Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture Series

Professor George Hagan is a philosophy graduate of the University of Ghana and earned a D. Phil degree in social anthropology from the University of Oxford. He was a lecturer, research fellow and director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. He was Chairperson of the Ghana National Commission on Culture and ran as a presidential candidate for the Convention People's Party in Ghana's 2000 elections. He delivered the maiden Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on November 14, 2009 at the University of Ghana.

Professor Dennis E.K. Amenumey was a senior Ghanaian historian at the University of Cape Coast. He was a graduate of the University College of Ghana, and the universities of London and Manchester. He was a long-serving member of the History Department of the University of Cape Coast. He delivered the second Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on September 29, 2012 at the University of Ghana.

Justice Samuel K. Date-Bah, Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana is a law graduate of the University Ghana. He earned a LL.M degree from Yale Law School and a D. Phil in Law from the London School of Economics. He taught commercial law at the Universities of Ghana and Nairobi (Kenya) and was a professor of private law at Calabar University (Nigeria). Justice Date-Bah's academic career transitioned into one of international advisory law with the Commonwealth Secretariat. Thereafter, he served for a decade as a member of the Supreme Court of Ghana. He delivered the third Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on March, 23, 2013 at the University of Ghana.

Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Omahen, Essikado, Sekondi is the paramount chief of the Essikado Traditional Area in Sekondi. Prior to his enstoolment as a chief, he was a lecturer in the History Department of the University of Cape Coast. He is a graduate in modern history of the University of Ghana, and earned a Ph.D in African history at the University of Calabar (Nigeria). He is the current President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs. He delivered the fourth Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on September 23, 2014 at the University of Ghana.

Professor Jabez Ayodele Langley was one of the most outstanding academics who have researched the life and work of Kobina Sekyi. He graduated in Modern History and Politics from the University of Wales and earned a Ph.D in African history from Edinburgh University. His academic career commenced at Edinburgh University and ended at Howard University's Department of African Studies and History Department, with a two decades interlude of public service in the government of Gambia and the World Bank. This paper was given to Professor Prah by Professor Ayodele in 2001.

Professor Holger Weiss graduated in African and Global History the University of Helsinki, and earned a Ph.D in African history from the University of Helsinki. His academic work focused on transnational networks of radical labour among African American, West African, and Caribbean activists between 1919 and 1939. He delivered the third Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on February 22, 2017 at the University of Ghana.

Professor Maxwell K Owusu graduated in sociology and economics from the London School of Economics and earned a Ph.D in Anthropology from the University of Chicago. He is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. His work has focused on the interplay of tradition, nationalism and modern governance. He delivered the seventh Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on October 18, 2018 at the University of Ghana.

Professor Kwesi Kwaa Prah graduated in sociology from the University of Leiden and earned a Ph.D from the University of Amsterdam. He has held teaching and research positions in anthropology, and sociology across the world. He was the Founder and Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Studies, a hub for African intellectual and linguistic research in Cape Town. Professor Prah has advocated for the use of African languages in education, governance, and scientific development. He has been a prolific writer and public intellectual, having written or edited more than 50 books. He delivered the eighth Kobina Sekyi Memorial Lecture on October 11th, 2024.