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Contact Information

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department of Anthropology
109 Davenport Hall, MC-148
607 S. Mathews Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
+17857648428
joa6@illinois.edu

Office Hours

Fall 2025: M: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM on Zoom, and/or by appointment (in person) at Davenport Hall, Rm 287
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Sociocultural & Linguistic Anthropology
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Biography

I’m a first-year PhD student with a major in both Sociocultural and Linguistic tracks of the Anthropology program. I hold a double honors B.A. Ed. (English) degree from Obafemi Awolowo University (Great Ife), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. I am honored to have received several prestigious awards, fellowships, and scholarships, including the Fulbright at the University of Kansas, Lawrence (2024/2025), a fellowship with the Ife Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), recognition as a Teach For Nigeria Mentor, and the National FSB Scholarship (Nigeria). I currently serve as a mentor in the LEAD Scholars Program at the department. I am building a research project with transnational relevance situated within interdisciplinary and interdepartmental perspectives. My LinkedIn Profile.

Research Interests

Applied linguistics, sociocultural & linguistic anthropology, cultural studies, transnational studies, Indigenous knowledge systems, critical discourse analysis, postcolonial epistemologies, online/digital cultures, African diaspora studies, pop and youth culture; Naija resilience culture, policy and advocacy, food studies and (Indigenous) health practices, Naija hip hop, African and African-American Studies.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Education (B.A. Ed. (English)) (double honor) from Obafemi Awolowo University (Great Ife), Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Grants

Fulbright Award, Grant, Fellowship, and Scholarship: Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program (2024/2025), Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (DOS/ECA) - Served as a Yorùbá Instructor and Cultural (Exchange) Ambassador at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Federal Government Award and Scholarship for Studies in Nigerian Public Tertiary Institutions: Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Scholarship Board, Office of the Director/Secretary (2024-2026) - Awarded a two-year fully funded scholarship to study English Linguistics, leading to an M.A. qualification at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Fellowship and Grant, Ife Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS): Started as an IIAS Fellow from 2023 to date.

Awards and Honors

Kansas African Studies Center (KASC) Travel Award of $1200, KASC, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 2025, for travel to the African Language Teachers Association conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

National Commendation, Nigeria's National Home-Grown School Feeding Program (NHGSFP), 2022.

Certificate of Honor, National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, 2017.

Scholarship Award, The Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria (ICEN), 2015.

Courses Taught

GTA, ANTH 101 POT A: Introduction to Anthropology 

GTA, ANTH 103 POT B: Anthropology in a Changing World

External Links

University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas welcomes 21 Fulbright students and teaching assistants
Nigerian Tribune - How language instructor won the Fulbright Scholarship to teach Yoruba in the US.

Highlighted Publications

  1. Research Paper:

    (a) Adegbola, J. O., & Fajinmi, S. O. (2024). A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Lyrics of Burna Boy’s ‘Collateral Damage’ and ‘My Cry’.

    (b) Adegbola, J. O. (2025). Teaching Yorùbá through Lyrical Advocacy: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Yorùbá Proverbs in the Selected Songs of Beautiful Nubia. A paper presentation at the 2025 African Language Teachers Association (ALTA) Conference, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

  2. Institutional, National, and International News Features

    1.  Nigerian Tribune (2025): How a language instructor won Fulbright Scholarship to teach  Yorùbá in US – Tribune  Online

    2. International Affairs, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas: KU welcomes 21 Fulbright students and teaching assistants | International Affairs 

    3. BBC News Yorùbá: “Bí Olùkọ́ Èdè ṣe gba Ẹ̀kọ́ Ọ̀fẹ́ ti Fulbright láti kọ́ ède Yorùbá ní U.S.” In-view. 

  3.   Undergraduate Long Essay

    1.  Adegbola, J. O. (2020). A Distracter Analysis of Multiple-Choice English Language Items of the Centre for Distance Learning, Pre-degree Program, Obafemi Awolowo University. Unpublished B.A. ED. (English) Long Essay submitted to the Department of Arts and Social Science Education, Faculty of Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

  4.   Invited Talks

    1.  Traditional African Theatre: A Cultural and Educational Prospect of the Òkè ‘Bàdàn Traditional Cultural Festival.

    2. Going Abroad After Graduation: Fulbright Panel, the University of Kansas (KU) International Education Week (IEW), November 20, 2024.

  5.   Ongoing Research

    1.   Adegbola, J. O. (Ongoing). A Critical Discourse Analysis of the ‘Obidient’ Movement: Insights from Digital Ethnography during Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections.   

  6.  Panel Discussion (2026)

    Adegbola, J. O., Ayedun, F., & Osuntoki, T. R. African Languages Conference 2026: African Languages for Social and Economic Development. Organized Session: Teaching Yorùbá, Reimagining Africa, Decolonizing Exchange: Reflections on Language Justice from the Fulbright FLTA Experience, Accra, Ghana.

  7.  Symposium (In-view)

    Adegbola, J. O. The Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA) Symposium 2026: Crisis and Resilience, Indiana University, Indiana.