Nwauwa is editor of new Africana studies journal

Drs. Maisha Wester (left) and Apollos Nwauwa with the new journal, Ofo

BOWLING GREEN, O,—A new, peer-reviewed scholarly journal edited by Dr. Apollos Nwauwa of Bowling Green State University will provide an additional outlet for scholars of Africana and transatlantic studies worldwide. “Its uniqueness is that it is transnational, transatlantic and interdisciplinary,” said Nwauwa, a professor of history and director of the University’s Africana Studies Program.

The twice-yearly Ofo: Journal of Transatlantic Studies debuted in June and will come out again in December. It is published by Goldline and Jacobs Publishing of New Jersey.

Ofo addresses the political, historical, socioeconomic and cultural issues of Africans and their relationship with the African diaspora and the Atlantic world, offering original research and fresh viewpoints.

Some of the contributors to its inaugural issue are familiar to BGSU. They include Dr. Maisha Wester, an assistant professor of American culture studies and English, and Dr. Michael Mwenda Kithini of the University of Arkansas, a BGSU graduate whose dissertation, supervised by Nwauwa, was named best in Ohio in 2010 by the Ohio Academy of History.

The remaining four articles were submitted from the University of Cameroon, the University of Nigeria, Makere University in Uganda and by Dr. Jualynne Dodson, a well-known sociology scholar at Michigan State University.

Nwauwa has assembled an international review board of experts in a variety of related disciplines. Three BGSU faculty serve on the editorial board. Other editors come from as far away as the University of Lagos, in Nigeria.

“We are excited about it,” Nwauwa said. “Not only will it give BGSU a niche in Africana studies nationally, but it will help bring international attention to our program. Unlike most other journals that are very narrow in their focus, Ofo accepts research works on a wide range of topics with transatlantic themes. The more outlets we have, the better for scholars and scholarship.”

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(Posted September 26, 2011 )