News & Events

In 2013, two thirds of Africans were reckoned to live in countries suffering from state fragility. The fragility of African states is regarded as a major explanation for the failure of countries to translate strong economic growth into sustained social and economic development. During this seminar Em. Professor Dele Olowu (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria) will discuss approaches that would result in a change from state fragility to state resilience, based on lessons learnt from selected states in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Find out all about the (Research) Master's programmes in African Studies in this new video! Leiden University and its African Studies Centre offer multidisciplinary MA programmes that are unique in continental Europe. The master's and research master's programmes combine disciplines from the humanities with disciplines from social sciences. Listen to the students (and teachers') experiences! 

The ASCL proudly announces two new exhibitions: Loïs Diallo's photos, on the third floor of the Pieter de la Cour building, are inspired by the beauty of Senegal. Hand-made weavings of African portraits by Celine Michel can be admired in the ASCL library on the ground floor. Come and have a look!

After last year’s successful edition Voice4Thought will be back with its annual festival from 21-25 September! This year’s theme is ‘People in Motion’. Artists, scientists, journalists and activists from different backgrounds will come together in Leiden. They are all ‘people in motion’: refugee, migrant or traveller. V4T strives to give these people a voice and start a dialogue: through music, film, modern dance, visual arts, workshops, and debates.

Professor Wim van den Doel, dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University and chair of the Board of Governors of the ASCL, has been appointed member of the Executive Board of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) as of 1 January 2017. Van den Doel will relinquish his role as dean in Leiden but will retain his post as Professor of Contemporary History. Van den Doel became chair of the ASCL Board when the African Studies Centre integrated with Leiden University on 1 January 2016.

Samuel Ntewusu is KNAW Visiting Professor for 2016-2017. A Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies (University of Ghana) Ntewusu is one of the coordinators of the ASCL research programme 'Society and Change in Northern Ghana: Dagomba, Gonja, and the Regional Perspective on Ghanaian History'. We interviewed him about the importance of understanding history. ‘Our object is to fill the gaps and generate knowledge on development issues which will be critical for policy making.’ Read the interview.