PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Director, Kwabena Nketia Centre for Africana Studies, African University
College of Communications, Accra, Ghana. August 2013 –
September 2015.

Acting President, African University College of Communications,
Accra, Ghana. January 2013 – August 2013.

Visiting Professor, Africana Studies and Religious Studies, Lafayette
College, Easton, PA, USA. January-June, 2011.

Vice President, Institutional Vision Advancement, African University
College of Communications, Accra, Ghana, Sept. 2008 –

Visiting Professor of Religion, Lafayette College,
Easton, PA, USA, August 2005-June 2006

Professor of Religion, Lafayette College,
Easton, PA, USA, August 2002- August 2005
Visiting Professor of Religion, Lafayette College,
Easton, PA, USA, August 1995-August 2002
Visiting Scholar, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC, USA, August 1994-May 1995
Visiting Professor of Religion, Lafayette College,
Easton, PA, USA, August-December 1991
Visiting Professor of Religion, University of Northern
Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, USA, September 1989-May 1990
Visiting Professor of Religion, Lafayette College,
Easton, PA, USA, January-May 1989
Reader in Religious Studies, University of Calabar,
Nigeria, November 1983-September 1985
Deputy Director, Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana, Legon, October 1981-September 1983
Acting Director, Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana, Legon, October 1979-March 1980
Administrative Secretary, Institute of African
Studies, University of Ghana, Legon,
January-September 1979
Visiting Lecturer and Acting Director, African Studies and
Research Institute Queens College, City University
of New York, USA 1977-1978
Associate Professor, December 1980-September 1994;Senior Research Fellow, June 1975-1980; Research Fellow in Religion & Ethics, 1967-1975, Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana, Legon

COURSES TAUGHT:

Sociology of Religions in Africa, Seminar in the Graduate Programme in African Studies

Undergraduate course in African Traditional Religion

Introduction to African Culture

Religions of the World

Introduction to African Culture

Religions of the World

Introduction to Religious Studies

Islam

New Religious Movements in Africa, North America, and Melanesia

Death in Cross-Cultural Perspective

African Diasporic Religions in the Americas

The Black Experience

The Qur’an

African Cultural Institutions

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Traditional African Religion and Culture

Religious Movements in Ghana and West Africa

Akan Culture

Oral Literature and History

African Ethics

Religion and Art in Africa

African Proverbs

Christianity and African Culture

Islam and African Culture

African Cultural Retentions in the Americas

PUBLICATIONS:

BOOKS:

Interdisciplinary Seminar in Research Methods: Institute of African Studies, Legon, Ghana, and Programme of African Studies, Northwestern University, U.S.A.

Report No. 2: Traditional Religion
Interviews with Priests, Priestesses and other Shrine Officials, Institute of African Studies, Legon, 1968.

Akom Ho Nkommobo with K. Ampom-Darkwa.
Interview with Kwaku Mframa, Priest of the Yentumi Shrine at Pankrono, Ashanti, being an account of the life and work of the priest and a general study of Akan priesthood. It also contains an appendix of 16 sections with information on the funeral ceremonies for priests, training for the priesthood, the preparation of various charms, songs of the gods, etc. Institute of African Studies, Legon, 1969.

Speak to the Winds: Proverbs from Africa, New York:Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co., 1975.

West African Traditional Religion, Singapore: Far Eastern Publishers, 1978.

Healing for God’s World: Remedies From Three Continents, (with Kim Yong-Bock and Antoinette C. Wire), New York: Friendship Press, 1991.

Hearing and Keeping: Akan Proverbs. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press, 1997.

Togbe Adawuso Dofe: Mami Water in the Ewe Tradition, with Kathleen O’Brien Wicker.
Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2007.

Healing and Prophecy at Mehu: The Life and Work of Prophet Jenasman Kwadwo Amoaforo, with Kathleen O’Brien Wicker and Margaret Naiandrina Streetor. Accra:
Sub-Saharan Publishers, 2012.

CHAPTERS IN OTHER WORKS:

Appendix xvi: “Data on Towns,” in Akwapim Handbook, (ed.), Brokensha, David. Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation, 1972, pp. 237-310.

“Aspects of Akan Worship.” in The Black Experience in Religion, (ed.) Lincoln, C. Eric. Garden City: Doubleday/Anchor Press, 1974, pp. 285-299.

“Procreation in Africa: Traditional and Modern,” in Religion, Morality and Population Dynamics, University of Ghana Population Studies, (ed.) Pobee, J.S., Accra, 1977, pp. 105-110.

“When the Spirit of Truth Comes,” in Faith in the Midst of Faiths, (ed.) Samartha, S.J., Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1977, pp. 126-132.

“Changes Within Christianity: The Case of the Musama Disco Christo Church,” in Christianity in Independent Africa, (ed.) Fashole-Luke, E., Gray, Richard, Hastings, Adrian, and Tasie, G., London:Rex Collins, 1978, pp. 111-121.
Also published in The History of Christianity in West Africa, (ed.) Kalu, O.U., London: Longman Group, 1980, pp. 309-320.

