معرفی
Prof. Jacob K. Olupona holds dual professorships at Harvard University: the Hugh K. Foster Professor of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School. He currently serves as Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies.
He earned his PhD in Comparative Religion from Boston University (1983) following undergraduate studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
His research focuses on African religious traditions, Yoruba cultural practices, and the socio-religious dynamics of Nigerian Christianity. Key areas include kingship rituals, urban religious landscapes, and Ifa divination systems. Recent work examines the growth of evangelical Christianity across Nigerian Christian denominations.
- Awards & Honors:
- Nigerian National Order of Merit (2008)
- Reimar Lust Award (2015)
- Honorary Doctorates: University of Edinburgh (Divinity), Obafemi Awolowo University (Letters), University of Abuja (Letters)
- Inducted into Nigerian Academy of Letters (2015)
- Grants: Supported by Guggenheim Foundation, American Philosophical Society, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and others.
- Professional Service: Former President of the African Association for the Study of Religion; editorial board member for three academic journals.
Prof. Olupona has authored/edited over 20 books including Kingship, Religion and Rituals in a Nigerian Community and Ifa Divination: Knowledge, Power, and Performance. His current research explores the evolving role of Pentecostalism within Nigerian religious and societal frameworks.
