BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    The university age: development and decolonisation in Nigeria, 1930 to 1966

    Livsey, Timothy Rothwell (2014) The university age: development and decolonisation in Nigeria, 1930 to 1966. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.

    [img] PDF
    Fullversion-2014LivseyTRphdBBK.pdf - Full Version
    Restricted to Repository staff only

    Download (5MB)

    Abstract

    This thesis is a study of Nigerian universities in the global age of development. It focuses on three themes: first, the place of the university in development; second, the relationship between the global and the local in development; and third, the connections between decolonisation and development. A development consensus arose during the 1930s and the Second World War that produced plans for universities through an interaction between deep-rooted Nigerian aspirations and networks that mediated western ideas. University College, Ibadan (UCI), Nigeria’s first university founded by the British in 1948, and the Nigerian-led university projects of the 1950s, exemplify relationships between decolonisation and development. Their history offers new perspectives on British decolonisation policy. It highlights the complex nature of neo-colonialism, the crucial importance of the state in decolonising nations, and the role of the United States in the late British empire. Analyses of university built environments and student culture offer alternative ways to consider development and decolonisation. UCI’s buildings are analysed to reinterpret the relationship between built environments and late colonialism, rediscovering Nigerian planning contributions, tensions within the British colonial establishment, and the importance of the buildings’ reception and use. Student culture exemplifies the variety of forms of agency in everyday life at UCI. Evidence from practices of eating, dress, dance and rebellion shows that student culture was not defined by university authorities, but created by students who drew on a variety of cultural styles. Finally, the thesis considers Nigerian universities after independence in 1960. New universities were founded, and foreign aid flowed in to support their role in national development. The thesis shows how national political crises interacted with tensions within global development ideologies to contribute to growing disenchantment about the importance of universities in Nigerian development.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Thesis
    Additional Information: This thesis is not currently available for public use
    Copyright Holders: The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, who asserts his/her right to be known as such according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. No dealing with the thesis contrary to the copyright or moral rights of the author is permitted.
    Depositing User: Acquisitions And Metadata
    Date Deposited: 17 Sep 2014 12:04
    Last Modified: 01 Nov 2023 12:10
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40079
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.18743/PUB.00040079

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    1Download
    6 month trend
    483Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item Edit/View Item