Other Shenanigans

Outside of academic research, here are some of my other activities and interests.

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My Research

Compiling the Human Condition

Welcome to my website! I am an academic deeply fascinated by the intricate interplay between theology, philosophy, and digital culture. I pursued my doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh, where my research delved into the rich and complex realms of philosophical theology, the philosophy of science and religion, and digital theology.  

My work is profoundly shaped by an enduring curiosity about the fundamental questions of existence and belief, especially as they are challenged and reshaped in our increasingly digital age. It is not just an academic pursuit, it is a personal quest to explore the depths of human consciousness, belief, being, and transformation. I do this using my experience in academic thoelogy and philosophy, science and religion, and industry experience in software and digital entrepreneurship

I enthusiastically welcome conversations with fellow thinkers, learners, and explorers who share an interest in these compelling questions, so do reach out if that is you!

 

Publications

Articles & Book Chapters
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “Digital Feminism, Public Theology, and the Reshaping of Female Subjectivity in Ghana.” Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, 32, no. 2 (October 2024): 222-245. https://doi.org/10.1163/21659214-13021245.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “Person, Community, and Faith in Ghana’s Online Spaces.” In Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, online first, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87624-1_47-1.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “God Made Better? How the Quest for Human-Level AI Shapes Postdigital Divinity.” In Postdigital Theologies: Technology, Belief and Practice, 217-232. London: Springer, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09405-7_13.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire and Prempeh, Charles. “Of Farms, Legends and Fools: Re-Engaging Ghana’s Development Narrative Through Social Media,” Media, Culture, and Society 44, no. 7 (July 2022): 1290 –1306. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111918.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “Rethinking African Theology in Light of Emerging Digital Culture.” Studies in World Christianity 28, no. 1 (February 2022): 87-109. https://doi.org/10.3366/swc.2022.0372.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire and Dei, Daniel. “‘Belief in God’ Does Not Cause Evil. A Response to Richard Dawkins.” European Journal of Science and Theology 14, no. 6 (December 2018): 3-16.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “Difficult Texts: Genesis 2.18 and 2.24.” Theology 121(6), (October 2018): 437-440.

Book Reviews

  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. ““African Public Theology.” Studies in World Christianity 27, no. 3 (October 2021).
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “The Accursed Tower: The Fall of Acre and the End of the Crusades.” Religious Studies Review 47, no. 2 (August 2021).
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “The Dawn of Christianity: People and Gods in a Time of Magic and Miracles.” Religious Studies Review 46, no. 3 (September 2020).

Upcoming

  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “Theological Anthropology.” In Oxford Handbook on Digital Theology, (Oxford: Oxford University Press), upcoming.
  • Agana, Agana-Nsiire. “Digital Feminism, Public Theology, and the Reshaping of Female Subjectivity in Ghana.” Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, under external review for special issue.

Teaching

As a postgraduate tutor, I plan and conduct tutorial sessions and assessment for undergraduate and master’s courses in the School of Divinity and the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS), University of Edinburgh. I have also prepared and delivered lectures in several of these courses.

Undergraduate tutoring:

  • The God(s) of the Philosophers: Proposals and Problems (SCQF Level 8)
  • History of Christianity as a World Religion 1B (student guest lecture, SCQF Level 8)
  • Christian Theology: Doctrines and Debates (SCQF Level 8)
  • Religions in Africa (SCQF Level 10) (student guest lecture)

Postgraduate tutoring (Level 11):

  • Philosophy, Science & Religion 2: Life and Mind
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Philosophy, Science, and Religion: Mind, Matter & Spirit
  • History of Science and Religion

Talks and Presentations

  • June 2024, Online | Annual Meeting of the Global Network for Digital Theology. Paper: “Digitality as a Hermeneutic: Lessons from My PhD Thesis Journey”
  • June 2024, Online | June Online Meeting of the American Academy of Religion: “Excuses, Excuses: Sunkwa in Akan Theodicy.”
  • November 2022, Edinburgh Quasi-Physicalism in African Philosophy | Philosphy of Science and Religion supplementary lecture.
  • November 2023, San Antonio TX, USA | Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion: “What Does the Network Really Look Like? Rethinking the Sociality of Digital Religion.”
  • August 2023, Online | Conference of the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture | Bochum, Germany. Paper title: Metaphors New and Old and What (Not) to Do With Them? Paper title: Metaphors Old and New, and What (Not) to Do With Them.”
  • November 2022, Online | Global Perspectives in Digital Theology | Moderated an online seminar for the Master of Arts in Digital Theology programme at Spurgeon’s College, London.
  • August 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark | SKC Annual Conference 2022.  Annual conference of the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, University of Copenhagen. Theme: The Textuality of Kierkegaard’s Thought: Words, Images, Phenomena, and Concepts.
  • August 2023, Lund, Sweden | LERU Doctoral Seminar in Theology and Religious Studies.  Delivered a presentation outlining my PhD research and initial findings from fieldwork. University of Lund, Sweden.
  • June 2021, Edinburgh, UK | Yale-Edinburgh Conference on World Christianity. Presented a paper: “Save the Date: Pre-Wedding Photos, Social Media, and Church Authority in Ghana.”

Grants and Fellowships

Social Science Research Council: SSRC’s Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal Fellowship grant funded by the Fetzer Institute. The fellowship provided grant funding for independent research spanning 12 months from August 2023 to August 2024. Project topic: Social Media and Political Engagement among Ghanaian Christian Youth Home and Abroad.

Arts and Humanities Research Council: Won the AHRC’s Doctoral Training Programme Studentship administered by Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities. The studentship provided PhD research funding covering tuition and stipend as well as doctoral training support. 

Repositories

Google Scholar

“Life is lived forward and understood backwards”

– Søren Kierkegaard