“African Proverbs,” in Awards, (ed.) Durr, William K., et. al., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981, pp. 440-443.

“Communalism and Community in Africa,” in Dialogue in Community, (Essays in honour of S.J. Samartha), (ed.) Jathanna, C.D. Balmatta, Mangalore: Karnataka Theological Research Institute, 1982, pp. 152-160.

“Religion in Africa During the Colonial Era,” in UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VII: Africa Under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935, (ed.,) Boahen, A.A. UNESCO, 1985, pp. 508-538.

“Moral Values and Development,” in Education, Culture and Development in Africa, (eds.) Emenyonu, E.N., Okoli, E. and Ali, S.N., New York: PWPA, 1985, pp. 65-82.

“Death and Immortality in the African Religious Heritage,” in Death and Immortality in the Religions of the World, (eds.) Badham, Paul and Linda, New York: Paragon House, 1987, pp. 9-23.
Also published in Philosophy of Religion: Toward a Global Perspective. Kessler,
Gary. Belmont, Ca:. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999, pp.330-337.

“Education and Moral Values in Contemporary Africa: The Role of the Family in Education (the Akan of Ghana),” in The Role of Education in Contemporary Africa, (ed.) Nnolim, Charles E., New York:PWPA, 1988, pp. 1-11.

“African Perspectives on Death and Dying,” in Perspectives on Death and Dying: Cross-Cultural and Multi-Disciplinary Views, (eds.) Berger, Arthur, et. al., Philadelphia: The Charles Press Publishers, 1989, pp. 14-23.

“Traditionerne Som Grundlag For Udvikling” (Traditional Foundations of Development) in Afrikas Puls: En Essaysamling om Styrken: Afrikas Kultur, (eds.) Lawrence Alex Lubulwa and Emmanuel Aning, Copenhagen:Bogtryk-Eriksen, 1991, pp. 55-67.

“A Brief History of Independent Movements in Ghana Since 1862” in The Rise of Independent Churches in Ghana (ed) Asempa Press, Accra, 1990, pp. 12-21.

“African Traditional Religion: An Enduring Heritage”, in Religious Plurality in Africa: Essays in Honour of John S. Mbiti (eds), Olupona Jacob, Nyang, Sulayman S. Berlin and New York:Mouton de Gruyter, 1993, pp. 67-82.

“African Mysticism,” in Mysticism and the Mystical Experience: East and West, (ed.) Donald H. Bishop, Selingsgrove:Susquehanna University Press, London and Toronto:Associated University Press, 1995, pp. 326-343.

“Proverbs About God and the Divinities in the Religion of the Akan of Ghana”, in
Embracing the Baobab Tree: The African Proverb in the 21st Century, (ed.)
Saayman, Willem. African Proverbs Series, Vol. 2. Proceedings of the Inter-
disciplinary Symposium on the African Proverb in the 21st Century, University
of South Africa, Pretoria, 2-7 October, 1995. Pretoria: Unisa Press, 1997,
pp. 192-200.

“Hearing the Crab’s Cough: Indigenous Knowledge and the Future of Africa”, in
Hearing the Crab’s Cough: Perspectives and Emerging Institutions for Indigenous
Knowledge Systems in Land Resources Management in Southern Africa, (ed.)
Joseph, Z. Z. Matowanyika. Harare: IUCN – The World Conservation Union, 1999,
pp.42-45.

“Sacred Word and Sacred Text: The Mehu Healing and Retreat Centre in Ghana”, with
Kathleen O. Wicker inVincent Wimbush (ed). African Americans and the Bible: Sacred
Texts and Social Textures. New York and London: Continuum, 2000, pp. 625-649.

“From Dinner Conversation to Historic Dialogue: A Tribute to Dr. Gerhart M. Riegner”,
in Isabella Nespoli (ed). Gerhart M. Riegner. Brussels: World Jewish Congress, 2001,
pp. 146-152.

“African Traditional Religion”, in African Folklore: An Encyclopedia (eds). Phillip M.
Peek and Kwesi Yankah. New York: Routledge, 2003 pp. 389-391.

“Animals in African Mythology”, in A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion,
Science and Ethics. (eds). Paul Waldau and Kimberly Patton. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2006 pp. 351-359.

“Traditional African Religious Society”, in The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2006 pp.537-544.

“Abidjan Mamiwater and Aba Yaba: Two Profiles of Mami/Maame Water Priesthood in
Ghana”, with Kathleen O. Wicker, in Sacred Waters: Arts for Mami Wata and Other
Divinities in Africa and the Diaspora. (ed). Henry J. Drewal. Bloomington and Indiana-
polis: Indiana University Press, 2008 pp. 171-189.

“Yesterday’s Quarrels and Today’s Playmates: Peacemaking and the Proverbial Wisdom
of Africa” in Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70: A Reader in African Cultural
Studies. (ed). Anne V. Adams. Banbury, Oxfordshire: Ayebia Clarke Publishing Ltd.,
2012. pp. 287-294.

