African Studies is vibrant! And we need future generations to pass on the baton

In its recently published policy plans on research and education in the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced budget cuts that will severely affect the social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands. This announcement has already attracted a lot of publicity in the media. There are serious concerns about the future of culture, language and area studies across universities in the Netherlands, also at Leiden University. The African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) will continue to be a stronghold in research and documentation in African Studies in the Netherlands. In this blog, we highlight the pivotal role of African Studies for Dutch society and education, and beyond. While our arguments concern African Studies, they might equally apply to other area studies. After all, Leiden University has a reputation to uphold ‘discovering the world’!

Understanding Africa to understand the world
Africa is often heralded as the continent that will shape the global future (population development and growing assertiveness) while at the same time stereotyped with crises and poverty. Africa is at the heart of many global discussions, from climate change, migration and cultural exchange to economic development, technology transitions and shifting global political and power relations. African Studies, the multidisciplinary field focused on the peoples, cultures, histories, and societies of Africa, and the role of Africa in the world, provides invaluable insights in these transitions that extend far beyond the continent. Understanding historical, contemporary and future societal developments in Africa is essential for the Netherlands - whether in diplomatic, economic, trade, humanitarian, or security relations. It is critical for the Netherlands to understand African countries and African contexts, by speaking African languages, knowing African histories, understanding African perspectives and incentives. In other words, understanding Africa and the world through African eyes. Ignoring these perspectives will make us miss the opportunity to constructively engage in and contribute to the future of this increasingly complex world, as is for example promoted in the Africa strategies of the Dutch association for entrepreneurs and employers (VNO-NCW) and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

More than academic output
The knowledge gained on Africa through research, in close collaboration with colleagues in Africa, does not only translate in academic output. It also finds its way to journalists, policy makers, politicians, NGOs, trade unions, and businesses that are active on and in Africa and that want to be kept updated about the developments on the continent. Professional training organised by the ASCL in cooperation with policy makers and diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are a good example of this, as are the many occasions at which Leiden based researchers are invited as keynote speakers for public meetings or consulted and quoted in newspaper articles or on social media when it comes to Africa.

Innovative academic field
African Studies is a vibrant and dynamic academic field, subject and open to transformation. For example, the rise of digital humanities is revolutionising the way we study and engage with African societies. Digital tools are facilitating the archiving and analysing of vast amounts of data, enabling researchers to explore patterns and connections that were previously difficult to discern. Leiden University has positioned itself at the forefront of innovation in its curricula on African Studies, by introducing digital humanities not only to the BA and MA African Studies, but also to the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Minor African Dynamics, in which global classrooms have fostered close collaboration with universities in Africa. These initiatives show the potential of intercontinental collaboration in African Studies. Online platforms are making African scholarship more accessible to a global audience, fostering a richer dialogue around African experiences, less dominated by the West. This deepens our analyses and understanding of African societies, and can serve as a countervailing power to nationalism, xenophobia, racism, and stereotyping cultures and societies that do not resemble one’s own.

Decolonising curricula
A growing movement within and outside academia, led by critical scholars, journalists, artists, activists and students from inside and outside the African continent, seeks to decolonise African Studies (and area studies more generally), challenging Eurocentric narratives and methodologies that have dominated the field since its inception. This shift aims to centre African voices and perspectives in research, scholarship, and education - an approach not only enriching academic inquiry but also fostering respect for cultural heritages. It involves a move in African Studies from how ‘we’ can understand African societies towards emphasizing a field of interaction, exchange and dialogue with scholars, lecturers and students in Africa; hence, ideally an equal partnering. African Studies as a multidisciplinary field of dialogue in which scholars, lecturers  and students are invited to learn from each other, a field of reflection through which they become capable of critically engaging with the positionality of one’s history, one’s perceptions across the divides of African and Western thinking. This urgent debate has found its entry in the various curricula on African Studies at Leiden University, hence creating a place where students can safely and profoundly learn about the debate and discuss among each other in an open atmosphere. A Comenius Senior Fellowship project at the African Studies Centre Leiden that aims to integrate dialogue in didactics to improve students’ well-being, is also foreseen to play a pivotal role here.

High-profile careers thanks to African Studies
For a long time, Leiden University has positioned itself at the forefront of African Studies in the Netherlands, Europe and beyond. The ASCL/Leiden University is a constitutive and leading partner in the Europe-wide African Studies Association (AEGIS). And the unique full-fledged learning trajectory, ranging from BA to PhD, has paid off: the wide academic and societal network of the African Studies Centre Leiden - whose voices have increasingly been heard over the past few weeks - shows that many graduates with a background in African Studies at Leiden University have qualified for high-profile careers in academia, national and international governmental bodies, business, social movements and NGOs.

Leiden: maintain the leading position in African Studies
Research on Africa should resonate in education and training; without education we cannot pass the baton on to future generations of Africanist scholars. Therefore, we strongly appeal to Leiden University to maintain its unique and leading position in education in African studies in the Netherlands, and for that matter in Europe. Cutting into the full-fledged learning trajectory, which is currently planned for, will negatively impact on this position. In addition, this would also be at odds with Leiden University’s recently announced strategy to strengthen collaboration with knowledge institutes in Africa, both in research and education. The just established regional cluster on Africa - the Leiden Africa Platform - which brings together the huge body of knowledge and expertise on Africa across faculties and institutes within Leiden University, is a commendable initiative to sustain and strengthen Leiden University’s leading position in academic and societal debates on Africa and allows for fruitful collaborations with colleagues in African countries. The question is: will this vast body of knowledge continue to exist without a pluriform learning trajectory in African Studies that can deliver the future generations that will uphold Leiden University’s leading position?

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