Permalink Submitted by Iva Pesa on 11 September 2025
Organization/ affiliation:
University of Groningen
'Remembering Research Realities' provides incontrovertible proof of the societal value and academic excellence of the Leiden University Research Master's African Studies programme. The contributions combine academic rigour and personal testimonies of the importance of this programme to their careers. The editors, former Research Master's students and staff, write passionately about the programme and attest to how foundational it was to their academic journeys.
Research Master's alumni, including the editors, have achieved leadership positions in the global African Studies community. This was evidenced during ECAS 2025 in Prague, where many alumni convened panels, presented papers, and chaired committees. Particularly the six-month period of research in the second year of the programme shaped us as researchers, and as people. This opportunity, to conduct in-depth and contextualised research, is becoming increasingly rare in contemporary academia. Eliminating it will not only deprive future students of a unique learning environment, it will put the future of African studies in Europe at risk.
'Remembering Research Realities' provides incontrovertible proof of the societal value and academic excellence of the Leiden University Research Master's African Studies programme. The contributions combine academic rigour and personal testimonies of the importance of this programme to their careers. The editors, former Research Master's students and staff, write passionately about the programme and attest to how foundational it was to their academic journeys.
Research Master's alumni, including the editors, have achieved leadership positions in the global African Studies community. This was evidenced during ECAS 2025 in Prague, where many alumni convened panels, presented papers, and chaired committees. Particularly the six-month period of research in the second year of the programme shaped us as researchers, and as people. This opportunity, to conduct in-depth and contextualised research, is becoming increasingly rare in contemporary academia. Eliminating it will not only deprive future students of a unique learning environment, it will put the future of African studies in Europe at risk.