“Skinny But Imperishable Truth: African Religious Heritage and the Regeneration of
Africa”.Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae. Vol xxxviii, August, 2012 pp. 141-151.

“The Blacksmith’s Razor and the Vulture’s Head: African Spirituality and the
Emancipation of Africa,” in Religion, Culture and Spirituality in the African Diaspora.
William Ackah, Jualyne E. Dodson and R. Drew Smith. New York: Routledge, 2018,
pp. 33-40.

ARTICLES:

“Traditional Religious Beliefs and Spiritual Churches in Ghana: A Preliminary Statement,” Research Review, Vol. 4, No. 2. 1968, pp. 47-60.

“The Universal Prayer Group (Mpaebo Kuw): The Call of the Prophet,” Research Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1968.

Dr. Clement Anderson Akrofi, 1901-1967,” Okyeame: Ghana’s Literary Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1968.

“Nhoma Bi Ho Adwenkyere”: B.S. Akuffo, Kontonkrowi,Odawuru, No. 1, 1968, pp. 13.

“Den Na Yede Bebu Yen Man Yi?” Odawuru, No. 1, 1968.

“Dr. C.A. Akrofi,” Odawuru, No. 1, 1968, pp. 4-5.

Book Review: Akan Religion and the Christian Faith, Williamson, S.G. (ed.), Kwesi Dickson, Ghana Universities Press, 1965, Legon Observer, Vol. VIII, No. 5, March, 1968, pp. 29-30.

“Kingdom: A Religious Community,” Research Review, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1969, pp. 66-69.

“Atetesem: Senea Eyee Na Owu Bae I (Mythology: the Origin of Death),” Odawuru, No. 2, 1969, pp. 18-19.

“Training the Priestesses at the Akonnedi Shrine,” Research Review, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1970, pp. 34-50.

“Independence of the Mind,” Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, December, 1970, pp. 179-186.

“Letters to a Spiritual Father,” Research Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 15-32.

“Directory of Spiritual Churches in Ghana,” Research Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1970, pp. 98-113.

“Atetesem: Senea Eyee Na Owu Bae II (Mythology: The Origin of Death),” Odawuru, No. 3, 1970, pp. 14-15.

“Kamepen Mellen Den Gamle Og Nye Kirker in Ghana (The Old and New Churches in Ghana),” Kontakt No. 7, 1970, pp. 14-16.

“Asommonatu (Funeral of an Elephant Hunter),” Odawuru, No. 4, 1971, pp. 14-16.

Book Review: The Prophet Harris, Haliburton, Gordon N., (Longman Group Ltd., 1971), Legon Observer, Vol. II, No. 21, 30 October, 2 November, 1972, pp. 505-506.

“Yen Nenanom Onyameson,” Odawuru, No. 5, 1972.

“Building on Our Traditional Religious Heritage,” Search and Service, Good News Training Institute, Accra, 1972.

“The Relevance of African Culture to Christianity,” Midstream, Vol. XIII, Nos. 3-4, Spring/Summer, 1974, (Quarterly magazine of the Council on Christian Unity), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, pp. 153-158.

“The Concept of Human Destiny in Akan Religious Thought,” The Conch, Vol. VIII, Nos. 1-2, 1975, pp. 15-25.

Book Review: Eden Revival: Spiritual Churches in Ghana, Beckman, David M. (St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1975), Ghana Bulletin of Theology, Vol. 4, No. 8, 1975, pp. 48-52.

“The Compatibility Between African Traditional Religion and Biblical Religion”
i. Part I, Catholic Voice, Vol. 52, No. 7, July 1977.
ii. Part II, Catholic Voice, Vol. 52, No. 8, August 1977.
iii. Part III, Catholic Voice, Vol. 52, No. 9, September 1977.
iv. Part IV, Catholic Voice, Vol. 52, No. 10, October 1977.

“A Fresh Look At Our Cultural Heritage”
i. Part I, Catholic Voice, Vol. 53, No. 1, January 1978.
ii. Part II, Catholic Voice, Vol. 53, No. 8, August 1978.

“Our View of the Universe,” Part I, Catholic Voice, Vol. 53, No. 9, September 1978.

“The World View of the Akan,” Tarikh 26, Vol 7, No. 2, pub. for the Historical Society of Nigeria by Longman, 1982, pp. 61-73.

National Open University of Nigeria,” Foundation Year Programme,” African Civilization, Module III, Unit 14, “Religion and Philosophy,” National Open University of Nigeria in cooperation with Layon (Nig.) Ltd., Kaduna, 1984, pp. 67-84.

Response to Dietrich Ritschl: “Christological Directions in Light of the Encounter with Judaism,” World Council of Churches Report on Consultation on the Church and the Jewish People, Arnoldshain, West Germany, February 10-14, 1986, Geneva, 1986, pp. 36-39.

“Issues in Dialogue Between African Traditional Religion and Christianity,” in Towards Dialogue Between Christians and Traditionalists in Africa (Report of the Consultation held at Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, Kitwe, Zambia), Sept. 22-25. 1986, pp. 4-9.

