News & Events

African Studies scholars from different academic disciplines of Leiden University have conducted research for many decades. Their close links with African partners and their emphasis on fundamental research have enabled them to generate insights that benefit both African and Western societies. Leiden University created a new research dossier ‘Africa reconsidered’, for which many ASCL researchers were interviewed.

This seminar by Henrike Hoogenraad, PhD Candidate at Adelaide University, explores the concept of ‘intimate borders’ in regards to African-Australian marriage migration, particularly highlighting the journey from Africa to Australia. As migration policies become increasingly restrictive, for unskilled migrants from the Global South marriage migration seems to be the only option left. However, in order to prevent ‘sham’ marriages, this category is subject to increasing control as to make sure marriages are genuine.

'Van Walraven set out to write a fundamentally social history, centering the voices and experiences of individual people. (...) It is satisfying to imagine him reporting back to the aging Sawabists he interviewed for his research, reassuring them that their stories will not be forgotten.' Louise Mueller wrote an excellent book review of Le Désir de calme, the French translation - by Rahmane Idrissa - of Klaas van Walraven's The yearning for relief: a history of the Sawaba Movement in Niger. 

South African Deon Meyer is the author of De Vrouw in de Blauwe Mantel (The Lady in the Blue Coat), the gift book for this year's Crime & Thriller Book Weeks ('Spannende Boeken Weken') that run in the Netherlands from Friday 9 to Sunday 25 June. Deon Meyer’s thrillers are part of the ASCL Library's collection of African crime fiction. Check out our latest Library Highlight!