News & Events

Thirteen students of the Master and the Research Master African Studies received their diplomas on 22 October. The festive ceremony took place in the Academy Building in Leiden. Six of the students graduated cum laude!

South African writer Nadia Davids is the winner of this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing, with  her short story Bridling. Bridling, first published in The Georgia Review in 2023, was selected out of 320 entries representing 28 countries. Nadia Davids, Bridling, and the Caine Prize is the topic of our latest Library Highlight.

The festive graduation ceremony of Master and Research Master students of African Studies will take place on Tuesday 22 October from 13:00 to 17:00 hours in the Academy Building (Telders Auditory), Leiden. You are welcome to attend the ceremony, or follow the livestream.

Land holds immense economic, cultural, religious, and political significance for most sub-Saharan African countries. However, customary patriarchal norms restrict land ownership to the male lineage, while women typically access land through relationships with men. This book examines the experience of women entangled in land disputes.

On 8 October the Herta Mohr Building, the new home of the ASCL, was officially opened. Presentations took place in the various world institutes that are gathered in this part of the Humanities Campus. Lidewyde Berckmoes and Marieke Maagdenberg launched their book TRACES, sharing precious stories about Burundi and its diaspora.

On the 4th of December 2024, the 10th edition of the Stephen Ellis Annual Lecture will be celebrated with a special programme. Koert Lindijer, well-known journalist and author of African affairs, and Africa correspondent for the Dutch news platforms NOS and NRC, will be this year’s keynote speaker.