A Theoretical Investigation of Comparative Literature as a Decolonial Discipline in the Nigerian Academic Context

Comparative Literature as a global academic discipline carries the structural marks of its European imperial origins, particularly in its traditional canon, its privileging of European literary comparison, and its assumption of a universal literary value system accessible through Western critical frameworks. This study conducted an original theoretical investigation of how Comparative Literature as a discipline can be decolonised within the Nigerian academic context. A constructive theoretical methodology was employed, drawing on decolonial theory (Mignolo, Quijano, Ndlovu-Gatsheni), African literary theory (Ngugi, Achebe, Biodun Jeyifo), and institutional critique of the discipline (Spivak, Damrosch, Moretti). The theoretical analysis identified three levels of decolonial transformation required in the discipline: epistemological (rethinking which knowledge systems count as literary theory), canonical (rethinking which texts count as world literature), and methodological (rethinking which analytical tools are adequate for non-European literary traditions). Primary empirical grounding was provided through structured interviews with 35 Nigerian Comparative Literature and English scholars at universities across all six geopolitical zones, exploring their experiences of disciplinary constraint and decolonial aspiration. The original Decolonial Comparative Literature Framework proposes seven transformations: centring African literary theory as methodology, indigenous language literatures as primary canon, oral literary traditions as equivalent to written, comparative methodology drawn from African philosophical traditions, student-centred local knowledge frameworks, South-South comparative paradigms, and postcanonical evaluation criteria. Expert review by 22 scholars confirmed the framework's theoretical originality and strategic relevance for Nigerian university literary studies.

Keywords: decolonial Comparative Literature, Nigerian academia, discipline reform, African literary theory, original framework