SHOULD HISTORIANS ROMANCE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS? By SMB Sesan Michael Johnson

Monday 11 November 2019

SHOULD HISTORIANS ROMANCE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS? By SMB Sesan Michael Johnson

SHOULD HISTORIANS ROMANCE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS? By SMB Sesan Michael Johnson
#WorldStatisticsDay with the theme #BetterDataBetterLives
Cheers to all fellow #STATISTICIANS

Preface: Many do not know me as a statistician but a historian. I did study Statistics at the Premier University. Don't forget, I became and becoming a historian @ Oba Awon University (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria).

Whereas, the binary challenge of being a statistician and a historian underscored my entanglements of historical scholarship both from qualitative and quantitative orientations thereby pushing my research interests into the thresholds of epidemiological studies, histories of diseases, death, pains, griefs, and memorialisation; as well as medical humanities, digital humanities and environmental humanities. With a bit of reservation, I consider History a Science. Historical Science is my 'religion'.

Because of today's uniqueness, historians must face the realities and imperatives of today's data driven lives and IoTs. Though, to the historians, facts (historical facts) are kings, yet, stats are increasing becoming kings. Whereas, statistical presentation is becoming the ideal module. For proper appropriation and interpretation of facts, historians must adequately romance analysing and presenting using quantification vis-a-vis graphs, tables, etc. I suspect that Economic and Medical historians will have no qualms with this disquisition.

If the historians who as custodians of the nation's heritage must continue to remain relevant they must cut up with the frenzy and currency of using quantification in their historical analysis particularly as the reality of Data Driven Development (DDD) and Data Governance (DG) is dawning on humanity. If you doubt it, rethink the notion of Internet of Things (IoTs). Can humanity escape the billions of digital prints we daily produce? significantly, historians can not deny the fact that these are continually becoming the facts of history that historians are gonna werk with.

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SMB Johnson -Sesan Michael Babatunde JOHNSON

Sesan Michael Babatunde (SMB) JOHNSON is a man (Priest/Scholar/essayist/conversationist/researcher/writer/historian) endowed with avalanche of divine grace, inundated apostolic poise and atypical prophetic mandate with global affects traversing the ecclesiastical circus, academic domain and secular milieu.

Sesan Michael JOHNSON is an award wining researcher/historian. In March 2018 he received Brian Bertotti Awards from Virginia University of Technology (Virginia Tech), USA in recognition for innovation in historical scholarship. He was a finalist for 2019 McCarthy Award for History of Medicine Research by Royal College of Physicians (University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) . His research interests cut across histories of medicine, public health, diseases, death, cemeteries, pains, griefs, memorialisation, funeralisation, etc.

As a News Analyst via radio and TV, Sesan Michael Johnson weekly speaks to millions of people while engaging and analyzing news items with proven data and pragmatic insights. His expertise includes news sourcing, mining and authorisation. He has appeared as analyst on NTA Ibadan, Impact Business Radio (92.5 FM), LeadCity FM, BCOS TV, Oluyole FM, Impact Africa Television, etc.

As a digital strategist with over a decade experience has been professionally engaged in contents creation and management. He has cutting edge capabilities in the utility of the social media for collaboration, advocacy, synergy, communication, branding and learning. His technologies include: HTML, DHTML, CSS, SEO, CMS, etc.

For a decade, he's been a researcher, writer and an expert-teacher of European, World & African History for Cambridge, JUPEB and WAEC examinations. In Sept 2016, he trained in the areas of learner-centred teaching pedagogy, meta-cognition and assessment for/of learning at the Cambridge Schools Conference, hosted at the Homerton College, University of Cambridge, UK.

He is a research fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa, Ibadan. He’s an astute writer with published works in academic journals and newspaper outlets. He has presented academic papers in both local and international conferences. In recent times, his academic papers have been acknowledged globally (Oxford University, UK; Virginia Tech, USA; Exeter University, UK; Virginia State University, USA; BenGurion University of Negev, Israel; Otagon University, New Zealand;TOFAC; OAU; Edinburgh University, UK, etc.

On June 28, 2019 he presented a paper titled "Ibadan Water Bodies as Carriers and Transmitters of Disease: Historicising Cholera Epidemics in Ibadan, 1970-1996" at the "Shaped by the Sea: Histories of Ocean, Science, Medicine and Technology" at University of Manchester, UK. On October 17, 2019 he gave an Award Talk during the 2019 McCarthy Award for History of Medicine Research at the Royal College of Physicians of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

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Monday 11 November 2019