Adeola Oluyemisi Eze

Adeola Eze is a Postgraduate Researcher in the Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities at Coventry University with a research interest in cultural memory and its influence on contemporary literature.

Her research focuses on the discovery, reception, and experimental use of ancient book formats within the modern literary landscape. She investigates the complex procedures involved in the re-discovery of these formats from antiquity, examines how they were received, and pushes the boundaries through their innovative use. Outside of her primary research, her research interest also stretches to children's literature, investigating how children engage with literature and how their earliest encounters with stories shape their understanding of literary constructs based on convention and expectation.

The Reception of Ancient Book Formats in Contemporary Literature

My PhD research study, entitled ‘The Reception of Ancient Book Formats in Contemporary Literature’, lies at the intersection of Classical Reception and Book History, critically assessing the awareness of the discovery, preservation, reception, and reuse of ancient book formats or the scholarly discourse on them in contemporary literature.

Emphasising the importance of preserving surviving texts, this research aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of cultural, literary, and historical achievements from the past, considering challenges like deciphering underlying text or languages in manuscripts and how contemporary scholars, writers and artists are engaging with such. Additionally, through exploring their connections with materials, fragments, and classical reception, I draw comparisons with contemporary book types and digital versions.

Supervisors: Dr Daniel Anderson, Professor Patricia Phillippy & Dr Janneke Adema

The Representation of the Interconnectedness of the Human and Non-Human in Contemporary Children's Literature.

The research project explored the interplay between literature and the natural world, using a diverse range of children's books as the literary corpus for analysis. The investigation was structured within the study to encompass the depiction of the environment for children in British, North American, and African contexts while also considering the associated environmental challenges.

The research contextualised these theories within contemporary events and ecological challenges, such as biodiversity loss, climate change, global warming, and ecosystem processes, emphasising the significance of literature, otherness, and connectedness in shaping environmental perspectives, particularly in African responses to ecological issues. The study highlighted using imagination, empathy, and active engagement as crucial elements in re-calibrating the ecological viewpoint while advocating a return to childhood and nature connectedness as essential to addressing contemporary ecological problems. The project's focus on urgent and meaningful environmental themes showcased its commitment to addressing critical global challenges through academic inquiry.

Supervisor: Dr Thomas Knowles