Well, it is that time again for the director’s message. Recently, sculptor, poet, and artist, Adegoke Tugbigele, in an Instagram post brought our attention to the Yoruba word, Adupe. Adupe means gratitude. In Yoruba when we ask, how are you, the response is, we are grateful. Grateful for the question, for implied care being shown to us. Grateful for life and health and the ability to answer the question, and in the affirmative. Grateful to be part of an ethnic, spiritual, and linguistic lineage that provides depth and reflexivity within the quotidian. In a way, it is linked to Iba or praise. In the Yoruba worldview, the orientation of being is toward reverence and respect for those who have come before you, including deities. This approach is embedded in a concept of time, lae lae, that is historical, current, and leaning forward into time and culture, simultaneously.
In this holiday season, we often struggle with gratitude—either toward or away from lineage and tradition. Luckily, the tradition and culture here at the Program of African Studies,
The Institute for Islamic Thought in Africa, and the whole arena of African Studies at Northwestern, has been one of inclusivity, of interdisciplinary, and intercontinental approaches to the research we do; all of which makes gratitude easy for me and a perfect condition of our world view.
As we go through this season of birth and rebirth, the defined nature of mid-Western winters reminds us very starkly of this process, and since we are moving into a new way of operating, having undergone a two-year restructuring, during a pandemic, while keeping the doors open metaphorically and in recent months, literally, gratitude is foremost on our minds.
Thanks to the generosity of the Office of Research, we have launched a new fellowship program and the building has been partially refurbished. This has made it possible for an exciting new energy surge though the building. Different members of our community have held meetings, student conferences, lunches, and watched the World Cup together as a community. This has been rewarding.
As we prepare for a new academic year, we are hoping to make many new announcements of upcoming changes to our offerings, events, and the service we provide. But, in keeping with the theme of gratitude, I would like to thank the staff here: our newest addition Kati, and
regulars Meagan, Kelly, Rebecca, LaRay, and Peter. Without your diligence and vast skill sets, we would not be able to do what we can. Thanks to the members of the committee who have steered us right: Will Reno, Zachary Wright, Annelise Riles, Bimbola Akinbola, and Evan Mwangi. And thanks to all the faculty and students in African studies, from the continent and all our affiliates campuswide. Finally, but not least, to the wider community of African studies, many thanks. Best of the season to all of you!
Adupe O!
Chris Abani