(University of Lagos, Nigeria)
Literature, discourse, technology: a digital exploration of the depiction of Lagos city in postcolonial writings
Abstract
Recent developments within the digital cultural heritage research community show more enthusiastic conversation among scholars in digital humanities, anthropology, history and allied disciplines. This study contributes to these debates by presenting some aspect of the theoretical, methodological and technical issues explored in a digital literary project titled LitTech Lagos, the digital depiction of Lagos city in literary writings. It examines how new forms of digitization affect the curation, communication and circulation of creative works as a critical component of cultural heritage.
The LitTech Lagos project models the LitLong Edinburgh by using natural language processing technology based on contributions from literary scholars in order to text mine literary works set in Lagos and to visualise the results in accessible ways. (Loxley, et al. 2017).
The pilot study consists of a collection of ten postcolonial literary works on Lagos which focus on different aspects of the cultural, social, political lives of the city and how all these are portrayed in the creative works. These works are transformed into soft copies for data mining and digitization process.
This presentation discusses this project with the aim of creating an awareness of the role of digital technology in transforming postcolonial literature into knowledge creation and cultural enrichment. Furthermore it shows how digital technology is creating a new platform to celebrate creativity and intellectual property, helping to preserve as well as globalise indigenous and traditional cultural works and creative knowledge.
The study thus illuminates the ongoing debate that the discourse of digitization offers great potential and possibilities for research works in the Global South to unveil the rich yet unexplored cultural heritage works that are in danger of extinction.
Introduction
According to Klages (2006), postcolonial theory is pre-occupied with the emotional, political and economic effects of colonisation, and how texts, including literary texts, respond to the coloniser-colonised experience. She added that postcolonial studies is interested in the attitude of resistance on the part of the colonised, thereby revealing how and why in many works of literature, especially those coming from Africa, characters often struggle with their identities. For instance, history records that the British had a colonial presence in Nigeria from around the late 19th Century until 1960 when Nigeria gained its independence; hence, the people of Nigeria and its literary production have had to deal with the effects of British legacy ever since then. In a humorous manner, Chinua Achebe captures the impact of Lagos city life on young men in one of his novels, No Longer at Ease, in the following excerpt: “That is what Lagos can do to a young man. He runs after sweet things, dances breast to breast with women and forgets his home and his people (No Longer at Ease, 145). The project intends to bring to life such and other memorable depictions of characters and events in colonial Lagos city as portrayed in a number of literary works.
Theoretical Issues: The Project
This study explores the theoretical, methodological and technical issues on a new project titled LitTech Lagos, the digital depiction of Lagos city in literary writings.
Underpinned by perspectives from postcolonial literary theory, it seeks to reconstitute, reconstruct and recreate the identity and cultural values of the former colonized people. It examines how new forms of digitization affect the curation, communication and circulation of creative works as a critical component of cultural heritage. The LitTech Lagos project will adopt theoretical and technical framework of the LitLong Edinburgh by using natural language processing technology based on contributions from literary scholars’ in order to text mine literary works set in Lagos and to visualise the results in accessible ways. Similarly, the project will be able to bring the Lagos ‘literary cityscape more fully into view, and so encourage us to reflect on, question and celebrate the urban communities, cultures and environments in which we live’ (www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/research/palimpsest/about-the-project; see also Anderson & Loxley 2016) and which others might be willing to explore.
Methodology
The pilot study consists of a collection of ten postcolonial works on Lagos (e.g. Achebe’s No Longer At Ease) which focus on different aspects of the cultural, social, political lives of the city and how all these are portrayed in the creative works. The selected literary works are transformed into soft copies for data mining and digitization process.
The study draws on relevant approaches and methodological models to show how digitization is creating new frameworks for intellectual property, helping to preserve as well as globalise indigenous and traditional knowledge.
The study thus contributes to the ongoing debate that the discourse of digitization offers great potential to research works in emerging nations in the Global South to unveil the rich yet unexplored cultural heritage works that are in danger of being destroyed or forgotten.
Since Lagos City became a British Colony in 1861, it has remained the hub of social, cultural, political and economic activities in Nigeria. A significant number of literary, creative and cultural works and events have flourished in the city in the last five to six decades. It is worthy of note that British cultures and civilisations have played a critical role in inspiring and shaping the works of a good number of Nigerian literary writers and creative artists.
