2024: First Webinar series
Topic: HOLY PRAISECO: NEGOTIATING SACRED AND POPULAR MUSIC AND DANCE IN AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM
Draft: A DRAFT SYNOPSIS FOR WEBINAR TO BE HELD on the 16th March 2024 at 7pm GMT WITH SGT JOY GLAGO, A POSTGRADUATE STUDENT IN LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE AT THE AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, KENYA.
This Webinar is an engagement on Prof Ogbu Kalu’s (2009) paper,
HOLY PRAISECO: NEGOTIATING SACRED AND POPULAR MUSIC AND DANCE IN AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM in conversation with the ongoing research of Rev Sgt Joy Glago of the African International University, Nairobi, Kenya. Joy is also completing a M.A. in Global Leadership with the Gordon Cornwell theological Seminary in Partnership with Global Theological Seminary in Accra Ghana.
Student’s Research Topic: “EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADER DEVELOPMENT IN THE AFRICAN CHURCH: THE CASE OF THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST.”
Prof Kalu’s Abstract:
In post-colonial Africa, Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity has slowly emerged as an influential shaper of culture and identity through its use of music, media, and dance. This article gives an overview of the transitions that have occurred in African politics, identity awareness, and culture, especially as it relates to the indigenous village public and it’s interface with the external Western public, and how the emergent cultural public has become the most influential player in shaping the African moral universe. Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity has navigated the shift from a missionary-driven avoidance of indigenous music and dance to the incorporation of indigenous elements, leading in turn to the popularization of Pentecostal music and dance that blends indigenous forms and concepts, Christian symbolism, and popular cultural expressions. The resulting forms have not only shaped Christianity, but also the surrounding culture and its political environment.
The Webinar was held on the 16th of March online.
Links:
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelateprof.ogbukalu1828/videos
- FB: https://www.facebook.com/thedrogbuukekalucenter/videos
