and Political Science; Associate Professor of Political Science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA. “Osha’s insightful exploration of Toyin Falola’s intellectual contributions brilliantly illustrates the importance of convivial scholarship and its profound impact on African studies. This book is essential for anyone interested in collaborative, inclusive knowledge production and the future of knowledge creation.” —Francis B. Nyamnjoh, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town, USA. “Sanya Osha’s detailed, three-dimensional analysis of Toyin Falola’s epistemic preoccupation with the idea of Africa is a welcome addition to the body of knowledge. This robust life-writing engagement shows us the importance of recognising the centrality of agency and selflessness in the process of advancing the African worldview.” —Babátúndé Fágbàyíb.ó́, Professor of International Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. “Relying on an interview with Prof. Toyin Falola, this book is a fantastic attempt to capture Falola’s exceptional multi, inter, and transdisciplinary approaches to knowledge production.” —Prof. Serges Kamga, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, South Africa. “This is fascinating reading, as we follow two outstandingly bright and creative academic African thinkers—both Yoruba, different generations—in dialogue with each other. Sanya Osha, philosopher, novelist, and engaged thinker, who has long been based in South Africa, interviews Toyin Falola, Africa’s probably the most well-known and surely the most productive historian, who has long been based in the United States and published on almost all kinds of aspects of social life in Africa. Africa’s rich intellectual culture is one central topic, and as we are listening (i.e., reading) in to the conversations between these two lucid minds, we benefit from their mastery of many diverse subfields such as popular music (e.g., Fela Kuti) and religion (e.g., orisa deities and divination), and a sense emerges of the vast connections and possibilities that African intellectual cultures express, and may guide us to understand, toward an interconnected whole that “being African” and “being human” is embedded in. This, indeed, needs to be understood across and beyond disciplines.”—Kai Kresse, Vice Director Research, Leibniz-Zentrum Moder ner Orient, Berlin, Germany.