Kaye Whiteman, (2014: ix) captures this in the preface to his work titled, Lagos: City of the Imagination. He states that “… Lagos is above all a triumph of imagination over reality… Few cities have inspired so many in so short a time. Odia Ofeimum’s recent volume Lagos of the Poets alone is evidence enough of the city’s creative passion….”
LitTech Lagos therefore will examine, document, amplify and globalise this creative passion inspired by the city through the digitisation of literary and creative writings in and on Lagos.
Data Analysis: A Brief Digital / Corpus Analysis
The project relies on the application of a number of technologies to explore the city as conceptualised and portrayed in the selected literary text. In the three figures below, I present the results of the application of a digital tool (AntConc3.4) in exploring the ‘mention’ of ‘Lagos’ in one of the literary text (Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease, 1970) being used for the project. Notice the key words in context highlighted with different colours in the screencast.
Figures 2-4 show a brief analysis of key word in context (KWIC) which highlights and supplies information on the discourses around ‘Lagos’. Readers have the privilege of extracting information on the nature, culture, life style, characters, among other important information on Lagos as depicted in the novel.
Conclusion: Current state and anticipated impact of LitTech Lagos
This digital-based exploration of literary texts is a pioneer project in Nigeria. While readers and the general public are familiar with the written versions of these creative enterprises, very few have access to the multidimensional meaning and interpretation as well as the socio-cultural nuances veiled in the texts. Not many will recollect some of the significant events and characters in the texts.
LitTech:Lagos does not necessarily require any formal education for people to be able to interact with the information on the digital map. The project provides unrestricted access to the information in the texts, irrespective of the users pre-existing knowledge. The research team will provide additional information and commentary on key events, places, characters among other things in the web page. Although the project is at its infancy, we have done substantial data collection and examination of some critical writings that shed light on the analysis of the contents.
Our team hopes to draw on the expertise of the literary, linguistic and ICT scholars in the group for the successful execution of the project. When the digital map goes live, it is anticipated that it will provide a large database for key information on some critical aspect of the history, cultures, social life, of the people, and the city as documented in the written texts. We are hopeful that funding support will be attracted by organisations and agencies willing to support the project.
Some of the additional short and long term benefits will include (i) The project will serve as a tool for entertainment and leisure as users reconnect with interesting pieces of stories from text they never read or encountered. (ii) as a source for preserving history of the city and its people. (iii) It will become a platform for the preservation of cultural heritage mentioned in the writings. (iv) It will be providing virtual resources for visitors, tourists planning to visit Lagos and explore the beauty and enchanting lifestyle portrayed in a number of the texts. (v) The project will serve as a useful virtual historical and educational materials for schools and institutions within and outside Nigeria planning to teach students on Lagos socio-economic, political and cultural life. (vi) It is a way of decolonising knowledge, history and artefacts by using digital technologies to project the beauty and naturalness of the African history and its people. (vii) It will further upscale the conversation on the role of digital technologies in transforming literary and creative writing into a civilising, informative, educative and tourism tool, and as an instrument for social transformation, cultural/heritage security and preservation.
Webography
www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/research/palimpsest/about-the-project, last accessed 25.01.2019.
References:
- Achebe, C. (1960). No longer at ease. Ibadan: Heinemann
- Anderson, M. & Loxley, J. (2016). The digital poetics of place-names in literary Edinburgh. In Literary Mapping in the Digital Age. Cooper, D., Donaldson, C. & Murrieta-Flores, P. (eds.). London: Routledge, pp. 47-66.
- Klages, M. (2006). Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed. Continuum: London.
- Loxley, J., Alex, B., Anderson, M., Hinrichs, U., Grover, C., Thomson, T., Harris-Birtill, D., Quigley, A. & Oberlander, J. (2017). ‘Multiplicity embarrasses the eye': The digital mapping of literary Edinburgh. In The Routledge Companion to Spatial History (Routledge Companions). Gregory, I., Debats, D. & Lafreniere, D. (eds.). London: Routledge, pp. 604-628.
- Whiteman, K. (2014). Lagos: City of the Imagination. Abuja: Cassava Republic Press.