Overview
Enoch Joseph Aboi is a PhD Candidate in Africana Studies with a graduate minor in Peace Studies. His research is driven by the central question: how can human beings transcend their differences and connect with the Other to foster a non-totalizing solidarity and collective flourishing? Having witnessed tragic conflicts that claimed thousands of lives in Kaduna, Nigeria, including the infamous Boko Haram terrorism, and being present at the scene immediately after the 2010 Dogon Nahawa massacre in neighboring Plateau State, where hundreds, predominantly women, children, and the elderly, were brutally killed, his inquiries are deeply rooted in these lived experiences, leading to critical reflections on peaceful coexistence, good governance, and development in pluralistic societies and contexts. His research, teaching, and publications are anchored in themes of justice, unity, and progress, focusing on the experiences, intellectual engagements, and contributions of Africans and the African diaspora in knowledge production and global phenomena in the modern world. He adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from philosophy (classical, phenomenological, and ethical), history (history of ideas/intellectual history), sociology (social identity theories), religion, and politics.
Enoch holds a Master’s in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Harvard University, a Master’s in Ethics and Philosophy from the University of Jos, Nigeria, a Master of Theology from ECWA Theological Seminary, Jos (JETS), and a Master’s in Africana Studies from Cornell University.
Research Focus
His dissertation, "The Dynamics and Sociopolitical Implications of Shifting Social Identities: Religious, Ethnic, and Racial Identities in the Early Modern Transatlantic World" considers the good, the bad, and the liminal in the movement of ideas and people in the early modern transatlantic triad - Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It examines the evolution of ideas and social identity gradation and their role in the racialization of the Americas, highlighting the contributions of Bartolome de Las Casas and his socioeconomic context in the eventual emergence of race-based and chattel slavery in the United States. The research also delves into the religionization of Africa, which facilitated through religious alignment and conversion to Catholicism, with a focus on King Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso I) of Kongo. Additionally, it examines the unintended consequences of the Protestant Reformation, particularly the foundation of modernity and secularization in Europe, stemming from the principle of individuality that emerged from the Reformation. A notable aspect of the dissertation is its focus on the overlooked visited of Ethiopian priest Abba Mika'el also known as Michael the Deacon to Wittenberg and his significant discourse with Martin Luther during the Reformation. The central question of my dissertation is: how did the conceptualization and activation of social identities, and the hypothesized shifts in the early modern transatlantic world, influence the movement of people and ideas during this period? Specifically, what are the sociopolitical implications of the ideations and practices that prompted these shifts, and the socioeconomic conditions that necessitated them? Additionally, what were the theories and practices of enslavement in this era that surpassed those of the medieval period? What theories and practices facilitated international or transnational relations and the exchange of ideas at both individual and collective levels? Answers to these questions are crucial for understanding knowledge production and circulation in the early modern world, the role of Africans in the development of Christianity and modernity, the diverse interactions between various regions of the world, and Africa's place in these engagements.
Publications
- Aboi, E. J. (2024). Religious, ethnic and regional identities in Nigerian politics: a shared interest theory. African Identities, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2024.2394181
- Aboi, E. J. (2024). Is Justice Possible? The Isomorphism of Two Regulative Ideals in Plato’s Republic and the Possibility Question. Journal of Philosophy and Ethics, Volume 6. 1:35-44. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.22259/2642-8415.0601004
- Aboi, E.J. (2024). Against Decolonisation: Taking African agency seriously. Olúfémi Táíwò, African Affairs, Volume 123, Issue 491, April 2024, Pages 277–279, https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adae015 (Book Review).Ibokette, A. I., Aboi, E.J., Ijiga A. C., Ugbane, S. I., Odeyemi, M. O., & Umama, E. E. (2024) The impacts of curbside feedback mechanisms on recycling performance of households in the United States. World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 17(02), 366–386. doi: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjbphs.2024.17.2.0102
- Ijiga, A. C., Aboi, E.J., Idoko, I.P., Lawrence Anebi Enyejo, L.A., & Odeyemi, M.O. (2024). Collaborative innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI): Partnering with leading U.S. tech firms to combat human trafficking. Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances (GJETA) Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances (GJETA). 18(03), 106–123. https://doi.org/10.30574/gjeta.2024.18.3.0046
- Aboi, E. J. (2022). No justice, no progress: Contemporary African leadership and society in Plato’s crucible. South African Journal of Philosophy, 41(2), 169–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/02580136.2022.2059987
- Aboi, E.J. Flat Leadership in a Flat World: A Strategy for Leading Young People in Postmodern Times. Jos: Daveco Publishers, 2016.
- Aboi, E.J. (2013). A Categorization of Varied Responses of Mainline Churches to Pentecostal Influence. African Journal of Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, Vol.1, No.1.