Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, PhD
Dr. Opoku-Agyemang holds a PhD in English literature from West Virginia University, where he also taught undergraduate courses in the Department of English. His research interests revolve around African literature, and he has authored publications that have focused on African electronic literature, video gaming, literature and gender, and oral literature. He teaches various undergraduate and graduate level courses in the University of Ghana’s Department of English, where he enjoys mentoring and interacting with students.
Courses Taught
Urban Cultures, Social Innovation, and the Afro-Chic
Sankofa: Cultural Legacies and Afro-Futures
Research Methods & Ethics
Select Publications
Opoku-Agyemang, K., & Osei, E. A. (2023). Nnedi Okorafor’s Africanfutures, Sankofa, and the Echoes of Pan-Africanism. Global Africa, 3, 253-265. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.57832/kqn7-8w13]
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2023). Orality, Experiential Learning, and Decolonizing African Literature at the University of Ghana. In A. Quayson & A. Mukherjee (Eds.), Decolonizing the English Literary Curriculum (pp. 214-235). Cambridge University Press.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2023). Digital Cities and Villages: African Writers and a Sense of Place in Short Online Fiction. Journal of African Media Studies, 15(2), 217-229.
Opoku-Agyemang, K., & Amissah-Arthur, J. B. (2023). From Oral To Digital And Back: Adinkra Symbols and Kweku Ananse On YouTube. In T. Ghosal (Ed.), Global Perspectives on Digital Literature (pp. 181-195). Routledge.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022). Contemporary and Historical Slavery in West African Digital Literature. In L. Murphy (Ed.), Cambridge Companion to Slavery in Global Literatures (pp. 62-77). Cambridge University Press. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009070928]
Opoku-Agyemang, K., & Opoku-Agyemang, A. (2022). Flash Fiction Ghana and Popular Culture: An Overview. In G. Musila (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of African Popular Culture (pp. 168-184). Routledge. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003080855-9]
Opoku-Agyemang, K., & Orfson-Offei, E. (2022). ‘These broke guys have a lot of energy’: Binaries and Male Anxiety in Ebony’s “Sponsor.” Kairos: A Journal of Critical Symposium, 7(1), 7-22.
Opoku-Agyemang, K., & Yerima-Avazi, D. (2021). ‘Sometimes life begins when marriage ends’: Hybridity and Female Empowerment in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Americanah. Research in African Literatures, 52(3), 122-138. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/reseafrilite.52.3.07]
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2021). ‘This is embarrassing and insulting’: Flash Fiction Ghana and Transgressive Writing. In P. Ugor (Ed.), Youth and Popular Culture in Africa: Media, Music, and Politics (pp. 188-207). African Studies Series. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1jpf259.11]
Opoku-Agyemang, K., & Thiam, C. (2021). V. Y. Mudimbe: The Philosopher-Poet. In A. Adebajo (Ed.), The Pan-African Pantheon: Prophets, Poets, and Philosophers (pp. 422-433). Manchester University Press. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526156839.00038]
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2020). Flash Fiction Ghana, African Digital Literature, and Imagining Domestic Relationships. Postcolonial Text, 15(3&4), 1-18.
Select Presentations
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2023, September 26). Rural/Urban Spaces, African Digital Literature, and Popular Culture. Presentation at the African Urbanities Project ‘Summer’ School.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2023, January 5-8). “Orality, Experiential Learning, and Decolonization: University of Ghana as Case Study.” Presentation at the Modern Language Association Conference, San Francisco, USA.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, December 15). Moving Forward with Africa’s Young People, or the Digital Sankofa. Presentation at Point Sud, University of Ghana, Ghana.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, November 17-19). Roundtable: Working with the Archives in the Digital Age. Presentation at the African Studies Association Conference, Philadelphia, USA.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, October 27-29). “Ghanaian Digital Forms.” Presentation at the Global Ghana: In Search of Africa’s Black Star Conference. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, July 18-20). “Critic, Reading, Writing: Ato Quayson as Digital Icon.” Presentation at the Ghana Studies Association Conference, Tamale.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, June 21-25). Book Panel: Discussion of Cultural Netizenship: Social Media, Popular Culture, and Performance in Nigeria by James Yeku. Presentation at the Lagos Studies Association Conference, Online.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, May 18-21). “African Literatures and the Digital Humanities (GSCALA Panel 1).” Presentation at the African Literature Association Conference, Online.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2022, May 4-10). “Framing Electronic Literature through an African Lens: Ghanaian Perspectives.” Presentation at the Global Initiative of Academic Networks: Digital Literatures and Literatures in Digital Conference, Online.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2021, November 22-25). “Mapping African Electronic Literature: The Case of Ghana.” Presentation at the African Electronic Literature Alliance International Workshop Conference, Lagos, Nigeria; Fes, Morocco; & Online.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2021, September 15-24). “Rethinking Responsible Political Engagement.” Presentation at the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Intellectual Cultural Festival, Online.
Opoku-Agyemang, K. (2021, September 6-8). Roundtable: Discussion of African Literature in the Digital Age by Shola Adenekan. Presentation at the Eastern African Literary and Cultural Studies Conference, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
Current Research Interests
African Electronic Literature
Race and Positionality in Study Abroad Contexts
African Studies
Digital Humanities
Education
- PhD, English, West Virginia University
- MA, English, West Virginia University
- MPhil, English, University of Ghana