“Ancient Wisdom in the African Heritage,” Christian Jewish Relations, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 1987, pp. 45-61.

Also published in International Christian Digest, Vol 2, No. 4, May, 1988, pp. 34-36.

Also published in Afrikas Puls: En Essaysamling Om Styrken: Afrikas Kultur, (eds.) Lawrence Alex Lublwa and Emmanuel Aning, Copenhagen:Bogtryk-Eriksen, 1991, pp. 1-18.

“Reflections on the Nairobi Jewish-African Christian Consultation,” Christian Jewish Relations, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 1987, pp. 91-94.

Also published in Current Dialogue 12, June 1987 (World Council of Churches), pp. 16-18.

“The Church in Africa and Sociological Challenges,” Ecumenical Review (40th Anniversary Issue, World Council of Churches, Geneva), Vol. 40, No. 2, April 1988, pp. 241-255.

“Conversion and Religious Pluralism in Africa,” Dialogue and Alliance, Winter 1988-89, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 19-24.

“In Pursuit of Community: An African Perspective,” National Council of Churches Review (India), Vol. CVIII, No. 6, June-July 1988, pp. 338-358.

“Dialogue und Mission,” MD No. 3/89, Herausgegeben vom Konfessionskundlichen, Institut des Evangelischen Kirchen in Deutschland, pp. 54-56.

“Religious Themes in West African Festivals,” Dialogue and Alliance, Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1990, pp. 71-84.

“Damuah and the Afrikania Mission: The Man and His Message–Some Preliminary Considerations,” Trinity Journal of Church and Theology, Vol. 3, No. 1, June, 1993, pp. 39-60.

“The Development and Practice of Religion in an Accra Suburb,” with Margaret Peil, in Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. XXIV – Fasc. 3, August, 1994, pp. 198-227.

“Abidjan Mami Water Festival 1994,” with Kathleen O’Brien Wicker, in Religious Studies News, Vol. 9, No. 4, November, 1994, pp. 18-19.

“The West Through African Eyes,” in The International Journal of Africana Studies, Dec. 1996, Vol. 4, Nos. 1 & 2, pp. 82-98.

“Tradition as a Way to the Future; An African Perspective”, in The Trinity Journal
of Church and Theology, September, 1998, Vol. VIII (Special Edition), pp. 46-56.

Book Review: African Spirituality: On Becoming Ancestors, Ephirim-Donkor, A.
Africa World Press, 1997. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Winter
1998, Vol.66 , No.4, pp. 947-949.

“The Baobab Tree of Truth: Reflections on Religious Pluralism in Africa”. Current
Dialogue, 34, 2/99, pp. 22-23.

VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES

Priesthood and Ritual in Ghana, with Kathleen O’Brien Wicker, 1997

No. 1: Moree Maame Water (51 minutes).

No. 2: Abidjan Mamiwater Shrine (51 minutes).

No. 3: Musama Disco Christo Church: 75th Anniversary (90 minutes).

N0. 4: Mehu Healing and Retreat Centre (75 minutes).

EDITORIAL ACTIVITIES

Editor, Research Review, Quarterly Journal of the Institute of African Studies, Legon, 1968-1972.

Co-editor, Odawuru, an Akan Scholarly Magazine, 1968-1975; 1985-1990. Published by the Institute of African Studies, Legon.

Editorial Board, World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. (ed.) Andrew Wilson, New York: Paragon House, 1991.

Advisory Board, Ghana Bulletin of Theology, New Series, 2006 to date.

CONFERENCES (SELECTED)

Historical Society of Ghana: Annual Conference, Legon, December 1969. Paper presented: “A History of Independent Church Movements in Ghana, 1962-1969.”

Association of Teachers of Religion, University of Cape Coast, April 1969. Paper presented: “The Destiny of Man in Ghanaian Religious Thought.”

World Council of Churches: Programme Unit on Education and Communication, Conference on Education and Theology in the Context of the Struggle for Liberation, Bossey, Switzerland, May 31-June 4, 1973. Paper presented: “Education and Theology in the Context of the Struggle for Liberation in Africa.”

Ghana Theological Association, Pedu Seminary, Cape Coast, January 2-5, 1976. Paper presented: “African Gods and African Morality.”

Bicentennial Celebration Lectures on the Black Experience in Religion, Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, April 1-5, 1976.
Lecture I: “Religion in Africa During the Slave Era.”
Lecture II: “Contemporary African Religions.”
Lecture III: “African Roots of Black American Religion.”

41st International Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 1-7, 1976. Paper presented: “The Compatibility Between African Traditional Religion and Biblical Religion.”

FESTAC: Second World and Black Arts Festival, Lagos, January 1977. Paper presented at Colloquium: “Black Civilization and Religion.”

National Association of Black School Educators, Annual Conference, Chicago, November 17-20, 1977. Keynote Address: “The Challenge Facing School Education in African and Afro-American Societies.”

