Asante-Opoku-Reindorf Lectures

Lectures

The Asante-Opoku-Reindorf Lecture Series is in honour of the memory and celebration of the careers and achievements of the Revs. David Asante, Theophilus Herman Opoku and Carl Christian Reindorf. All three persons were products of the 19^th century predecessor of the Institute, namely the Akropong College and Theological Seminary (founded in 1848) of the Basel Mission in the Gold Coast (Ghana). It is the buildings of the earlier College and Seminary, now renovated and modernized, that house the main academic and administrative offices, library, lecture and seminar rooms and other facilities of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture.

Given that education as conceived and practiced by the Basel Mission was intended to serve largely the interests of mission and church, its real outcomes were in fact quite remarkable. It produced some of the most outstanding individuals of the period, who were able to relate deeply to their own society in a wide range of areas and also to engage critically and creatively with the wider world. Such were the three eminent persons after whom the lecture series is named.

All rooms in the Institute bear the names of various people, and three of these rooms are named after David Asante, Theophilus Opoku and Carl Reindorf. These three were selected to bear the name of the lecture because of the diverse careers as well as the social, cultural and intellectual impact and significance they had on society. Interestingly, each of them used his mother tongue – Twi in the case of Asante and Opoku, and Ga in the case of Reindorf – in his intellectual discourse, so making their thought accessible to a large section of contemporary society and also showing the capacity of African indigenous languages to be vehicles of communication between educated people, and for academic purposes.

In 2004, the Akrofi-Christaller Institute and the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences agreed to collaborate on the Asante-Opoku-Reindorf Memorial Lecture Series. Topics treated to date are as follows:

2006	Oral tradition in A New Mode: The Shaping of Indigenous Scholarship and Literary Style	Emeritus Prof. J. H. Kwabena Nketia
2007	Referential Modes of Meaning as Strategies in Oral Communication	Emeritus Prof. J. H. Kwabena Nketia
2008	Claiming Our Heritage: Africa in World Christianity	Prof. Mrs. Amba Oduyoye
2009	Cooking on Two Stones of the Hearth: African Spirituality and the Socio-cultural Transformation of Africa	Prof. Kofi Asare Opoku
2010	Identity, Religion, Nation	Rev. Canon Prof. Emeritus John Samuel Pobee
2011	Unless the Lord watches Over the City…Urbanisation and Christian Witness in Ghana	Rev. Prof. David Kpobi
2012	Striving Towards Excellence in theological Education in Africa: Challenges and Prognosis	Rev. Prof. Deji Ayegboyin
2013	The Christian’s Response to Indigenous Slavery in Ghana: A Historical Perspective gleaned from the Records on Asante, Opoku and Reindorf	Akosua Perbi
2014	‘Not So among You’: Christian Heritage and Ecclesial Leadership in Contemporary Africa Kwabena	Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu
2015	‘Asem Yi Di Ka’: A Critical View of Ghana’s History through the Lens of Ephraim Amu’s Lectures	Philip Laryea
2016	“Indigenised Biblical-Theological Concepts as Paradigms for Nation Building: Some Gold Coast/Ghanaian Case Studies	John David Kwamena Ekem
2017	Culture, Conflict and Christian Activism: Evocations from Nineteenth-Century Gold Coast (Ghana)	Dr Maureen O. Iheanacho
2018	Adikanfo Mo – And What Are Heroes For?	Professor Dr. Ing. Henry Nii-Adziri Wellington
2019	He Came to His Own: Indigenous Reception and African Initiatives in Mission History	Rev. Dr. Abraham N.O. Kwakye
2020	Reception History of the Bible Among the Indigenous People of Africa	Prof. Eric N.B. Anum
2021	African Aesthetics and Identity: A Path to Nation Building	Prof. Esther Acolatse
2022	Miracles and Works of Power: Substance and Bane of African Christianity	Rev. Dr. James K. Walton
2023	African Agency Home and Abroad: Beyond the Human Factor?	Rev. Prof. Pashington Obeng