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Critical Reflections on Big Brother Naija As Popular Culture

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Critical Reflections on Big Brother Naija As Popular Culture CALL FOR PAPERS Critical Reflections on Big Brother Naija as Popular Culture Contributions are invited for an edited book on Big Brother Naija as Popular Culture in Nigeria. Abstracts and contributions must be written in English and in a style accessible to a wide audience. Please submit abstracts to: [email protected] Abstracts no later than 30th November 2020 Editors Prof. Christopher Isike University of Pretoria, South Africa [email protected] Dr. Olusola Ogunnubi Carleton University, Canada / University of the Free State, South Africa [email protected] Mr Ogochukwu Ukwueze University of Nigeria, Nsukka Nigeria [email protected] Rationale Big Brother Naija (BBN) is the Nigerian version of the Big Brother franchise which concept is drawn from George Orwell’s novel, 1984, and is featured in more than 50 countries of the world. Although organised and starred by Nigerians, BBN is viewed in many parts of the world. As a reality TV show, BBN belongs to the category of human production called Popular Culture, which Ogude and Nyairo (2007, 7) define as consisting of “creativity which is not elite, unofficial and urban”. Indeed, Popular Culture often reflects the taste of the common people and gauges the tempo of prevailing social reality. In essence, it is the site of engagement with the temperament of a society. This makes BBN, as part of Nigeria’s popular culture, a credible platform to engage and understand Nigeria, its peoples and culture better. The Season Five (Lockdown Edition) of the BBN ended on 27 September 2020, with Mr Olamilekan Agbeleshe (Laycon) as the winner. As with other editions since the show debuted 14 years ago, the just concluded Season Five was met with mixed reactions ranging from disapproval of its sexual content to the extolling of its creativity and financial promise for Nigerian youths. These and many other varied opinions on the show position it as a potential subject for critical scholarly enquiry and reflections. However, there is a dearth in literature on the significance of the BBN reality show 14 years after its debut in 2006. The one and only scholarly reflection on it by Akinola and Ogunnubi (2020) has shown how BBN constitutes a soft power resource for projecting Nigeria’s impact on the international scene through celebrity diplomacy among others. To fill this knowledge gap, we seek scholarly contributions/chapters engaging critically with the Big Brother Naija reality TV show for an edited book project. This project is founded on the understanding that BBN is an aspect of Nigeria’s popular culture, just like Hip pop music and Nollywood movies, with significant implications for Nigeria and society beyond the entertainment value. These other possible dimensions of value are expected to be gathered through the book that critically reflects on the show. The aim is to offer a more scientific analysis of the BBN show and to reflect on its categorisation as popular culture. We invite scholarly papers on one or more of the following multidisciplinary themes amongst others: • Structure and Organizing Principles of BBN • BBN and Identity/ Image Making • BBN, Social Cohesion and Nation-Building • BBN, Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy • BBN and Economy • BBN and Fan/ Social Media/Social Culture • BBN and Nigerian vs Western cultural values • BBN and Discourse/ Language Use • BBN and Conflict Management • BBN and Gender Relations • BNN and Sexuality • BBN and Ableism • BBN and National Policy and Development, • BBN, Digital Technology and Globalisation • BBN, Entertainment and Mental Health/ Stress Management Instructions for contributors: Contributors should submit an abstract of 200-250 words to editors at the email address below by 30th November 2020. Full papers should be typed on A4 paper size, double line spacing not more than 20 pages (max 7000 words including references). For blind review purposes, the names of the author(s), a short biography of the contributor(s), telephone number(s), email address and the address/institutional affiliation should appear on a separate first page. Referencing style should conform to APA, 6th edition style. Receipt of manuscripts will be acknowledged. Full papers must reach the editors on or before 30 March 2021. All submissions and correspondences should be submitted to: [email protected] .
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