News & Events

Malick Sidibé, one of Africa’s most influential photographers, died on 14 April at the age of 80. Sidibé was best known for his black-and-white portraits in his native Bamako, Mali, in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. The ASCL Library has a number of books by and about Sidibé. A newly acquired photobook by the ASCL Library is Sahara rocks!, by French photographer Arnaud Contreras. Both photographers feature in our latest Library Highlight.

The late Stephen Ellis' last book This Present Darkness: A History of Nigerian Organised Crime will be launched at the ASCL on 9 June. The book describes Nigerian organised crime from its origins in the last years of colonial rule, to the moment it went global. The launch will also be a commemorative meeting to honour our colleague, who died in July 2015. Various speakers, a.o. Christopher Clapham (University of Cambridge), Sanne Kaasjager (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Stephen's widow Gerrie ter Haar will give short presentations. You are all very welcome.

Leiden University launched an Africa Strategy at the beginning of 2016, connecting all Africanists in Leiden, and also connecting them to knowledge centres in Africa and to other Africa-oriented knowledge centres in the Netherlands. A delegation of Leiden University visited South Africa and Mozambique 14-22 April. Existing relationships were strengthened, new ones explored. 

With a mixture of pride and sadness we announce that the last book by our late colleague Stephen Ellis has just been published: This Present Darkness: A History of Nigerian Organised Crime. Nigerians have acquired an unfortunate reputation for involvement in drug-trafficking, fraud, cyber-crime and other types of criminal activity. Successful Nigerian criminal networks have a global reach, interacting with their Italian, Latin American and Russian counterparts. The book describes Nigerian organised crime from its origins in the last years of colonial rule, to the moment it went global.