News & Events

On the occasion of the 2021 Stephen Ellis Annual Research Lecture on 9 December by Nanjala Nyabola, the ASCL Library has compiled a web dossier on African feminism. Nanjala Nyabola is an independent writer and researcher based in Nairobi, Kenya. The web dossier has been introduced by PhD candidate Loes Oudenhuijsen and consists of titles from the ASCL Library Catalogue, complemented by sources available through the broader Leiden University Library collection. 

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Tanzanian publishing house Mkuki na Nyota, a student of the Minor African Dynamics interviewed the publisher, Walter Bgoya, a key personality in African publishing. Mr Bgoya is outspoken about the importance of printed books for education, and about the language of instruction: 'To believe that English, French and Portuguese are the languages through which knowledge will be transmitted to the majority of our people is a colonial hangover.' Read the interview in the Minor African Dynamics Students' Blog!

Black Minds Matter tells the story of one of the most outspoken clerics of Africa, Emmanuel Milingo, who was Archbishop of Lusaka from 1969 to 1983. Milingo became widely known for his healing ministry, which was rooted in African spiritual ideas. This brought him into years of conflict with the dominant powers in the Catholic Church, and eventually led to his excommunication in 2006. Black Minds Matter was written by Gerrie ter Haar, emeritus Professor of Religion and Development at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

In the past few weeks thirteen students of the Master and Research Master African Studies graduated. During an online graduation ceremony on 3 November Christen Faver, Shannon Lorimer, Femke van Zeijl and Mira Demirdirek all graduated cum laude. And on 10 November Marly van den Boom, Daniel Okiror, Bernardo Tiberi Venturucci (Research Master), Diene de Jong, Jochem Scheelings, Junyang Shen, Janina Hubmann, Marcia Semedo Gonçalvez and Samantha da Luz graduated in the Academy Building in Leiden, the last three of whom cum laude. Congratulations!

In September 2021, Elvire Eijkman and Gerard van de Bruinhorst from the ASCL Library were able to make an acquisition trip to Rwanda. Some titles that were acquired have already been made available by ASCL Library staff. Take a sneak preview in the new Library Highlight!

Elvire Eijkman and Gerard van de Bruinhorst from the ASCL Library were permitted to make an acquisition trip to Rwanda in the last week of September 2021. It was the library's first acquisition trip to this country, and they were particularly curious to know how the country’s new language policy had shaped the publication landscape of this formerly francophone country. And of course, many book titles in the bookshops they visit, refer to the genocide that took place in 1994.

Voor het Kennisplatform Inclusive Development Policies (INCLUDE Knowledge Platform) zijn wij op zoek naar een student-assistent (0,4 fte) per 1 februari 2022. Het platform slaat een brug tussen wetenschap enerzijds en praktijk en beleid anderzijds op het gebied van inclusieve ontwikkeling in Afrika.

Are you thinking about doing a master's or research master's programme that’s focusing on Africa? Join us at the online Master's Week! Presentations about the African Studies master's and research master's programmes will be given on Friday 5 November 17.00-18.00 CET.

The Annual Report for 2020 is out now! In addition to an excellent list of publications by our researchers, you will find other highlights such as the (pre-COVID-19) conference 'Africa: 60 years of independence', the honorary doctorate awarded to Prof. Lungisile Ntsebeza (UCT), and the prolific three-month online conference Africa Knows!

The Stephen Ellis Annual Research Lecture will be given on 9 December by Dr Nanjala Nyabola, independent writer and researcher based in Nairobi, Kenya. Examining key moments in African women’s history, Dr Nyabola will outline key characteristics of African women’s political organisation, mobilisation and action. She will also offer a possible theoretical framework for African women’s work and African feminisms as political science method. Please register for this online lecture.