The Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ) is pleased to invite you to a thought-provoking public lecture titled “Radio Biafra as Technology of Memory: Reporting Affect in Survive the Peace and Sunset at Dawn.” This lecture, presented by Dr. Stephen Temitope David, will delve into the symbolic importance of Radio Biafra within the mnemonic landscape of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War.

Radio Biafra holds a significant place in history as a crucial medium of information during the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War (1967-1970). It served as a vital platform for processing diverse experiences of the conflict, transforming them into a harmonized collective memory. However, its significance goes beyond that. Despite being pigeonholed as an instrument of deception due to its propagandistic dimension, Dr. David proposes a fresh perspective by examining Radio Biafra as a technology of memory.

In this enlightening lecture, Dr. David will explore how radio reportage and the affective responses it evokes are portrayed in two seminal works: Cyprian Ekwensi’s Survive the Peace (1976) and Chukwuemeka Ike’s Sunset at Dawn (1976). Inspired by Ato Quayson’s concept of calibrations and Sara Ahmed’s theorization of the economy of affect, Dr. David’s analysis will shed light on the affective economy surrounding Radio Biafra’s reportage and the mnemonic schemata it generates in narratives of the civil war.

By examining Radio Biafra as not merely a medium of information and propaganda, but as a site of memory, a technology for shaping, transmitting, and policing memories of Biafra, Dr. David urges us to reconsider the multifaceted role it played during and after the war.

Dr. Stephen Temitope David, is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest, Stellenbosch University. With a PhD in Literature from Stellenbosch University and a master’s degree in African Literature from the University of Ibadan, Dr. David’s research centres on the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War and its aftermath. His work explores the connection between nostalgia and political violence in African countries with emotionally charged histories. Dr. David focuses on amplifying marginalized voices that emerge when grand narratives of violence are disrupted, and he examines how intersecting axes of identity shape distinct experiences of violence and trauma.

We are honoured to have Dr. David share his insights, which have been recognized and supported by prestigious grants from esteemed funders such as Harry Frank Guggenheim, Gerda Henkel, and DAAD.

Join us on Wednesday, 26 July 2023, from 12:30am to 13:45pm in the AVReQ Seminar Room. This public lecture promises to provide a fresh perspective on Radio Biafra’s historical significance and its impact on the memory of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain new insights into the complex interplay between media, affect, and memory.

For information contact Ceasar ceasar@sun.ac.za.

Click HERE to register