BRIEF PROFILE: 

An early career addition to the Language Centre faculty with research interest in (Critical) Discourse Analysis, Discourse Semantics, Academic Literacies and New Englishes, Dr. Gabriel Opoku joined the University of Ghana as a lecturer in 2021, having served initially as a Teaching Assistant (2011) and later as a Graduate Assistant (2015-2017) at the Department of English, and as a Co-Director at the Writing Centre of Ashesi University. His career goal is to become a self-actualised teacher whose pedagogical services create a lasting positive impact on students, equipping them to think critically, innovate, and translate their knowledge into solutions. Dr. Opoku also aims to become an accomplished scholar with interdisciplinary research interests whose epistemic discoveries respond to and offer solutions to real-life problems.

PUBLICATIONS:

Opoku, G. (2022). The anthem as site for marketing Higher Education Institutions in Ghana. Legon Journal of the Humanities. 33(1), 88-113. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ljh.v33i1.4

Ayaawan, E. A. & Opoku, G. (2020). Ideological discursive formations in an emerging democracy: The case of the presidential inaugural of Ghana in the Fourth Republic. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, 9(1), 47-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjl.v9i1.3.

CONFERENCES, PROJECTS, SEMINARS, & WORKSHOPS:

Conferences:

 “On the issue of putting away: Martin meets the Messiah”. A paper presented on 29th September, 2022 at the 14th Linguistics Association of Ghana (LAG) Annual Conference themed Linguistics, Language, and Literature: Future Horizons, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

“Verbal icons of institutional identity: A discourse-semantic study of anthems of the traditional universities of Ghana”. A paper presented on 22nd October, 2019 at the 3rd Conference of the School of Languages (SOLCON III) at University of Ghana, Legon.

With Ayaawan Elijah Alimsiwen. “Ideological discursive formations in an emerging democracy: The case of the presidential inaugural of Ghana in the Fourth Republic”. A paper presented on 23rd October, 2019 at the 3rd Conference of the School of Languages (SOLCON III) at University of Ghana, Legon.

“Negotiating dialogic spaces in search of alignment in About Us sections: The case of some banks in Ghana”. A paper presented on 2nd August, 2019 at the 12th Conference of the Linguistics Association of Ghana (LAG), at Tarkwa. ‘Promoting institutional quality culture: Students’ perspective and the role of HAQAA’. A paper presented on 4th December, 2018 at an international conference dubbed Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA), an initiative by EU and AU, at Dakar, Senegal.

Projects:

November 2020 to June, 2022: Research Fellow - “Mapping Research Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa Project”. A project organised by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Association of African Universities (AAU). January 2021 to January 2022.

Co-Investigator “Writing Across the Curriculum Project”. A project at Ashesi University, Ghana.

Workshops & Seminars / Webinars

“Academics engaging with the media”. A webinar organised on November 4, 2022 by the Research Niche Area — Faculty of Management and Commerce at University of Fort Hare, South Africa, with Dr. Eusebius Mckaiser as the presenter.

“Teaching study skills at the basic level of education”. A module in a one-day workshop dubbed “Study and Writing Skills for Basic Schools”, presented by Gabriel Opoku on June 21, 2022 at the Language Centre, University of Ghana.

“Research in Africa”. A roundtable discussion by professors Raymond Atuguba, Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Justice Bawole, Joseph Teye, George Owusu, and Gladys Nyarko Ansah in June, 2022 at the Cedi Conference Centre, University of Ghana, Legon.

“Repurposing the past in Black speculative fiction: The case of Nalo Hopkinson’s Midnight Robber”. A webinar organised on 14th July, 2022 by the School of Languages, University of Ghana, with Abena Osei as the presenter.

“The Hybrid Classroom: How to Engage Students to Promote Individual and Collective Learning”. A webinar organised on 9th September, 2021 by the Christensen Centre for Teaching and Learning (CCTL) at Harvard Business School, with Alexandra Sedlovskaya, Associate Director of CCTL, as presenter.

“Grant Proposal Writing”. A workshop organised from 25th – 26th August, 2021 by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Gerda Henkel Stiftung at the University of Ghana, Legon.

“Quality Assurance in Higher and Tertiary Education Learner-Centered Teaching Skills: The Foundations of Education”. A webinar organised on 15 September, 2020 by the Association of African Universities (AAU), with Dr. Violet Makuku as presenter.

“Quality Assurance in Research and Project Grants Proposal Writing”. A virtual workshop organised on 7 October, 2020 by the Association of African Universities (AAU), with Dr. Essel Ben Hagan and Dr. Violet Makuku as facilitators.

“Theories and methods in the phase of analysing and interpreting one’s research results”. A workshop organised on 13th March, 2019 at Rhodes University, Rhodes in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

“Making arguments in your thesis”. A workshop organised on 14th March, 2019 at Rhodes University, Rhodes in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

“Rudiments of Academic Publishing”. A workshop organised by the Linguistics Association of Ghana on 18th January, 2019 at African University College of Communication.

“Effective Presentation”. A workshop organised at the English Department of University of Ghana, Legon on 6th December, 2018, with Dr. Cristina Ruotola as facilitator.

“(Critical) Discourse Analysis”. A workshop organised from 21st to 23rd November, 2017 by Partnership for Africa’s Next Generation of Academics (PANGeA), at the University of Ghana, Legon.

“Facilitating Reflections on Responsible Research and Innovation”. A workshop organised on 16th October, 2017 by the Global University Network for Innovation in collaboration with the Association of African Universities

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES:

Linguistics Association of Ghana