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A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Producing Intellectuals: Lagosian Books and Pamphlets between 1874 and 1922 Nara Muniz Improta França Submitted for the qualification of Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature University of Sussex September 2013 ii I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature : ………………………………… Nara Muniz Improta França iii Summary This thesis explores the connections, networks and debates that characterised Lagosian intellectual life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using books and pamphlets as its substrate. At least three hundred books were published or circulated in Lagos between 1874 and 1922. Who were writing and reading these books? Did they constitute a network of intellectuals? It will be argued here that those responsible for Lagosian books and pamphlets formed a heterogeneous and incohesive group, not easily defined and here called the “Lagosian intellectual network”, which included not only authors but readers and other agents of book production. This study uses Arjun Appadurai’s concepts of “disjuncture” and “scapes” to analyse such a complex intellectual network and to appreciate its many dimensions and the fluidity of its relations. The thesis also argues that books should be studied as social facts in themselves: as Karin Barber suggests, more than communicating ideas, books placed their authors in the intellectual network and were sources of social capital. The Lagosian intellectual network is here re-localised in Paul Gilroy’s “black Atlantic” context. The scope is widened from authorship to members of the publishing industry and to readers, while also crossing geographic, religious and ethnic boundaries. Following debates in print, this study contextualises Lagosian intellectual production within a broader print culture project that included West Africa, England, the United States and Brazil. In this way, the thesis uses Lagosian books and pamphlets to discuss what produces an intellectual. In so doing, it outlines and examines the main features of the Lagosian intellectual network, analyses the factors that motivated intellectuals to write, read and debate, and enables an understanding of Lagosian print culture as part of a complex, diverse project in which Lagosian publications were inserted within a wider Atlantic network. iv To Auntie SN, without whom this thesis would not have been possible. To Juan Pablo and Samuel, without whom happiness would not have been possible. v Acknowledgements Roger Chartier said that authors do not write books. They write texts that through the work of other people become books. Similarly, many people helped me to produce this text into a PhD thesis, and I would like to use this opportunity to thank them for their support. My studies were partly financed by the European Union (Alban Scholarship) and by my maternal family. Grandpa Ramiro, Grandma Maria, Uncle Ian and my mother, Isabella, gathered all the necessary funds to pay the remaining university fees when I transferred to the University of Sussex. I cannot thank them enough for their generosity. I was lucky to be born into a family that values knowledge and cares so much for me. I am greatly indebted to my supervisor, Stephanie Newell, who accepted me as her student at a very turbulent moment in my life. She trusted my work and offered me the best supervision a student can have. Besides her amazing intellectual input in my studies, she encouraged my “crazy ideas”, and showed me what was required to transform them into academic material – all this in a light, but caring way. I would also like to thank the staff and students of the School of English, in particular Laura Vellacott, Denise Narain, Jenny Greenshield, Kate Haines and Katie Reid. Kate and Katie supported me all the way through. With them, I learned much not only about African literature and print culture, but also about friendship. Together we started the Africa in Words blog, which will continue beyond this PhD, and I bid it will keep us close for many years to come. vi During my fieldwork in Benin and Nigeria, I counted on the guidance and support of many people, some of whom I would like to mention here: Elisee Soumonni of the Universite D’Abomey-Calavi; Felix Ayoh Omidire and Akin Alao of the Obafemi Awolowo University (Ile-Ife); Dorcas Olubanke, Oduwa Egbon, Bolanle Esther Oyedele, Oni Funke and my guardian angel, Samuel Fabunmi (a.k.a. oko oyinbo), of the University of