News & Events

A new paper by Tycho van der Hoog explores the largely unknown history of North Korean development aid in Africa. In the twentieth century, Pyongyang was an important partner for recently liberated African countries and actively used development aid as a tool for its foreign policy, aiming to gain international recognition.

On 28 May 1989, Cape Verdean writer, poet, linguist and lawyer Baltasar Lopes da Silva died in Lisbon at the age of 82. With Manuel Lopes and Jorge Barbosa, he was the founder of the literary journal Claridade. Read the Library Weekly!

On 17 May 1973, South African painter and printmaker Maria Magdalena ('Maggie')  Laubser died in Strand, Western Cape, at the age of 87. She is generally considered, along with Irma Stern, to be responsible for the introduction of Expressionism to South Africa. Read the Library Weekly!

The African Studies Centre Leiden proudly presents its new logo! It depicts a frame through which the ASCL observes, researches and aims to understand diverse African realities. With the new logo comes a new website with a fresh look, which we will continue to work on in the coming months.

On 15 May 2002, Nigerian educationalist, writer and advocate for women’s education Lady Kofoworola Ademola (née Moore) died at the age of 88. She was the president of the National Council of Women Societies in Nigeria and was the head of the women's organisation from 1958 to 1964. Read the Library Weekly!

On the occasion of Jan-Bart Gewald’s selection as a fellow at Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), we interviewed him about the research project The 'Big Hole', Kimberley South Africa, 1870-1920 which he will conduct there. ‘Without “the Big Hole”, southern Africa wouldn’t exist as it is now.' 

In Jean-Marie Teno's latest film 'Chosen', Teno recounts his meeting with a woman whose life journey mirrors a generation of Africans: who left Africa one day and are now struggling to find their way back home. Read the Library Highlight!

The war in Ukraine also has an impact on Africa: 45 of the 54 African countries depend for more than a third on grain from Ukraine and Russia. Ton Dietz was interviewed about the consequences of this war on the African continent, in the 'Africast' podcast.

When ASCL researcher Stephen Ellis died in July 2015, African Studies lost one of its most prolific, provocative and celebrated scholars. This collection, edited by Tim Kelsall, aims to provide scholars and students with an introduction to the main themes in Ellis’ work.

South Africa is battling growing anti-immigrant attitudes driven by vigilante groups. PhD candidate Tinashe Chimbidzikai writes about how anti-immigrant sentiments have become episodic, in the ASCL Africanist Blog.