Ruth Karachi Benson
Ruth Karachi Benson Oji is a faculty member at the Institute of Humanities, Pan-Atlantic University, where she heads the English Unit and teaches Communication in English to undergraduate students. She also facilitates training programmes on Speed Reading, Writing for Specific Audiences, Report Writing, Listening and Questioning Skills, Knowing the Art of Persuasion, Critical Thinking, and related communication and language skills courses at the School’s Professional Education Department.
She was the founding managing editor of the Pan-Atlantic University Press. She also has reviewed articles for the Journal of West African Languages and the Contemporary Journal of African Studies , and she still reviews articles for Ghana Journal of Linguistics and Pragmatics and Society. She currently writes weekly for two national dailies – The Vanguard and The Sun; her column is titled ‘Speaking and Writing with Ruth Oji’, and it is produced every Thursday and Friday for the newspapers respectively. She is a member of the Health and Wellness Group in PAU, and she serves as a volunteer with the Community Service Project, tutoring selected secondary school students from the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area.
Ruth obtained her first degree in Education and English Language from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2006. She followed afterwards with a Masters of Arts in English (Language) from the University of Lagos, Akoka, in 2010. And she went further for a doctoral programme in English (Language) with focus on media discourse at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, in 2015. Her solid background in Education and the English Language is a resourceful tool for her taking on the numerous issues faced by learners in English communication, be it in writing or speaking. Her research areas include conversation analysis, media discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, and pragmatics. She also is interested in using language tools in exploring literary phenomenon.
Ruth is also a training consultant and offers customised training solutions to organisations who wish to use that medium to attend to their identified challenges. She consults for secondary schools and other corporate organisations in Nigeria. She also enjoys mentoring younger ones and has a solid commitment to the social and academic growth and development of every learner that comes her way. It also gives her pleasure to see others achieve their desired professional and learning goals. She is very proactive and loves to get things done well and promptly. She is a very good team player who can be counted on by her colleagues.
Oji, R. K. B. (2023). “Is Your Culture Better than Mine?” Identity Construction of Inter-ethnic Marriages in Selected Nigerian Movies. In Ed. Bodomo, Adam. Linguistic, Literary, and Cultural Diversity in a Global Perspective. FILLM Studies in Languages and Literatures, John Benjamins: Amsterdam.
Oji, R. K. B. (2023). “Of Protests and Satire: Representations of #EndSARS Brutality in Selected Nigerian Hip-hop Music”. In Eds. Lungile, Tshuma., and Shepherd, Mpofu. Social Movements and Protest Cultures. In Press. Routledge: London.
Oji, R. K. B. (2022). Constructing Nigeria. A Stylistic Interpretation of States in Akwanya’s Visitant on Tiptoe and Other Poems. In Eds. Okolie, Mary, and Ukwueze, Ogochukwu. Literature and Literary Criticism in Nigeria: Essays on the Works of A. N. Akwanya. New Generation Books: Enugu.
Oji, R K. (2021). English Language Teaching in Nigeria: Skills and Strategies for the 21st Century Teacher. In Applied Linguistics, Classroom Discourse, and Interactional Pragmatics – A Festschrift for Prof. Adeleke Fakoya, pp. 56-80. SIM Publications: Lagos.
Oji, R. K. B. (2021) Painting the State in the Text: A Pragmatic Analysis of Remi Raji’s A Harvest of Laughters. Pragmatics and Society, Vol. 12:4, pp. 649-668.
Kodah, M. K. & Oji, R. K. B. (2021). Literary Foregrounding of Employees’ Development Towards Sustainable Nation-Building in Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and Djoleto’s Money Galore. Akofena Revue Scientfique des Sciences du Langage, Lettres, Langues & Communication, Vol 2:4, pp. 407-418.
Akinwotu, S. A., Olajimbiti, E. O., Ogoala, B., Oji, R., & Onyema, C. (2020). (Eds.) Politeness Concepts, Models and Theories. Theory and Practice of Pragmatics Series, Vol. 2. Published by Pragmatics Association of Nigeria (PrAN), ISBN: 978-987-984-031-1.
Oji, R.K. and Nzeaka, E. (2020). Digital Colonialism on Digital Natives: A WhatsApp Usage Perspective. Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, Vol. 21:1, pp. 17-53.
Oji, R. K. (2019). Conceptual Blending Patterns in Selected Nigerian Television Talk Shows. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, Vol. 8, 2: 63-85.
Oji. R. K. (2019). Problems in the Teaching and Learning of Oral English in Secondary Schools in Owerri Metropolis. In LASU Journal of Humanities, Vol. 13 (1-2), pp. 1-19.
Oji, R. K. (2018). Aspects of power relations in Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People. In Okike – An African Journal of New Writing. (Okike 57)
Oji, R. K. (2016). Disengaging disorder and attaining order in the mass media, International Journal of Socio-Economic Development and Strategic Studies. Vol. 3, 1: 211 – 222.
Sunday, A. B. and Oji, R. K. (2015). Paralinguistic Analysis of Selected Nigerian Television Talk Shows. Ibadan Journal of English Studies. Vol. 11: 1-31.
