Gloria Okeke

Dr. Gloria Tochukwu Okeke is a visiting fellow at the African Studies Centre Leiden. Her current research focuses on how meaning is derived from the sculpture Seed Yams of Our Land through the interaction of new visual stimuli and the preexisting encyclopedic knowledge held by Igbo speakers. She is particularly interested in how contextual factors shape the interpretation of what the sculpture communicates. From this research, she hopes to reposition the analysis of sculpture from the pragmatic perspective and clearly show that context aids in arriving at the meanings of artworks, specifically sculptural works. Gloria plans to present the outcome of this research as a seminar at the African Studies Centre, Leiden, and finally as a journal article in a reputable journal.

Dr. Okeke earned both her BA and MA degrees in Linguistics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where she also completed her PhD in Applied Linguistics. Her doctoral research was an evaluation of English language textbooks approved by the Universal Basic Education (UBE) program for use in middle primary schools in Southeastern Nigeria. She has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters in areas such as the planning of Nigerian indigenous languages, the semantic interpretation of Igbo traditional non-verbal communication, cognitive domains related to sense relations in selected Igbo verbs, language attrition from the Nkpor dialect perspective, and the sociolinguistics of the Palm Wine Drinkers Club (Kegite). Her work also includes research on the development of scientific terminology in Igbo to support national education policy, the semantic implications of ọnwụ (‘death’) in Igbo naming practices, and phonological change in the Awka dialect of Igbo, among other topics.

Dr. Okeke is an Associate Professor (Reader) in the Department of Linguistics, Igbo, and Other Nigerian Languages at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where she began her academic career as a Graduate Assistant in 2010. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses including Introduction to General Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Contrastive Analysis, Writing Systems and Graphic Representation, Orthography Design, and Igbo Metalanguage. She also serves on the department's postgraduate committee, contributing to MA and PhD teaching and supervision in Linguistics and Igbo studies.

Gloria is affilated to the CRG African Languages Archives.