Benin City, 10 July, 2020 / 10:26 pm (ACI Africa).
A Nigerian Professor of Cultural Anthropology with research interests in oral literature and ethnography as well as peoples and cultures in her native country of Nigeria and Africa in general among other specific areas of study has been appointed as an Ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Pope Francis appointed Professor Kokunre A. Agbontaen-Eghafona Friday, July 10 to the Vatican-based establishment created to foster “the study and progress of social sciences” alongside Professor Pedro Morandé Court from Chile and Professor Mario Draghi from Italy.
Established by St. John Paul II on 1 January 1994, the Academy seeks to primarily promote the academic fields of “economics, sociology, law and political science, thus offering the Church those elements which she can use the development of her social doctrine, and reflecting on the application of that doctrine in contemporary society,” the entity’s leadership has documented.
“My research interests include oral literature and ethnography; peoples and cultures of Nigeria and Africa; anthropology of marriage and the family; cultural resource management; indegeneous knowledge systems and qualitative research methodology,” Prof. Agbontaen-Eghafona has summarized her areas of study.
She has added in her summary report published on the website of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, “I have over sixty academic publications mainly in the area of Benin (Nigerian) culture and tradition and have been working in the field of irregular migration since 2003.”