World Council of Churches, Conference on Humanity’s Relation to Nature, Yaounde, Cameroon, Sept. 15-22, 1978. Paper presented: “Time in the African Perspective.”

Seminar on the Presbyterian Church in Ghana’s Cultural History, Institute of African Studies, Legon, February 23-24, 1979. Paper presented: “Church and State: Sources of Conflict and Modes of Resolution.”

Annual Conference of Chaplains, National Association of Chaplains, U.S.T., Jan. 31-Feb. 3, 1980. Paper presented: “The New Role of the Chaplain.”

African Institute for the Study of Human Values, Conference on “Our Enduring Heritage in a Changing World,” Accra, May 24-16, 1982. Paper presented: “Traditional Approaches to the Preservation of the Environment.”

International Council of Christians and Jews, International Colloquium, Dublin, Ireland, July 21-24, 1985. Paper presented: “Reconciliation and the Commitment to Truth in Interfaith Relations.”

World Council of Churches, “Toward a Dialogue Between Christians and Traditionalists in Africa,” Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, Kitwe, Zambia, Sept. 22-26, 1986. Keynote Address: “Issues in Dialogue Between Christianity and African Traditional Religion.”

Remembering the Future: Oxford Conference on the Holocaust, Oxford University, July 10-15, 1988. Paper presented: “The Holocaust and Apartheid.”

Institute of Adult Education, University of Ghana, 40th Anniversary New Year School. Paper Presented: “Traditional Foundations of Development in Africa.”

American Committee on Africa, Religious Action Network, Summit Conference on Apartheid, New York, April 4-6, 1989. Paper presented: “A Religious Response to Apartheid.”

Dallas Museum of Art, “Black Art-Ancestral Legacy: The African Impulse in African-American Art”. Symposium, Dallas, Texas, January 20-21, 1990. Paper presented: “Ancient Wisdom in the African Heritage as Expressed Through African Visual and Narrative Arts.”

National Festival of Arts and Culture, Kumasi, August 25-27, 1992. Colloquium Paper: “Letting Go of the Snake’s Head: African Authenticity and the Way Forward”.

World Council of Churches. “Inter-Faith Dialogue: Looking in the Future.” Colombo, Sri Lanka, 5-10 September, 1992. Paper presented: “Inter-Religious Dialogue in Africa Today.”

The Seventh Annual Heman Sweatt Symposium on Human Rights. “Beyond Kente: From Ghana to Texas – A Cultural Continuum,” March 24-25, 1993, University of Texas at Austin. Paper presented: “African Religions as a Basis For Understanding African American Religions.”

Images of Africa, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 12-July 3, 1993. Papers presented:
I. “Traditional Attitudes to Nature in Africa.”
II. “Traditional Values and their Expression in African Cultures.”

National Council for Black Studies Inc. 17th Annual and 1st International Conference July 30-August 8, 1993, Accra, Ghana. Paper presented: “Standing Tall on the Hill of our Heritage: Afrocentric Education and the Empowerment of African People.”

African-Jewish-Christian Consultation, Johannesburg, June 26-29, 1995. Paper presented: “Tradition As a Way to the Future.”

The African Proverb in the 21st Century, University of South Africa, Pretoria, October 2-6, 1995. Paper presented: “Proverbs about God and the Divinities Among the Akan of Ghana.”

American Academy of Religion, Annual Meeting, November 18-12, 1995, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Paper presented: “Abidjan Mami Water: History and Praxis of Mami Water in Ghana”, with Kathleen O’Brien Wicker.

Workshop on Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems into Land Management
Programmes in the Southern Region of Africa. Maseru, Lesotho. March 4-9, 1996.
(A World Bank Project). Keynote Speech: “Hearing the Crab’s Cough: Indigenous
Knowledge and the Future of Africa”.

American Academy of Religion, Annual Meeting, November 22-25, 1997,
San Francisco, California. Paper Presented: “The Stool of the Ancestors: Religion
and Ploitics in Asante.”

Ninth Annual Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, January 29-
February 1, 1998. Eatonville, Florida. Keynote Speech: “The Relevance of African
Culture to the Survival of African Peoples”.

College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. January 28, 1999.
Paper Presented: “Introduction to African Culture: Ghanaian Culture and Society”.

African Americans and the Bible: Socio-Cultural Formation and Sacred Texts. A
Multidisciplinary Arts-Expressive International Conference. April 8-11, 1999.
Union Theological Seminary, New York. Paper presented jointly with Dr. Kathleen
O. Wicker: “Mehu: God’s Kingdom (Stool) on Earth”.

Lehigh Valley Consortium on African Studies. Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pa.
April 15, 1999. Paper Presented: “African Religions in the Americas”.

World Council of Churches, Office of Interreligious Relations. Bossey, Switzerland,
April 17-22, 1999. Consultation on “What Difference Does Religious Pluralism
Make?” Paper Presented: “Religious Plurality in Africa”.

Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. World Religions
and Animals Conference, May 20-23, 1999. Paper Presented: “Animals in African
Mythology”.

