News & Events

The Suri of Southwest Ethiopia, with their spectacular body painting and decorative culture, have become known as a prime object of the tourist gaze, yet have not always been depicted in a responsible way. This book by ASC researcher Jan Abbink, linguist Michael Bryant and former language teacher Daniel Bambu presents the Suri as a contemporary people that face many new economic, social and cultural challenges. It covers the social organization, historical background and the way of life of this agro-pastoralist group. The book also contains linguistic overviews and a selection of Suri oral texts, presented in an annotated form.

The ASC Library started breathing new life into Connecting-Africa last December. This service provides access to African research information produced worldwide and more than 100 publications are currently being added to it on a daily basis. One of the latest acquisitions is a series of digitalized books from the German Colonial Library. The Colonial Library houses the libraries of various colonial societies, forming the basis of Frankfurt University’s Africana Collection. The treasures from the German Colonial Library are the subject of our latest Acquisition Highlight.

This seminar on 15 May by Dr Romain Dittgen, visiting fellow at the ASC and the International Institute for Asian Studies, explores two contrasting case studies which mirror two of the predominant features of the Chinese economic foothold in Africa, namely extractive and commercial activities. One takes a closer look at the China National Petroleum Corporation's recent engagement in the Chadian oil sector. The other deals with the rapid expansion of Chinese wholesale and distribution centres in Johannesburg. How do a state-owned oil company and privately owned malls relate to their respective host environment?

The ASC has launched a blog portal where you can read posts by our researchers and students. Senior researcher Marcel Rutten writes about the non-sustainable mining of natural resources in East Africa: conflicts over land or water, the impact of trade and eco-imperialism are just some of the issues discussed. Senior researcher Mirjam de Bruijn writes about her travels through Chad and Cameroon. She looks for 'counter voices': young people who try to change these countries in often artistic ways. Director Ton Dietz wrote his first post about Chinese-Dutch cooperation in African Studies after attending a conference in Beijing. Enjoy reading their blogs!