Overview
Enoch Joseph Aboi is a PhD Candidate in Africana Studies (historical, political, and social analysis) 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, “Shifting Ideas: Rethinking Religion, Race, and Politics in the Early Modern Atlantic World,” is a critical reassessment of African–European relations in the sixteenth century, contending that conventional historiography has systematically obscured Africa's agency and role in the emergence of modernity. He argues that Africans were not merely passive recipients of European influence but active agents who initiated, negotiated, and sometimes directed cross-cultural exchanges that fundamentally shaped the early modern Atlantic world. Through meticulous analysis of evolving conceptions of religion, race, and politics, this intellectual history research demonstrates how ideas functioned as catalysts for profound cultural, economic, and sociopolitical transformations. The sixteenth century represents a critical juncture in the historical trajectory of African-European relations, characterized by paradigmatic shifts in ideas that would ultimately constitute the foundation of the modern world. Three conceptual shifts merit particular attention: (1) the evolution of enslavement ideas and practices from antiquity's opportunistic free-for-all model to the medieval religion-based model and finally to the modern race-based model; (2) the reconfiguration of international relations through religious diplomacy; and (3) emphasis on the principle of individuality emanating from the Protestant Reformation. These transformations fundamentally altered the nature of sociocultural engagement and established frameworks that continue to influence contemporary global dynamics. This work challenges three persistent problems: the two-sided phenomenon of "cheap escapism" regarding enslavement, the minimization of African agency, and the suppression of African contributions to knowledge production. "Cheap escapism" is the term he coined to refer to the strategic oversimplifications that obscure historical complexities. Two other case studies used to support his central argument are the Kingdom of Kongo’s diplomacy with Europe and Abba Mika’el’s interaction with Martin Luther. Following conversion to Catholicism, the Kingdom of Kongo's diplomatic relations with Portugal and Rome exemplify African political sophistication and strategic agency. The marginalized encounter between the Ethiopian priest Abba Mika'el and the Protestant reformers Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon in Wittenberg provides compelling evidence of African engagement with transformative European religious developments. By illuminating Africa's central role in the emergence of the modern world, this dissertation contributes to the scholarly effort of "exorcising Hegel's ghost" from historical narratives that have persistently relegated Africa to the periphery. The evidence presented herein demonstrates that Africans were integral participants in—and sometimes architects of—the intellectual, religious, and political transformations that defined the early modern Atlantic world.
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.