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C. October 16, 1999.
Panel: KENTE IS NOT JUST A CLOTH: REFLECTIONS ON KENTE (in conjunction
with the exhibition: “WRAPPED IN PRIDE: GHANAIAN KENTE AND AFRICAN
AMERICAN IDENTITY”. Paper Presented: “Kente as Philosophy”.

College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. The African Cultural Society:
A NIGHT OF AFRICAN CULTURE, November 5, 1999. Keynote Speech: “Art and
Values in African Society: The Akan of Ghana”.

Centennial Meeting, Association of American Law Schools, Washington D. C.
January 5-9, 2000. Paper Presented: “The Future of Customary Law in Africa: With
Special Reference to Ghana”.

Association of Black Psychologists, Annual Convention. Accra, Ghana. August 3,
2000. Keynote Speech: “The Relevance of African Culture to the Survival of
African People”.

Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. United Nations
August 28-29, 2000. Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York. August 30-31, 2000.

Union Theological Seminary, New York. Graduate Seminar on Comparative
Scriptures. October 10, 2000. Paper Presented: “The Living Scriptures of the Akan
Of Ghana”.

The 12th Annual Cheikh Anta Diop Conference. Philadelphia, October 13-14, 2000.
Paper Presented: “African Proverbs: Heritage of Our Ancestors”.

American Academy of Religion. 2000 Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee.
November 18-21, 2000. Paper Presented: “Nananom Nsamanfo: The Akan and
Their Ancestors”.

American Academy of Religion, 2001 Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado. November 17-
20, 2001. Paper Presented: “The Musama Disco Christo Church and the Indigenization of
Christianity in Ghana”.

14th Annual Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 11-12, 2002. Paper Presented: “The Wisdom of the Ancestors: Advancing
Proverbial Knowledge”.

2nd African Association for the Study of Religions Conference in Africa and the Inter-
national Association for the History of Religions Regional Conference. GIMPA, Ghana:
February 4-8, 2004. Keynote Speech: “Cooking on Two Stones of the Hearth: African
Traditional Religion and the Socio-Cultural Transformation of West Africa”.

16th Annual Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
October 1-2, 2004. Paper Presented: “The Tongue That Did Not Rot: African Proverbs
As Useful Tools For Black Studies”.

Pan African Writers’ Association: International Writers’ Seminar on the theme:
“Manufacturing the New African Future: The Factor of Culture” and the Fourth
PAWA World Poetry Festival on the theme: “A gathering of the family, in the
Middle of a century, at the centre of the earth: Accra”. November 4-7, 2008.
Paper Presented: “The Scorching Sun and the Zebra’s Stripes: African Culture
And the Future of Africa”.

New York Theological Seminary, New York. Inaugural Forum: The Institute for Diasp-
oran and African Culture. New York, March 20, 2009. Opening Remarks: “The Noise
at the Market”.

Meeting the Challenge of Religion and Pluralism in Africa: Presentation of Grantees’
Initial Findings. Co-hosted by Programme for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa and
Interfaith Action for Peace in Africa. Nairobi, Kenya June 16-18, 2009. Paper Presented:
“Hearing the Crab’s Cough: Insights from African Culture on Religious Pluralism in
Africa”.

National Commission on Culture: Workshop on the Challenges in the Implementation of
The Cultural Policy of Ghana. March 10, 2010, Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Accra.
Paper presented: “Traditional Foundations of Development”.

New York Theological Seminary, Alumni/ae Day 2010: The Church in the 21st Century.
New York, May 14, 2010. Panel Discussant. Paper Presented: “Issues for the 21st Century
Church in Africa”.

Centre for Learning and Capacity Building of Civil Society, Maputo, Mozambique, May
25-28, 2010. Semana da Identidade Africana, African Identity Week. Paper Presented:
“The Ridge Down the Chameleon’s Back: African Spirituality and the Future of Africa”.

New York Theological Seminary, New York. African/Caribbean Leadership Conference.
October 15-17, 2010. Conference sponsored by The Institute for Diasporan and African
Culture; Global Ministries, United Methodist Church; California-Pacific Annual Confer-
Ence, United Methodist Church; Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, United Methodist
Church, Office of Urban & Global Ministries; New York Theological Seminary; Centre
For World Christianity. Paper Presented: “The Lion and the Army of Sheep: Leadership
In the African/Caribbean World for the 21st Century”.

UNISA. Voice and Voicelessness Colloquia 2012-2015. The Marginalization of
Progressive Religion and Theology in Public Discourse and Higher Education. Pretoria, S
Africa. April 19, 2012. Paper Presented: “Blowing Out the African Lantern: The Margin-
Alization of African Religion in Public Discourse and Higher Education”.

UNISA. Voice and Voicelessness Colloquia 2012-2015. UNISA, TIDAC & NYTS.
October 3-5, 2012. Berkeley College, New York. Paper Presented; “The Axe in the
Forest: Western Views on African Religion”.

