Meet the Inaugural Tejumola Olaniyan International Student Travel Award Winner

“My name is Michael Eniola Oshindoro. I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of African Cultural Studies. I received a Masters in English with a specialization in literary and textual studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, a degree I earned after completing a Fulbright fellowship at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Before then, I studied Linguistics in Nigeria, my home country.

There is an abundance of expressive visual forms emerging from Africa to which cultural criticism must play catch-up. Here, I am echoing many literatures in African studies including “Of Travels, Accents, and Epistemologies” by Tejumola Olaniyan (2015). Along this charge, my doctoral research focuses on animation and comics in order to understand how contemporary art forms are informing new consciousnesses with respect to African identity, subjectivity, and agency.

I am grateful to the Olaniyan family for creating the Tejumola Olaniyan Foundation which made the Tejumola Olaniyan Travel Award possible. This award will support my trip to Nigeria in the Summer of 2022 where I will be conducting an ethnographic study in animation studios. Beyond the invaluable financial support, my work will benefit from the profound and capacious scholarship of Professor Tejumola Olaniyan whose oeuvre continues to shape the field of African cultural studies. I am also sincerely thankful to the African Studies Program for this wonderful opportunity.”

The Tejumola Olaniyan International Student Travel Award is intended to support domestic or international travel by the student to conduct research, archival work, and/or creative or artistic endeavors. Awardees may receive up to $4000 to support their research. The award, initiated this year, was made possible by a generous contribution from Olaniyan’s family to honor the late professor for his extraordinary scholarly contributions and mentorship.

Persons interested in fostering talent and promoting the study of global Black cultures can extend the impact of this generous gift by also donating to the award. To make your tax deductible gift, visit the University of Wisconsin Foundation website today.

Produced by Cecilia Kyalo