Ibadan; J. A. Adeniran, Olayemi Abraham, Oluwogboyega and Olayinka Adekola of the National Archives of Nigeria in Ibadan; Sebastiao Neves and Adeniran Olusola Arimoro of the Brazilian Consulate in Lagos. While writing this thesis, I had the opportunity to work with a very different field to my own: the anti-nuclear weapons NGOs. I want to thank Ward Wilson, Paul Ingram, Sarah Graham-Brown, Sally Milne and Sandra Butcher for showing me a world beyond academia. It is impossible to mention all the friends who, in one way or another, helped me during my PhD journey, by giving me intellectual feedback, by listening to my rants, or just by making my life happier. Some were going through the same experience of writing a thesis and could understand exactly what I was going through: Francesca, Charlotte, Barbara and Felix, Mayra and Mauricio, Lisa, Laura, Audrey, Francy, Pablo, Mateo, Alvaro, Nacho, Albina, Virginia, Daniel, Fred, Gabriel, Bruno and Rafael. Other friends helped me get my head away from the PhD: Ward, Tamara, Renato, Jonny, Pryia, Marcelo, Pam and Matt, Meana, Lisa and Baz (and all the folks from the FSR Choir). And also those who, every time I visited Mexico or Brazil, received me with open arms and full of encouragement: Alonso, Carlos, Monica, Rodrigo, Joana, Fernando K, vii Helena, Luana S and Pedro, Pedrinho and Carlinha, Tiago and Andreza, Nina, Vivi and Luana Y. Monica Lima and Elisee Soumonni inspired me to pursue African studies and supported my journey throughout. I am very grateful to them. Ward, Kate, Rebecca, Laura, Charlotte, Aniela, Isabella and JP proved the strength of our friendship by reading chapters and versions of this thesis. They corrected my English and offered amazing feedback. I am greatly indebted to them for their time and care. It will be hard to thank enough my good friend Charlotte Hastings. She saw me at my worst and at my best and never left my side. Crossing cities and cultural barriers, she was always there for me. The hardest part of being in the UK is being away from my family: my father, who I love very much and whose presence I miss in my daily life; my aunts, Aniela and Aleria, who always make my life happier with their warm, wise, loving ways; my brothers, Gabriel and Mayo, and my cousins, Bruno, Dudu, Anna and Mariana, who are also good friends and whose lives I wish I could share more of. I cannot forget to mention my “acquired” family: my godparents, Roberto and Ana, whom I love as my own and who have set me a beautiful example of a loving family; my compadres, Monica and Rodrigo, Eugenio and Francesca, friends so close they became like siblings; and my godson Miguel, “muleque”, whom I love and miss very much. My Mexican family, Lupe, Juan Pablo Senior, Sebastian and Gabriela, whom I viii love and admire as my own, and who make me proud that my son is also Mexican. And my “little” Oyin, who for six long years has squeaked every day for spinach and kept me company during my long hours of work. Also included in the “acquired family” is the staff of the LSE Nursery, who cared for my son Samuel as if he was their own child; and little Isabella, Sebastian, Eva, Bodhi, Victoria, Timon, Lima and Juana, who brought so much happiness into Samuel’s everyday life. During these long PhD studies, some loved ones left us, and I would like to take this opportunity to honour their memory: Dr. Mrs. (as the sign in her door said) Dorcas Olubanke; dear and loved friend Barrosinho; my uncle, Ion Muniz, and my lovely and beloved grandma, Ivy Improta. I miss them very much and wish they were here to celebrate with me. I cannot fail to mention here my lovelies, Funfun and Ata, who despite their short lives kept me company and filled my routine with love and squeaks. Many pages of this thesis were written while on Skype. At the other end, my mother, in silence, would also be working. She is my best friend, my guide and my safe harbour. I thank her for her daily call full of warmth and closeness that filled me with courage and strength. Juan Pablo, my husband, friend, companion and, most of all, the love of my life has supported me unconditionally throughout my studies and this thesis would not have been possible without him by my side. But never mind the thesis: there would not be any happiness without him! Samuel, my little sunshine, who wakes me up every day early in the morning, smiling, radiating happiness, who helps me keep things in perspective and reminds me that there ix is nothing like one day after the other.

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