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Venue

MBA Complex

Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos

Nigeria

Global academic attention is being given to research based on the concept of Indigenous Knowledge System, IKS. Quite a handful of scholars have insisted on the need for current research attempt to be pivoted on methodologies that are solely based on IKS. This insistence has led to the evolution of verve academic and, in some cases, journalistic arguments in favour of the reliance on the indigenous knowledge and provisions in its system for the purpose of solving humanity’s problems that modern science has failed to solve.
This proposition and attitude to knowledge and its application to solving human problems has also brought into limelight the need to investigate further the strength of Indigenous Knowledge System supporting research in the humanities. The quest is against the background that what constitutes the Humanities is still an on-going debate. In addition to that, geographical spaces where the Humanities ought to consider as frontiers of knowledge generation, transmission and application are also areas of the extent IKS must be studied.

Numerous questions clamour for answers. These questions range from definition, conceptualisation, application and theorising of problems within the frame of approaches to academic research pivoted on IKS. The humanities as conjectured here include mental, behavioural and geographical spaces identified with Africa and its Diasporas. Advocates of the IKS as the source of energy for initiating and sustaining research in the humanities have constantly viewed Africa as a domain for exploring vast resources of indigenous knowledge in many areas of human interest.
These areas include but not limited to research in science, social science, arts, law, anthropology and history. Religion and philosophy of African societies have also been relied upon for the development of research methodologies and theories in creating solutions to problems of humanity.

The Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria in collaboration with the African Studies Institute, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA has organised an International Conference on the theme, “The Humanities and the Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) in Africa and Africa’s Diasporas”. The aim of the conference is to create the enabling academic platform for researchers in all disciplines in the Humanities to ventilate fresh ideas and discuss issues on the theme of the conference.
The hope is that hazy views on the importance and significance of IKS to researching Africa and its Diasporas will be thoroughly discussed and conclusions will be reached on contentious matters.
Such matters include issues of methodology and IKS, knowledge discovery, identification, application and dissemination and IKS, responding to actions and reactions from the point of view of the influences of IKS on research.