News & Events

The 7th European Conference on African Studies that took place in Basel from 28 June until 2 July 2017 was a huge success with more than 200 panels and up to1600 attendants. This year's theme was Urban Africa - Urban Africans: New Encounters of the Rural and the Urban. Many ASCL researchers organized a panel, presented a paper or launched a new book. Mirjam de Bruijn gave a keynote lecture on Digitalisation and the Field of African Studies. Take a look at the photo impression!

African Studies scholars from different academic disciplines of Leiden University have conducted research for many decades. Their close links with African partners and their emphasis on fundamental research have enabled them to generate insights that benefit both African and Western societies. Leiden University created a new research dossier ‘Africa reconsidered’, for which many ASCL researchers were interviewed.

This seminar by Henrike Hoogenraad, PhD Candidate at Adelaide University, explores the concept of ‘intimate borders’ in regards to African-Australian marriage migration, particularly highlighting the journey from Africa to Australia. As migration policies become increasingly restrictive, for unskilled migrants from the Global South marriage migration seems to be the only option left. However, in order to prevent ‘sham’ marriages, this category is subject to increasing control as to make sure marriages are genuine.

'Van Walraven set out to write a fundamentally social history, centering the voices and experiences of individual people. (...) It is satisfying to imagine him reporting back to the aging Sawabists he interviewed for his research, reassuring them that their stories will not be forgotten.' Louise Mueller wrote an excellent book review of Le Désir de calme, the French translation - by Rahmane Idrissa - of Klaas van Walraven's The yearning for relief: a history of the Sawaba Movement in Niger.