News & Events

On Wednesday 5 October, the new exhibition 'Afrikanerland' will open at the ASCL. Photographer-researcher Leonor Faber-Jonker will give a short introduction on her photo series that reflects on her sense of alienation during a study trip to Namibia and South Africa in 2014. The opening on 5 October starts at 5 pm in the Bamboo lounge, third floor of the Pieter de la Court building. All welcome!

The journal African Affairs has awarded the inaugural Stephen Ellis prize to Justin Hastings & Sarah Phillips from the University of Sydney for their article 'Maritime piracy business networks and institutions in Africa'. The prize was awarded during the ASAUK conference in Cambridge on 8 September. Stephen Ellis (1953-2015) was a greatly respected editor of African Affairs and one of the ASCL's most prominent researchers.

The African Studies Centre Leiden has developed an app for the AfricaBib database. AfricaBib gives bibliographical information on more than 220,000 African studies publications. It is the culmination of over forty years of Africana research.

Lesage Munyemana fled the war in DR Congo. He is now a biology student at Leiden University and gave one of the speeches during the offical opening of the Academic Year on 5 September. He is also the founder of the new university Meeting Point. This will be a friendly and informal place located in the Plexus student centre, where refugee students can go for help and advice. 

We are delighted that this year’s Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture will be given by Muna Ndulo, Professor of Law at Cornell University, USA. In his lecture Prof. Ndulo will contend that a poorly designed constitution can hinder inclusiveness and promote ethnic grievances and conflicts. He will identify key issues that must be addressed in the constitution making process to promote inclusiveness and a sense of citizenship and ownership of the political process in a diverse nation state. The lecture takes place on 17 November at 18.30.

During the ASAUK conference in Cambridge, 7-9 September, African Affairs will present the new Stephen Ellis prize and announce its inaugural winner. The Stephen Ellis prize is awarded for the most innovative article in African Affairs in the previous two year period, and is intended to highlight and promote the kind of thought provoking, politically engaged and pathbreaking analysis that Stephen Ellis pioneered throughout his hugely influential career.