Workshop ‘African studies and the epistemological reflections on “two Africas”’

Historically, research on North Africa and African Studies have developed on relatively parallel tracks. Studies on North Africa have usually been included within the scope of research on the Arab world and on the Middle Eastern world, while ‘the rest’ of Africa has been approached and studied as a relatively homogeneous world different from the Northern African one and labelled sub-Sahara or ‘black’ Africa.

The epistemological force that moulds the separation of the “two Africa’s” is still at work, for example, in the preponderance of papers that privilege ‘black’ Africa at the conferences organised by AEGIS (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies), or in the aid and development policy relationships with Africa.

Programme

9.45 – 10.00      Welcome and Introduction by Dr. Daniela Merolla (LUCAS), Prof. Mirjam De Bruijn (LUIH and ASC) and Prof. Ton Dietz (ASC)

Morning session 10.00-13.00
Chair: Mirjam de Bruijn (Leiden University and African Studies Centre)
Discussant: Ton Dietz (ASC)
Speakers: Prof. Shamil Jeppie (University of Cape Town); Dr. Karin Willemse (Erasmus University, Rotterdam); Dr. Daniela Merolla (Leiden University); General Discussion
Project presentation: Ana Lúcia Sá and Yolanda Aixelà (Centre of African Studies - IUL Lisbon)

Lunch

Afternoon session 14.00- 17.00
Chair: Petra de Bruijn (Leiden University)
Discussant: Mirjam de Bruijn (Leiden University and African Studies Centre)
Speakers: Dr. Ziad Bentahar (University of Rabat); Drs. Dorrit van Daalen (Leiden University); Sherif Maher MSc. (Economics Department, Suez Canal University, Egypt) and Dr. Mayke Kaag (ASC); General Discussion

Drinks

This seminar has been organized together with the Languages and Cultures of Africa Department, Leiden University

More information: Dr Daniela Merolla, d.merolla@hum.leidenuniv.nl