Abstract
After suffering persistent denigration and marginalization under various European colonial and missionary regimes, the spiritualities and philosophies of Indigenous/Native communities are making a comeback into academic and public consciousness around the world. Scholars are not only demonstrating the relevance of of these Indigenous spiritualities for holistic living, but are also critically engaging them in the service of environmental wellbeing and human flourishing in the age of scientific modernity. In this paper, I draw key insights on the contribution of Indigenous African ecological ethics and spiritualities to the advancement of social peace through a critical engagement with Chinua Achebe’s classic novel Things Fall Apart (1958), a foundational text in the postcolonial African literary canon. While recent ecocritical scholarship has begun to focus on the rich ecological motifs in the novel, little attention has been given to how the ecological undertones advance a vision of social peace and communal harmony. In an age when the bonds of fraternity, social friendship, and peace are threatened by forces of social disintegration and violence, Things Fall Apart can show how the vision of ecological harmony that sustained our pre-modern ancestors is still relevant for us today. This study underscores the importance of bringing (eco)theology in dialogue with literature in the African context.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Indigenous Spiritualities in Global Perspective
KEYWORDS
Indigenous Spiritualities, Ethics, Social Peace, Ecological Harmony, African Literature
