Project Title

Gifts from Nature: African Indigenous Knowledge, Music and Ecological Sustainability

Project Description

Josh’s dissertation, Gifts from Nature, offers a crucial and timely response to the Anthropocene from an African perspective. Through ethnographic methods and community engagement, the project examines and harnesses African music, sound, and indigenous knowledge systems to address environmental sustainability in Ghana. It contends that the fractured relationship and dearth of reciprocity between humans, non-humans, and the natural world have contributed to the current global crises. At its core, the project illustrates how African epistemology— expressed through musical and sonic traditions— can provide valuable insights for developing contemporary approaches to environmental stewardship.