Oji, R. K. (2014). Talk show as a model for the teaching of speaking skills in the ESL classroom. Journal of English Language Teachers Association of Nigeria. Vol. (4): 217-224.
Books and Book Chapters
Oji, R. K. (Ed.). (2019) Communication in Education – A Handbook for Teachers. Lagos: Pan-Atlantic University Press.
Oji, R. K. B. (2019). Questioning Tools for Effective Communication. In R. K. B. Oji (Ed.), Communication in Education – A Handbook for Teachers, pp. 67-86. Lagos: Pan-Atlantic University Press.
Oji, R. K. (2018). Mental and context models of ideological expressions of participants in Nigerian television talk shows. In A. Osisanwo, I. Olaosun, & I. Odebode (Eds.), Discourse-stylistics, sociolinguistics and society – A festschrift for Ayo Ogunsiji (pp. 365-382). Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publishers Ltd.
Oji, R. K. (2018). Accounting for expressions of ideology in media discourses using the critical discourse analysis framework. In F. O. Egbokhare, & A. B. Sunday (Eds.), Contemporary issues in language studies (pp. 187-211). Ibadan: Scholarship Publishing and Educational Consult Services Ltd.
Conference Presentations
2022
• VAD 2022: Africa-Europe: Reciprocal Perspectives. Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. June 7-10.
Paper Read: Ideological Representations of Effects of Europe-Africa Migration in Selected Nollywood Movies.
• The Second African Pragmatics Conference, February 2-4, 2022, at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Paper Read: (with Ayo Osisanwo) Pragmatic Acts and Strategies in
Business Communication Rhetoric on COVID-19
2021
• English Language Scholars Association of Nigeria (ESAN) Conference, September 13-16, 2021, at University of Ilorin, Kwara State.
Paper Read: “It’s a Scam!” Stance and Engagement on Covid-19
Vaccines Discourse in Nigeria
• University of Vienna, Austria, 28th International Congress of the Fédération Internationale de Langues et Littératures Modernes held online, July 19-21, 2021.
Paper Read: "Is Your Culture Better Than Mine?” Identity Construction
Inter-Ethnic Marriages in Selected Nigerian Movies
• 4th International Conference of Pragmatics Association of Nigeria: “Pragmatics and Global Conflict”, held at the Department of English, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Nigeria, February 8th – 11th, 2021 at University of Benin.
Paper Read: (with Ayo Osisanwo) Us And Them: Discourses On The October 20 #Endsars Shooting At Lekki Toll Gate Narratives
2020
• 8th Humanistic Management Network International Conference, November 4-6, 2020, held online.
Paper Read: The Pragmatics and Linguistics of Inclusion and Diversity
2019
• 2nd National Workshop cum Conference on Pragmatics Research of the Nigerian Pragmatics Association. 28th April – 1st May, 2019, at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State.
Paper Read: Meaning Negotiation and Gender Role in Evans Kalu Orji’s The
Power of Her Majesty
2018
• Communication, Migration and Inclusiveness. 20th National Conference and Annual General Meeting of the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE). 23rd – 26th October, 2018, at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University.
Paper Read: Hate Speech or Freedom of Speech? Discursive Strategies of Commenters on Facebook on Herdsmen Killings in Nigeria
• Emerging Trends in Cultures and Identities in English Studies in Nigeria. 34th Annual National Conference of the English Scholars’ Association of Nigeria (ESAN). 18th – 21st September, 2018, at the University of Nigeria Nsukka.
Paper Read: New wine in old wine skin: The nexus between digital media and language use in Nigerian music production
• Attaining the SDGs 4 and 15: The Role of the Humanities. 3rd University of Cape Coast Faculty of Arts Colloquium, Cape Coast, Ghana. 4th – 6th September, 2018.
• African Women in the Media 2018 Conference. 21st – 22nd June, 2018, at the University of Ibadan Conference Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria.
2017
• The Role of Language in the Integration and Development of West Africa. July 31- Aug 5, 2017. Joint Congress of the West African Linguistics Society and The Linguistic Association of Ghana. University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.
2016
• Multilingualism in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges in Teaching and Learning English Language and Literature in an L2 Context. 29th August to 1st September, 2016. ELTAN Conference. University of Port Harcourt.
2015
• Imagining Order/Other – the Humanities and Global Peace and Security. 2nd Faculty of Arts Biennial International Conference. 18th – 22nd May, 2015, Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
2013
• Tripodal Synergies: Linking Language, Literature and English Teacher Development in Nigeria. English Language Teachers Association of Nigeria (ELTAN) Conference. 22nd – 25th September, 2013, at the University of Port Harcourt.
2012
• Language, Literature, and Literacy in a Developing Nation. ELTAN Conference. 3rd – 6th September, 2012. Theatre Hall, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri.
2011
• The English Language as a Tool for Wider Communication and Development in Nigeria. ELTAN Conference. 29th August -2nd September, 2011, ASCON, Badagry.