Presbyterian Church of Ghana. 13th General Assembly. Abetifi: Ramseyer Training
Centre. August 21, 2013. Address: “Church and Culture: The Continuing Discussion”.

3rd Colloquium. Voice and Voicelessness Colloquia: University of South Africa(UNISA)
The Institute for Diasporan and African Culture (TIDAC), and The University of Bots-
wana (UB). “Bringing Religion Back into the Public Space”. University of Botswana,
Gaborone. September 23-25, 2013. Keynote Speech: “Religion, Theology and the African
Renaissance”.

Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race, with the Voice and Voicelessness Project
UNISA. Social Struggle and Faith-Based Activism in “Black Empowerment” Times.
UNISA, Pretoria. July 14-16, 2014. Plenary Presentation: “The Lion and the Army of
Sheep: Leadership in the African World for the 21st Century”.

Black Theology Conference. University of South Africa, Pretoria. August 11-13, 2015.
Plenary Presentation: “The Handle of the Axe: Theology and the African Worldview”.

BOARDS AND COMMITTEES

Ghana Museums and Monuments Board. 1975-1979

Chairman, Scholarships Committee 1980-1983
Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Legon.

School Board, Lincoln Community School, Accra. 1979-1982

Working Group, Dialogue with People of Living 1976-1983
Faiths and Ideologies, World Council of Churches.

Vice-Moderator, Dialogue Sub-Unit 1985-1990
World Council of Churches.

Member, 1979 American Montessori Society 1979
Symposium Honorary Committee.

Chairman, Legon Primary School 1986-1988
Parent-Teacher Association.

Chairman, Ghana National Planning Committee 1986-1988
of the U.N. World Decade for Cultural Development.

Member, Board of Trustees, Ghana 1990
Ethno-Medical Foundation.

Member, Steering Committee, African Religions Group, 2000
American Academy of Religion.

Member, Advisory Board, Personalist Studies for 2001
The Value Inquiry Book Series, published by
Editions Rodopi.

Member, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah ‘African Genius’ Award 2014
Committee.

Alternate Chairman, Governing Council, African University College 2018
of Communications, Adabraka, Accra.

Member, Board of Directors, Bisa Aberwa Museum, Sekondi, 2019

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Aggrey Society of West Africa.

International Association for the Study of Prehistoric and Ethnological Religions.

Martin Luther King Fellows Incorporated, U.S.A.

International Institute for the Study of Death.

American Academy of Religion.

African Studies Association (USA).

African Association for the Study of Religions.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Faculty Development Grant, Lafayette College, 2000.

Diversity Recognition Award. The Office of the Dean of Studies, Lafayette College,
Easton, Pa. April 29, 2000.

ANKH Society Award for Excellence in Scholarship. Philadelphia, October 12, 2002.

African Association for the Study of Religions Award for Contribution to the Study of
Religions in Africa. GIMPA, Ghana, February 5, 2004.

Trust Africa Foundation Grant: “African Proverbs, Stories and Symbols: Perspectives on
Pluralism, Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence in Africa”, 2008-2009.

University of Ghana. Institute of African Studies. 50th Anniversary Celebration. October
24-26, 2013. Special Award for invaluable contribution to the growth and development of
the Institute of African Studies.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Lectures and seminars for foreign students in summer schools organized by the Institute of African Studies, Legon.

Television and radio programmes on various aspects of Ghanaian culture.

Lectures on African Traditional Religion in summer school programme organized by the American Forum at Fordham University in New York, 1970.

Visiting Scholar, Black Studies Programme, Associated colleges, Claremont, California, September 1970.

Director, the Martin Luther King Programme in Black Church Studies-Africa, 1972, a programme for 20 candidates for the Doctor of Ministry degree at the Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Rochester, New York. Organized a four week course of lectures on African Traditional Religion and other topics on contemporary Africa at the University of Ghana, and took the group on a 20-day study tour of Western Nigeria.

Faculty member and Consultant, Martin Luther King Programme in Black Church Studies, Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Rochester, New York, July 8-August 15, 1994.

African Coordinator, Roots of Afro-American Culture and History, Hays-Fulbright Programme, July 6-August 20, 1976.

Scholar in Residence, Bellagio Study and Conference Centre, Rockfeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy, October-November, 1978.

Guest Lecturer at various American universities, including:
Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio • Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut • University of San Diego, LaJolla, California • Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa • Princeton Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey • Union Theological Seminary, New York • Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Interdenominational Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia • Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio • City College, New York • Rensselear Polytechnic, Troy, New York • Colgate University, Hamilton, New York • Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut • Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia • Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania • Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania • Coppin State College, Baltimore, Maryland • University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire.

Cook Lecturer, 1988, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Fourteen-day lecture tour of seminaries in San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, Louisville, Richmond and New York, followed by a six-week lecture tour through India (New Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta), the Philippines (Manila, Dumaguette), China (Shanghai, Nanjing), Hong Kong, Taiwan (Taipei, Tainan), Korea (Seoul, Taegu) and Japan (Kyoto, Tokyo).

