About Ifeosa Anwulika
Me
Life & Faith
MY LIFE GENERALLY
I GREW UP in Lagos, Nigeria, with my family. I have an elder brother (Medua), and two younger sisters (Awele and Ifeoma). I’m not quite sure where to begin, in writing about myself. But I’ll leave you two notes I wrote on my blog some time ago, “It Began With Calling Him ‘Father‘”, and “Dear Anwuli.” I wrote these little pieces from a heart that’s both in awe of God’s grace, and grateful for my journey.
I am Christian. I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ His son, and His Holy Spirit. I came to know God personally from 31st December 2011. He has been the Anchor of my soul, the Keeper of my heart, and the One to Whom I owe everything I am and could ever be. I serve at my local church (as the church journal editor, as well as in the prayer ministry, children’s church, and in the choir. I console myself here to say God looks at our hearts lol, and not the sound of our voices!).
In honour of God’s grace, I host the Scholarship By Grace Podcast. There I share on how we could approach our work as scholars through hearts of faith and grace. My newest episode is “An Invitation to Stillness.” It’s an episode I made to remind all of us, and my heart, to be calm and allow the Holy Spirit orchestrate and accompany us in whatever seasons we are.
I’m also beginning something I’m so excited for – Cedars of Grace – this August 2025. Please scroll down to see more information. It’s a space where I want to again honour my God through the stories He has enabled me to create.
Wherever you are in your own faith journey and life, my dear, I pray that the fullness of God’s grace, and the overwhelming, pure and constant love of God, will strengthen your mind, renew your soul, and gently breathe calmness and hope in your heart. If you ever need to pray with someone, I’ll always have my mailbox open and ready for your reach, by His grace.
– Anwulika
Historian
Research & Scholarship
I am a historian, with my bachelors from the University of Lagos, Nigeria; and my PhD from Harvard University, USA (May 2026). I work on the social history of economic change, meanings of wellbeing, and the nature of local integration into the larger world. As a historian, I value people, their voices and experiences, the contexts in which they have understood change and wellbeing. I care about how my scholarship and teaching could contribute to the collective work we make towards creating better lives for those who suffer from lack and poverty in our world.
Selected Research Pieces & Presentations
“The Agencies of Time, Identity, and People: On the Question of a Western Igbo People Before 1991,” upcoming, African Studies Association Conference, GA, USA.
“A Changing Material Culture and New Indices of Wealth and Poverty, 1841-11979,” Africa Studies Workshop, Johns Hopkins University.
“Land Assets: Cultivation, Control and Crisis in the 1930s-1950s,” Weatherhead Seminar for Global History of Capitalism, Harvard University.
- “Historical Indices of Poverty in 19th century Southern Nigeria,” presented at the Economic History Society Annual Conference, UK
Selected Fellowships
- Samuel P. Huntington Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
- Harvard Center for African Studies Research Grant.
- Philippe Wamba Summer Research Travel Grant, Hutchinson Center, Harvard University.
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Research Grant.
- Joint Center for History and Economics, Harvard-MIT University Research Grant.
Academic Associations & Affilitaions (Past & Present)
- African Studies Association (ASA), USA
- Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN), Nigeria
- Economic History Association (EHA), USA
- Economic History Society (EHS), UK
- Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Center for History and Economics, Harvard-MIT
- Center for African Studies, Harvard University
Founder & Executive Director – Service & NonProfit
The Hope Library Project
I run a nonprofit based in Nigeria, The Hope Library Project. I founded it in 2018. I work with some of the most inspiring team members anyone could ask for. I call them “A Great, Inspired Team.” Our mission is to create libraries for children in rural communities – libraries where they could encounter the gift of reading & learning, of mentorship, and of finding their dreams. These libraries become oases of knowledge and hope for the children and their communities. As a Nigerian, I bear witness to some of the challenges of literacy, poverty and rural underdevelopment. I have lived in the rural spaces, I have served children and families there, and I understand how much of a difference books and new ‘hope spaces’ could make for the children there. You may learn more about what we do here. The Hope Library gives me a place to fully full serve others, to envision new ways of supporting children and communities in resource-short parts of my beloved nation, Nigeria, and our dear Africa. We do this one community at a time.
Always...
God is the Refiner of our visions, the Sustainer of our dreams, and the Justifier of our faith.
Writer – Curated Storytelling
Cedars of Grace
I am currently curating my collection of short stories, most of which centre on faith and historical events. From my birthday this year 2025, I will begin “Cedars of Grace.” It’s a storytelling event I’ll host three times a year (August, December, and April). At Cedars, my friends and dear community listen to me read original stories from my collection. Each piece is meaningful in how it embodies a season or experience from my life, a gem of lessons I’d like to share, or just the simplicity of an idea I have thought about and would like to share with others.
Cedars is a space of scholarship, of community, and of calmness and grace. In each event, I’ll share about 3-5 stories. There’ll be commentators on the stories. The curation for each event will have stories of faith, and stories that speak to more scholarly themes like land loss and inequality. I’ll also share little nuggets from the Word of God. It’s a place to learn, to be rest, and to sit in the healing presence of God’s grace.
Cedars of August and December 2025 will be hybrid (with physical location in Chicago, Illinois). You may register to join me online too – I’ll be so glad!
I’m really looking forward to sharing my stories with you, and creating spaces of rest and grace, together.
