Iwalewa Ol
orunyomi is a multi-diverse scholar, researcher, and editor who is particularly fascinated by the intersections of spaces, narrative, cultural studies, and futures. This fascination has led her to explore the multidimensional identities and spatial practices of African and African diasporic communities in her research. She holds a B.A. in English Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in African and African Diaspora Studies at Florida International University.
Iwalewa’s academic journey began with a strong foundation in Classical studies and English, which she further enriched through graduate courses and seminars at the Diaspora and Transnational Studies Unit, Institute of African Studies, Ibadan. This interdisciplinary background equipped her with a deep understanding of anthropological concepts, ethnographic research methods, and critical theories that inform her research interests. Prior to her birth, her parents had established one of the earliest digital research libraries in West Africa in 1996. She often worked in this digital archive, sometimes disruptively, after school and during holidays. Little did she know that attending the formal seminar on Children of West African Migrant Workers was already exposing her to the practice and discourse of diaspora, exile, identity, and associated experiences. This foundation was further strengthened by her research experience as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos, which further exposed her to exciting fields such as African Studies, Cultural Studies, and Digital Humanities. Iwalewa has also served as an editorial intern at University Press PLC and has published articles in Premium Times Nigeria. She has completed projects that showcase her versatility, including A Multimodal Stylistic Analysis of Beyoncé’s “Black is King”
In addition to her academic pursuits, Iwalewa is a dedicated community leader and advocate for cultural preservation. She has participated in various conferences and workshops related to leadership, journalism, and peace studies. Her commitment to reviving endangered languages is evident through her public readings of translated canonical texts and her role as a narrator in Femi Odugbemi’s documentary film on Daniel Fagunwa’s Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole. A global citizen, a believer in difference, and a worshiper of knowledge, Iwalewa’s religion is humanity. She hopes to become a scholar of sociocultural anthropology, leveraging her knowledge and expertise to expand academic conversations on post-colonial religions, cosmopolitanism, and spatial anthropology in an increasingly interconnected world. When Iwalewa is not being an impossible daughter to her father through her fusion of the strange and the familiar, she can be found having fiery debates over hot pepper soup.