Dr. Felix Ayanbode

Teaching Assistant Professor

 

Contact Information Ayanbode

  • Email: felixayanbode@ksu.edu
  • Office: 007 Eisenhower

Research Interests

  • Race and Identity in Postwar Europe
  • Migration and Memory Studies
  • Modern German Literature and Film
  • Afro-German Studies
  • Postcolonial Theory
  • Second Language Acquisition

Education

  • PhD in German, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2025)
  • M.A. in Foreign Languages (French & German), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2017)
  • B.A. in European Studies (German), University of Ibadan (2012)

About Dr. Ayanbode

Dr. Felix Ayanbode is a committed educator, scholar, and multilingual language specialist focused on bridging the foreign language gap through the teaching of German and French. With over a decade of teaching experience across elementary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions in Africa and North America, Dr. Ayanbode brings a global, inclusive, and student-centered approach to language education.

Prior to joining Kansas State University, he taught German at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Madonna University in Nigeria, as well as French in several Nigerian secondary schools. His instructional methods reflect a blend of traditional and communicative language pedagogy, developed through professional training in Africa, Germany, and the United States.

Dr. Ayanbode’s research lies at the intersection of race, identity, migration, and memory. His scholarship investigates the representation of biracial occupation children in postwar German literature, film, painting, and media bringing attention to marginalized narratives in European cultural memory. He has presented his work at numerous national and international conferences and remains actively engaged in global academic discourse on intercultural understanding and transnational memory.

As an educator, Dr. Ayanbode strives to make language learning meaningful and relevant. He integrates diverse, inclusive materials that encourage critical thinking, cultural sensitivity, and intellectual curiosity, ensuring that all students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds see themselves reflected in the content they study.

Selected Conference Presentations and Invited Talks

  • “Clothing and Identity in Simplicissimus,” Newberry Library Conference, Chicago (2021)
  • “Crosslinguistic Influence in Germanic Languages,” FOKUS Conference, Cincinnati (2022)
  • “Identity in Hans Massaquoi’s Destined to Witness,” NeMLA, Maryland (2022)
  • “Memory of Racial Discrimination in Massaquoi’s Destined to Witness,” UIUC Memory Studies Conference (2022)
  • “Race and Afro-German Identity,” German Studies Association Conference (2022)
  • Session Chair, “Germany and the Black Atlantic,” NeMLA Conference, New York (2023)
  • “The Racialization of Space in Massaquoi and Daeninck’s Galadio,” US Holocaust Memorial Museum, DC (2023)
  • Co-Chair, “Decolonizing Education and the Politics of Knowledge Production,” NeMLA, Boston (2024)
  • Chair, “Postcolonialism and the Struggle for Identity,” NeMLA, Boston (2024)
  • “The Representation of Biracial Occupation Children,” University of Virginia at Wise (2024)

Selected Publications

  • “Revolution in Uwe Timm’s Morenga: A Comparative Analysis of the Herero and GDR Revolutions.” Sprin Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(05), May 2022. https://doi.org/10.55559/sjahss.v1i05.21
  • “Black Shame / White Disgrace: Rhineland Bastards and the Nazi Construction of Black Identity in Hans Massaquoi’s Destined to Witness.” Veda’s Journal of English Language and Literature, 9(02), May 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.54513/JOELL.2022.9208
  • La Maîtrise du Français. Ibadan: Dominion Publishing House, 2009.
  • French Made Easy (Video Tutorial), 2014
  • German Made Easy (Video Tutorial), 2014