News & Events

During the last months of 2014, Google Scholar approached the African Studies Centre and got permission to index the AfricaBib database and use the metadata in Google Scholar. This means in practice that the more than 216,000 records in AfricaBib will be more visible to scholars and other interested persons, and that more scholarly publications about and from Africa will receive the attention they deserve. More news about AfricaBib: as of January 2015, it is possible to search through all records simultaneously in a one-stop search.

The ASC is to perform an evaluation of the 'epicentre programme' of The Hunger Project (THP) Benin. The ASC will assess how THPs strategy has contributed to development processes in Benin. THP Benin is part of the international NGO The Hunger Project. THP works with so-called ‘epicentres’: clusters of villages, or 'dynamic centres where communities are mobilized for action to meet their basic needs'. The ASC will perform an external, qualitative evaluation using the PADev approach. PADev is a participatory and holistic methodology for evaluating development interventions.

The plot of The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician, a new novel by Tendai Huchu (born 1982 in Bindura, Zimbabwe) revolves around the lives of three Zimbabwean expatriates: three different men who struggle with thoughts of belonging, loss, identity and love. Set in Scotland, where Tendai Huchu also happens to live at present, the book zooms into the life of the expatriate but also provides some valuable insight into the political and economic landscape, the shaky opposition and the corruption which are set into the fabric of Zimbabwean life. The Maestro, The Magistrate & The Mathematician is the subject of our latest Acquisition Highlight!

In 1962, the South African Liquor Act was revised in a way that finally permitted all South Africans to purchase alcohol. The wine companies anticipated a surge in wine sales amongst black consumers. But while the sale of bottled beer increased exponentially, that of wine increased only slightly. By the 1980s consumption was actually falling. Where had the wine industry gone wrong? Find out during the ASC seminar on 16 April with Paul Nugent, Professor of Comparative African History of the University of Edinburgh!