






2020 was the year in which 17 countries on the African continent celebrated 60 years of independence. The Africanists from Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University (united in ‘LeidenASA’) organised ‘Africa 2020’, a year full of workshops, film screenings, peer coaching for PhD students, and two large conferences: ‘Africa: 60 years of independence’ in January, and ‘Africa knows!’ that started in December and continues into 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many events had to be postponed.
Please find the timeline of the events in 2020 below. If you have any questions regarding the events, please contact Maaike Westra (LeidenASA@asc.leidenuniv.nl).
Workshop: Law, governance and rights in Africa. A look to the future
Organizing committee:
Annelien Bouland, Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society, Leiden Law School, Leiden University
Danse de Bondt, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University and Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh
Tanja Hendriks, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh
Thandiwe Matthews, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Carolien Jacobs, Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society, Leiden Law School, Leiden University
Read the call for papers
Read the workshop report
Conference: Pushing Boundaries in Advocacy for Inclusion
International conference: Africa, sixty years of independence
Watch the film registration of this conference
Workshop: The Nile. Inclusion and Exclusion over a trans-boundary resource
Organizing committee:
Abeer Abazeed, FGGA, Leiden University
Bert Enserink, TU Delft
Abby Onencan, TU Delft
Lama El Hatow, Erasmus University Rotterdam
This workshop will only be open to the general public on Friday 21 February from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., room SA49 (basement), Pieter de la Courtgebouw / Faculty of Social Sciences Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden (registration not required). More information.
Participants are also encouraged to attend the event Nile Pop - The river like you have never experienced it before (registration required), on Friday 21 February, 5-7 p.m., National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden.
Peer-Coaching for PhD candidates (to be followed by a session in June, September and November)
Organizer: Karin Nijenhuis, ASCL
A PhD research trajectory is long, sometimes lonely, and often strewn with daily issues to be addressed e.g. cooperation with supervisors, motivation, security issues in the fieldwork area, planning of work, or a writer’s block. The basic idea of peer supervision is that people can learn from each other, laying out their problems, receiving feedback and suggestions. In the sessions, preferably organized on a regular basis, one or more PhD students open themselves to scrutiny by their fellows; they describe their own actions and their peers give their own understanding, ideas and reflections on the course of action to be taken. High trust in each other is therefore indispensable, as well as a willingness to become vulnerable.
The discussions are guided by moderator (Karin Nijenhuis) who applies a set of rules and follows a certain procedure.
Organizing committee:
Jan Abbink, ASCL
Annachiara Raia, ASCL
Gerard van de Bruinhorst, ASCL
Open registration: leidenasa@asc.leidenuniv.nl
Morocco event
Guest speaker: Abdelkader Benali (to be confimed).
This event will be held in Dutch.
Organizing committee:
Mayke Kaag
Rik Jongenelen
Maaike Westra
Joost Röselaers
Open registration via the ASCL website. Registration will open soon.
How to handle my PhD supervisor and other bumps in the road
Online Peer-Coaching for PhD students
A PhD involves doing amazing fieldwork, reading libraries full of literature, analyzing interesting data, and presenting your innovative findings at lively conferences –it is exciting and enriching. At least, that’s what we are told! But …. there is also a downside. A PhD trajectory is long, can leave you feeling lonely or isolated, and can leave you needing to address all kinds of daily yet serious issues. For example, your supervisor might not give appropriate feedback to your draft chapters; you experienced feeling very insecure when doing fieldwork or perhaps even sexual harassment; you are facing a writer’s block; you are running out of time; you miss having contacts with peer PhD students; you are doubting your future as a researcher….
Peer-coaching (or, inter-vision) is a way of sharing your issues with peer PhD students. It can make your problems lighter or at least more manageable. The basic idea of peer supervision is that you can learn from each other by sharing your problems and receiving and giving feedback and suggestions. Trust is indispensable in this regard and therefore the information shared will remain confidential.
The online discussions are guided by a moderator (Karin Nijenhuis) who applies a set of rules and follows a specific procedure.
Two day workshop: From the ashes reborn. Reconsidering the “Time of Troubles” in Southern Africa in the context of global history
Organizing committee:
Jan-Bart Gewald, ASCL
Alicia Schrikker, Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University
Sabine Luning, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Leiden University
Thomas Molony, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh
Authors workshop. By invitation only.
One-day Conference: Multilingualism in Education: Africa and the Netherlands
Venue: Academy Building, 'Klein Auditorium', Rapenburg 73, Leiden and the Lipsius Building, Cleveringaplaats 1, Leiden
Organizing committee:
Maarten Mous, LUCL, Leiden University
Bert van Pinxteren, LUCL, Leiden University
Anneke Breedveld, Dutch Association for Afican Studies
Madi Ditmars, African Studies Centre Leiden
Keynote speakers: Kwesi Prah, Ekkehard Wolff.
Read the call for proposals. Deadline: 1 June 2020.
HANDS! Festival on African Sign Languages and Deaf Studies
Organizing committee:
Victoria Nyst, LUCL, Leiden University
Monika Baar, Institute for History, Leiden University
Online PhD peer coaching: How to handle my PhD supervisor and other bumps in the road
A PhD involves doing amazing fieldwork, reading libraries full of literature, analysing interesting data, and presenting your innovative findings at lively conferences - it is exciting and enriching. At least, that’s what we are told! But there is also a downside. A PhD trajectory is long, can leave you feeling lonely or isolated, and can leave you needing to address all kinds of daily yet serious issues. For example, your supervisor might not give appropriate feedback to your draft chapters; you experienced feeling very insecure when doing fieldwork or perhaps even sexual harassment; you are facing a writer’s block; you are running out of time; you miss having contacts with peer PhD students; you are doubting your future as a researcher…
Peer-coaching (or, intervision) is a way of sharing your issues with peer PhD students. It can make your problems lighter or at least more manageable. The basic idea of peer supervision is that you can learn from each other by sharing your problems and receiving and giving feedback and suggestions. Trust is indispensable in this regard and therefore the information shared will remain confidential.
The discussions are guided by moderator (Karin Nijenhuis) who applies a set of rules and follows a certain procedure.
Online PhD peer coaching: How to handle my PhD supervisor and other bumps in the road
A PhD involves doing amazing fieldwork, reading libraries full of literature, analysing interesting data, and presenting your innovative findings at lively conferences - it is exciting and enriching. At least, that’s what we are told! But there is also a downside. A PhD trajectory is long, can leave you feeling lonely or isolated, and can leave you needing to address all kinds of daily yet serious issues. For example, your supervisor might not give appropriate feedback to your draft chapters; you experienced feeling very insecure when doing fieldwork or perhaps even sexual harassment; you are facing a writer’s block; you are running out of time; you miss having contacts with peer PhD students; you are doubting your future as a researcher…
Peer-coaching (or, intervision) is a way of sharing your issues with peer PhD students. It can make your problems lighter or at least more manageable. The basic idea of peer supervision is that you can learn from each other by sharing your problems and receiving and giving feedback and suggestions. Trust is indispensable in this regard and therefore the information shared will remain confidential.
The discussions are guided by moderator (Karin Nijenhuis) who applies a set of rules and follows a certain procedure.
Online PhD peer coaching: How to handle my PhD supervisor and other bumps in the road
A PhD involves doing amazing fieldwork, reading libraries full of literature, analysing interesting data, and presenting your innovative findings at lively conferences - it is exciting and enriching. At least, that’s what we are told! But there is also a downside. A PhD trajectory is long, can leave you feeling lonely or isolated, and can leave you needing to address all kinds of daily yet serious issues. For example, your supervisor might not give appropriate feedback to your draft chapters; you experienced feeling very insecure when doing fieldwork or perhaps even sexual harassment; you are facing a writer’s block; you are running out of time; you miss having contacts with peer PhD students; you are doubting your future as a researcher…
Peer-coaching (or, intervision) is a way of sharing your issues with peer PhD students. It can make your problems lighter or at least more manageable. The basic idea of peer supervision is that you can learn from each other by sharing your problems and receiving and giving feedback and suggestions. Trust is indispensable in this regard and therefore the information shared will remain confidential.
The discussions are guided by moderator (Karin Nijenhuis) who applies a set of rules and follows a certain procedure.
Workshop & publication: A General Labour History of Africa, 1600-1900
Organizing committee:
Stefano Bellucci, Institute for History, Leiden University
Klaas van Walraven, ASCL
Karin Willemse, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Institute for History, Leiden University
Andreas Eckert, Humboldt University of Berlin
Authors workshop. By invitation only.
8 November 2020
ASCL & Leiden International Film Festival Screenings
The ASCL and the Leiden International Film Festival will present a special Africa-programme on 8 November. Four films by African filmmakers coming from four countries that gained their independence 60 years ago, will be screened. There will be a Q&A session in the presence of an Africanist after each film.
Organizing committee:
Marieke van Winden
Elvire Eijkman
International conference: Africa Knows!
Organizing team:
Ton Dietz, ASCL
David Ehrhardt, FGGA, Leiden University
Robert Tijssen, CWTS, Leiden University
Chibuike Uche, ASCL
Antonio Frank, De Haagse Hogeschool
Ingrid Samset, FGGA, Leiden University
Harry Wels, ASCL and VU University
Jan Nouwen, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Antony Otieno Ong'ayo, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Paul Nugent, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh
David van Kampen, Nuffic
Samira Zafar, Nuffic
Michael Bollig, University of Cologne
Marieke van Winden, ASCL, conference organizer
From 2016 to 2019, LeidenASA (the Leiden African Studies Assembly) had the privilege of creating synergy between Leiden-based Africanists, later on joined by Africanists from TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of Edinburgh, via collaborative research projects, research leave (temporary relief from teaching), field schools, e-learning initiatives, visiting research fellowships, lectures, workshops, and much more, made possible financially by Leiden University. From 2020 onwards, LeidenASA will continue to exist as a network of Africanists.