Decolonising the African Literary Canon: A Critical Theoretical Inquiry into Inclusion, Authority, and the Politics of Reading in Nigerian Universities

This dissertation conducts a critical theoretical inquiry into the decolonisation of the African literary canon as it operates in Nigerian university English and literary studies departments, examining the politics of inclusion and exclusion, the structures of institutional authority that govern canonical decisions, and the possibilities and limitations of decolonising pedagogical practice within existing institutional constraints. The decolonisation of knowledge and curricula is among the most urgent debates in African higher education, but its application to literary studies, which involves not merely curriculum content but the fundamental question of what counts as literature, how it should be read, and whose interpretive frameworks are authoritative, requires sustained theoretical development. The dissertation develops an original theoretical framework drawing on postcolonial canon theory, African philosophy of knowledge, and the sociology of literary fields. The framework is applied through an empirical investigation combining documentary analysis of 30 undergraduate English syllabi from Nigerian universities across all geopolitical zones, in-depth interviews with 25 literary studies faculty members, and focus group discussions with 40 undergraduate students. Original theoretical contributions include a model of canonical authority in Nigerian English departments that identifies the competing forces of international prestige systems, nationalist cultural politics, and pedagogical pragmatism, and a theory of decolonising reading practice that moves beyond content substitution to address the epistemological foundations of literary interpretation. Recommendations include a national curriculum forum for Nigerian literary studies decolonisation. Keywords: decolonisation, literary canon, Nigerian universities, epistemology, postcolonial education.