Скачать или смотреть Enrique Okenve: Indigenizing in the Spanish Empire: An African Perspective

Inaugural lecture by Andrés Bello Chair Enrique Okenve (University of the West Indies), exploring the contested meanings of “indigenous” in Equatorial Guinea within the history of the Spanish Empire. The talk examines how colonial policies, memories, and local resistance shaped processes of indigenization across Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific. Introduced by Monique Bedasse and moderated by Adrian de León (NYU History).

NYU Espacio de Culturas - February 19, 2026

This program co-sponsored by the Department of History and the Center for Latin American Studies.

This event is part of the 21st Annual MLK Week, taking place February 2–6, 2026.

Participants

ENRIQUE OKENVE
Enrique Okenve teaches African history and research methods in the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus (Jamaica). A child of the Nzomo clan and Africa’s post-independence exile, he was born in Spain. There, he grew up aware of his belonging to Equatorial Guinea, while learning about his family’s opposition to colonialism and the successive dictators that have plagued the country since its independence from Spain.

Professor Okenve received his BA in History from the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, his MA in History from SOAS (U. of London), a Diploma in Educational Methodology from the Complutense University in Madrid, and his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Both his Master’s and PhD thesis focused on the history of Equatorial Guinea.

His cross-disciplinary research focuses on 19th and 20th century West Central Africa and relies heavily on oral history. Okenve’s numerous articles and book chapters, written in both Spanish and English, have appeared in such journals as Ayer Revista de Historia Contemporánea and The International Journal of African Historical Studies, among others.

He is the author of 8 peer reviewed articles, and has a forthcoming book with the Ohio University Press, We Can No Longer Stop the Rain: Villages, Tradition, and Power in Colonial Equatorial Guinea. His works in progress include a book manuscript that explores the development of tradition as an ideological tool to resist the Spanish colonial state in Equatorial Guinea and a new book project that examines transcontinental ties and the human factor behind the involvement of colonized Africans in the anti-colonial nationalist movement. He also hosts a weekly history radio show on one of Jamaica’s radio stations.

In September 2024, Professor Okenve gave the closing keynote lecture at Espacio de Culturas for the project “Gabinete Fang,” titled “Behind the Gaze: Spanish Power and Fang Humiliation in Equatorial Guinea” which was co-sponsored by Hofstra University.

MONIQUE BEDASSE
Monique Bedasse is Associate Professor at NYU and historian of Africa and the African diaspora, with a focus on East Africa and the Caribbean. Based on a deep interest in transnational histories, her work moves betwixt and between regions that have traditionally been calcified into separate fields of study. Her interests include the intellectual, political, and social history of decolonization, black internationalism and African diasporic politics.

ADRIAN DE LEON
Adrian De León is an Assistant Professor of U.S. History at NYU and co-chair of Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative. His work examines Filipino diasporic experiences and their intersections with empire and nation-states. He is the author and editor of six books, including Bundok: A Hinterland History of Filipino America (2023) and Balikbayan: A Revenant History of the Filipino Homeland (2026), and has written extensively for major public outlets. De León has received numerous awards for his scholarship and public history work, including the Engaged Scholar Award (2022), and serves as a Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians.