Applying Complexity Theory to the Study of Classical Heritage Transmission in Colonial and Post-Colonial Nigeria: A Theoretical Investigation

The transmission of classical heritage in colonial and post-colonial Nigeria involves non-linear dynamics, multiple interacting agents, emergent cultural forms, and feedback loops between institutional, individual, and communal levels that simple diffusion models of cultural transmission cannot adequately capture. This study applies complexity theory to the study of classical heritage transmission in Nigeria, constituting an original theoretical investigation at the intersection of Classical Studies, complexity science, and postcolonial cultural theory. A theoretical-constructive methodology was adopted, drawing on complexity theory frameworks (Stacey, Holland, Cilliers) alongside postcolonial cultural theory and the Nigerian classical reception literature. The study constructs a Complexity Model of Classical Heritage Transmission (CMCHT) that treats the Nigerian classical heritage landscape as a complex adaptive system with multiple interacting transmission agents (colonial education institutions, Christian missions, secular universities, legal institutions, media, and literary networks), non-linear emergence dynamics (unpredictable creative recombinations of classical and indigenous material), and adaptive self-organisation (the tendency of the system to generate novel classical-African hybrid forms without central coordination). The model is applied analytically to four episodes of Nigerian classical transmission history: the colonial grammar school period, the nationalist literary renaissance, the post-independence legal system development, and the contemporary digital media environment. In each case, the complexity model captures dynamics that linear diffusion models miss, including amplification, resistance, and creative recombination. The CMCHT constitutes an original theoretical contribution to cultural transmission theory.

Keywords: complexity theory, classical heritage, cultural transmission, postcolonial Nigeria, theoretical investigation