The Lyman Coleman Lectures, 1990-1991, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. “Remaking the Human Person in the African Religious Heritage,” November 13, 1990.

Leader, Ghana to Texas Cultural Exchange Programme, University of Texas at Austin, March 12-April 3, 1993.

Leader, North Carolina State University’s Educational Exchange Mission to Ghana,
West Africa, January 3-13, 1995.

Lecture in Honour of Retiring Professor, Agnes Moreland Jackson, Professor of English,
Scripps College, Claremont, California. March 26, 1997. “Wisdom From Ananse’s Pot:
African Values and Their Expression”.

University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H. April 4, 1997. Lecture: “African
Traditional Religion: An Enduring Heritage”.

North Carolina State University, Study Abroad Programme. Summer School, University
of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. June 14 – July 26, 1997. Course offered: Ghanaian Culture and
Society.

The Lyman Coleman Lecturer, 1997, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania. “Wisdom From Ananse’s Pot: African Values and Their Expression.” October 28, 1997.

North Carolina State University, Study Abroad Programme. Summer School, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. June 24 – August 6, 1998. Course offered: Ghanaian Culture and Society.

Loyola University, New Orleans. November 12, 1998. Lecture: “African Values and Their Expression”.

Pomona College, Claremont, California. September 30, 1999. Class Lecture: “The
African World View”.

Drew University, Madison, N.J. October 13, 1999. Class Lecture: “African Traditional
Religion”.

North Carolina State University, Study Abroad Programme. Summer School, University
Of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. June 22 – August 2, 2000. Course offered: Ghanaian Culture
And Society.

Union Theological Seminary, New York. Graduate Seminar on Comparative
Scriptures. October 10, 2000. Paper Presented: “The Living Scriptures of the Akan
of Ghana”.

Video-teleconferencing, October 12, 2000. Scripps College, Claremont, California.
Core III Seminar: “Religion and Politics in the Gold Coast”. Instructor: Dr. Kathleen
O’Brien Wicker.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter, Film Fest in
Cooperation with Film at the Prince. Philadelphia, November 11, 2000.
Discussion Leader, Michel Ocelot’s Film “Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998).

Video-teleconferencing, November 30, 2000. Scripps College, Claremont, California.
Core III Seminar: “Religion and Politics in the Gold Coast”. Instructor: Dr. Kathleen
O’Brien Wicker.

Temple University, Department of African-American Studies, Philadelphia. December
6, 2000. Paper Presented: “The Akan and Their Ancestors”.

Video Teleconferencing, March 5, 2001. With Scripps College, Claremont, California.
“Christianity in Africa”, Instructor: Dr. Kathleen O’Brien Wicker.

Drew University Seminary, Madison, N.J. April 2, 2001. Paper Presented: “Aspects of Ghanaian Culture”.

North Carolina State University, Study Abroad Programme. Summer School, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. June 29 – August 4, 2001. Course offered: Ghanaian Culture
And Society.

School of Sacred Ministries, Doylestown, Pa. Workshop on African Traditional Religion,
(10 am – 4 pm). September 8, 2001.

Telephone Conference, November 27, 2001. Scripps College, Claremont, California.
“Leaders of the National Consciousness Movement in the Gold Coast”. Instructor:
Dr. Kathleen O’Brien Wicker.

North Carolina State University, Study Abroad Programme. Summer School, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. July 5 – August 7, 2002. Course offered: Ghanaian Culture and Society.

Drew University, Madison, N.J. November 14, 2002. Lecture: “The Future of African Traditional Religion”.

Scripps College, Claremont, California. Kathleen O’Brien Wicker Endowment Lecture,
April 16, 2008. “African Perspectives on Peace”.

African University College of Communications. Africana Studies Centre Lecture Series, April 16, 2009. “Non-Verbal Communication in Akan Society”.

Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture in Conjunction with the
Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. 4th Asante-Opoku-Reindorf Memorial Lecture.
“Cooking on Two Stones of the Hearth?: African Spirituality and the Socio-Cultural
Transformation of Africa”. November 4, 2009 Accra, British Council Hall; November
6, 2009 Akropong Akuapem, Presbyterian College of Education Chapel.

Institute for Shipboard Education, University of Virginia, USA. Semester at Sea. Inter-
Port Lecturer. Cape Town to Tema, April 4-11, 2010.

CAK: Center for Afrikansk Kulturformidling. Oslo, Norway. October 21, 2010.
Lecture: “The Mythological and Religious Traditions of Africa”.

Lafayette College, Easton, PA. Africana Studies Lecture, April 13, 2011. “Putting Salt Into Speech: Humour in African Proverbs”.

African University College of Communications. Tenth Anniversary Lecture. Friday,
October 12, 2012. “Water to Swallow the Pill of Wisdom: Humour in African Proverbs”.

REFERENCES

Professor John Mbiti
Einschlagweg 11
CH3400 Burgdorf
Switzerland

Professor J.H. Nketia
Institute of African Studies
University of Ghana
Legon, Ghana.