News & Events

This Wednesday South Africa will be going to the polls, in a national election where for the past 25 years the ANC has led the government. Will President Cyril Ramaphosa be given a chance to continue ‘cleaning up’ the ANC and the country of the remains of the many Zuma factions and loyalists? Read the latest contribution to the ASCL Africanist blog! 

Final-year students who have completed their master's thesis at a university in Africa or the Netherlands can apply for the Africa Thesis Award. They must have graduated with distinction, i.e. 80% or higher, or a Dutch rating of at least an 8. The thesis must be based on independent empirical research related to Africa and must have been examined in the twelve months prior to the deadline of 7 July 2019. Find out how to apply. 

On 1 May the African Studies Centre Leiden welcomed journalists from newspapers, TV programmes, online and other media, to acquaint them with the experts and expertise the ASCL has to offer. After presentations by the Director, researchers and the head of the Library, the journalists had the opportunity to 'speed-date' with researchers. This was followed by the seminar by Barry Gilder, former anti-apartheid activist and security official from South Africa, who talked about the fascinating books he has written.

The ASCL welcomes two new PhD candidates: Loes Oudenhuijsen and Tycho van der Hoog. Loes started on 1 May, Tycho will begin on 1 June. Loes' research will centre around ‘wicked’ women in Senegal from 1950 to the present. The aim of Tycho's PhD research project is to investigate the ties between African liberation movements and North Korea that were forged during the African liberation struggles.