Stanley Jachike Onyemechalu

Biography

I obtained both my B.A. (in Archaeology and Tourism) and M.A. (in Cultural Resources Management) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where I currently hold a Lectureship in Archaeology and Heritage Studies. My research interests cut across (Post-)Conflict Heritage and Memory, Nationalist/Separatist Conflicts, indigenous cultural heritage, Decolonial Museum Approaches, and Community Archaeology - some of which have been published in International Journal of Heritage Studies, Ethnicities, International Journal of the Inclusive Museum and Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, etc. Outside of academia, I love food, football, politics and music.

Research

Civil wars are anything but civil when it comes to their impact on the lives and cultural heritage of communities. Their damages also have lasting legacies. Among the Igbo people of Nigeria, names like ‘Ozoemena’ (‘never again’) and ‘Echezona’ (‘never forget’) continue to be used in reference to the 1967-1970 civil war. Decades later, my Ph.D. research is shedding light on the impacts of the ‘Biafra war’ and its legacies on the cultural heritage of present-day Igboland in Nigeria. I explore the complex interaction of conflict and intangible heritage as well as the dissonances in memorialization, canonization, representation, and silencing. This will contribute an important intangible heritage perspective and a West-African case study to the global heritage-conflict discourse.

Key Publications

Key publications

Onyemechalu, S. J., & Ugwuanyi, J. K. (2025). Nkali and Kolo-collecting in Eastern Nigeria: interrogating colonial collections of ọfϙ and Ikenga, Igbo objects of sovereignty and authority. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 31(6), 767–795. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2025.2496876 
Onyemechalu, S. J., & Ejiofor, P. F. (2023). Long-distance nationalism, diaspora mobilisation, and the struggle for Biafran self-determination in Nigeria. Ethnicities, (Online First). https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968231208307
Onyemechalu, S. J. & Ugwuanyi, J. K. (2021). Íhé Ńkètá and Òkè: concepts and practice of indigenous cultural heritage management in the Igbo cultural area of south-eastern Nigeria. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 12 (4), pp. 609-624. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-12-2020-0177
Emeafor, O. F. & Onyemechalu, S. J. (2021) Objectivity in Museums: The Nigeria Civil War according to the National War Museum, Umuahia. The International Journal of The Inclusive Museum, 14 (1), pp. 49 – 70. https://doi.org/10. 18848/1835-2014/CGP/v14i01/49-70
Odum, C. J., Onyemechalu, S. J. & Oji, C. C. (2020) Archaeological Investigations: Impacts and Community Expectations in Dunoka, Lejja. Ikenga International Journal of Institute of African Studies, 21 (4), pp. 15 – 32. https://ikengajournal.unn.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IKENGA-VOLUME-21-No.-4.pdf

Other publications

Visit my Google Scholar Page

Teaching and Supervisions

Research supervision

Supervisor: Dr. Dacia Viejo-Rose
Advisor: Prof. Paul Lane

Other Professional Activities

Lecturer, Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Job Titles

PhD Student in Archaeology

General Info

Not available for consultancy

Research Expertise / Fields of study

Museum Studies

Socio-Politics of the Past

Heritage Management

Cultural Heritage

Contact Details

sjo50 [at] cam.ac.uk

ORCID

Affiliations

Person keywords

Critical Heritage Studies, (Post-)Conflict and Memory, Sustainable Cultural Heritage Management, Museum Studies, Community Archaeology

Subjects

Heritage Studies

Themes

Heritage

Geographical areas

Africa

Biography

Research

Key Publications

Teaching and Supervisions

Other Professional Activities

Job Titles

General Info

Contact Details

Affiliations

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