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In a moment where peacebuilding is often framed through universal, Global-North epistemologies that marginalise African ontologies as merely "cultural," this presentation offers a different proposition: that the crisis in peacebuilding is not one of implementation, but of epistemology. Drawing on foundational debates in African philosophy and innovative work in computational linguistics, this research seminar session challenges the assumption that liberal peacebuilding can host the plurality of African knowledge it claims to integrate.
As the discussion unfolds, participants are invited to explore how standard computational models—such as First-Order Logic and OWL ontologies—often erase indigenous knowledge systems by enforcing monolithic, speaker-neutral lexicons. Using the rare gender-bound vocabulary of the Ubang community in Nigeria as a case study, the presenters propose Epistemically-Indexed Description Logics (EI-DL) as a complementary framework. This approach refuses to flatten the pluriverse, instead treating contextual constraints like communal authority and ritual standing as first-class parameters. Ultimately, the seminar reconceives peace as a site of epistemic sovereignty, asking who is allowed to be the source of legitimate knowledge, and on whose terms.
About the speakers
Dr Damilola Adegoke
(Group Leader/Convenor CAPL)
Dr Damilola Adegoke is a Lecturer in Leadership, Peace, Security and Development at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London. He holds a PhD in Leadership Studies, with a focus on Security and Development, from the ALC at King’s College London. His earlier academic credentials include an MSc in Security, Leadership, and Society from King’s College London, as well as a BA in Philosophy and an MSc in Sociology of Development from the University of Ibadan.
Dr Adegoke's research examines leadership and peacebuilding in conflict-affected and post-conflict societies, with a particular focus on Africa. It advances indigenous and relational ontologies of peace and conflict that challenge externally imposed frameworks and foreground local agency, knowledge systems, and political settlements. Methodologically, his work integrates digital sociology, artificial intelligence, and computational social science to interrogate the politics of knowledge production, digital sovereignty, and decision-making in peace and security contexts.
Abeeb Kasaba
(Research Assistant and member CAPL)
Abeeb Kasaba is a Computational Linguist and Researcher. He specialises in Natural Language Processing (NLP) solutions for low-resource African languages. He holds a First-Class Honours degree in Linguistics and a Master’s in Computational Linguistics from the University of Ibadan. Abeeb currently serves as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre and a Teaching Assistant for Computational Linguistics. His technical portfolio includes developing a deep learning system for Yorùbá diacritization and engineering "Yorsent," a hybrid sentiment analysis tool. Abeeb is committed to academic excellence and advancing indigenous language technologies.
Event details
(S) 2.04Bush House
Strand campus, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG