Felix Ayanbode

Felix Ayanbode earned the Bachelor's degree in German from the University of Ibadan, and a Master's degree in German literature, with distinction, from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His Master's thesis was written on "Die Darstellung der Scheuβlichkeiten des deutschen Kolonialismus in Südwest Afrika am Beispiel Uwe Timms Morenga," and he argued that German colonialism has had irredeemable negative consequences for the Herero people. Therefore, there is a need for Germany to offer an open apology in order to come to terms with her colonial past.

Prior to joining the German department at Illinois, Felix taught French and German in several schools in Nigeria, including the Corona Secondary School, a Pasch-school of the Goethe-Institut, and Madonna University. Last year, Felix presented on "The Future of German in Nigerian Secondary Schools" during the Goethe-Insitut's Deutschlehrertag conference.

Felix has also attended several trainings for German teachers in both Nigeria and Germany. In 2018 he received a DAAD scholarship to attend a summer school at the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, and a Goethe-Institut scholarship to attend a teacher training course in Dresden.

Felix has published the book La maitrise du Français, and produced CDs to help people learn French and German.

Currently Felix is a Ph.D. candidate on fellowship in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Illinois.