News & Events

In May 2019, Afrikaanse letterkunde, so far the one and only handbook of African literature in the Dutch language, will come out in a brand new edition at Amsterdam University Press. Mineke Schipper first published the book in 1983 and then in an updated version in 1990. The forthcoming AUP edition was co-written by Mineke Schipper, Daniela Merolla and Inge Brinkman. The new edition will be celebrated with a festive programme that includes as speakers Annachiara Raia (ASCL), Asis Aynan (initiator 'BerberBibliotheek'), and the authors themselves.

Why is it that a serious plane crash in Ethiopia only figures somewhere halfway the Dutch TV News, and only mentions the victims who have European or North-American nationalities? Why is it still so difficult to have African history included in the history curriculum in Dutch schools? It is about time that perspectives from Africa get incorporated and mainstreamed in Europe and beyond. African Studies has a role to play in this, Mayke Kaag writes in the ASCL Africanist Blog.

Registration is now open for two Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) minors that the ASCL co-organizes: the minor African Dynamics, and the minor Frugal Innovation for Sustainable Global Development. The first minor builds your understanding of integrated and sustainable development approaches in Africa from leading academics of the universities of Leiden, Delft, and Rotterdam, as well as guest speakers. In the minor on Frugal Innovation you will learn what frugal innovation implies for technology, entrepreneurship and sustainable global development.

In a context where sexuality remains extremely framed by reproductive values and principles, access to the Internet offers an unexpected opening to the world and unrestricted ways of enjoying a sexual life outside of imposed boundaries. In Cameroon, mobile phone coverage is estimated over 80%, and the number of internet subscribers has doubled in five years, from 14.16% in 2012 to 35.64% in 2017. 74% of internet traffic comes from mobile phones. Gender gap in accessing new technologies is relatively weak, especially in urban areas. This raises the following question: can digital technologies and their uses call into question male domination in social, political and economic relationships? By allowing sexual self-expression how can they challenge sexual inequalities that shape Cameroonian society? Grounded on a recent postdoctoral research on “The Internet, At Risk Sexual Practices and HIV/AIDS in Cameroon”, this presentation looks at smart phones and the internet as a mirror that allows us to better understand how gender and sexual hierarchies are challenged and reenacted through digital cultures.

The ASCL Library compiled an experimental web dossier which combines the components of a classical ASCL web dossier with features offered by Wikidata. The web dossier focuses on Southern African women writers and their publications. Special feature is the interactive Wikidata map that provides links to the writer’s publications in the ASCL catalogue and to her English Wikipedia article. Check out the web dossier!

This article by Agnieszka Kazimierczuk in Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews provides a review of the latest status and policy framework for wind energy in Africa. It takes a close look at Kenya, one of the most successful African countries in terms of attracting renewable energy investments, including the largest wind farm on the continent. However, international private participation is critical in wind energy expansion in Kenya.

This new article by Mayke Kaag (ASCL) and Griet Steel (Utrecht University) in Built Environment highlights the role of transnational migrants in urban land investments and claim making on urban land. Using case studies in Khartoum and Dakar, the authors investigate the ways in which transnational migrants contribute to speculation, rising land values and processes of socio-spatial inclusion and exclusion.