News & Events

Mayke Kaag has been named professor by special appointment of the Anthropology of Islam in Africa and its Diaspora at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The chair has been established on behalf of the African Studies Centre Leiden. As a political anthropologist, Mayke Kaag conducts research on contemporary Islam in Africa and the African diaspora from the perspective of Africa's global connections. 

Ethiopia held its parliamentary and regional state council elections on 21 June 2021 under tense conditions of the armed conflict in Tigray Region, threats of instability and insurgent attacks in western parts of the country, and the ongoing health threats due to COVID-19. Despite the current unrest, the electoral process was appreciated by a large majority of the voters and proceeded relatively well, Jon Abbink writes in the ASCL Africanist Blog.

This seminar on 17 September is organised in the framework of 'Africa 2020' and coincides with Bert van Pinxteren's PhD Defence (16 September). In his dissertation, Van Pinxteren shows that maintaining former colonial languages as sole medium of instruction in higher education will become impossible to sustain. Over the next decade, more and more African countries will have to move towards increased use of African languages. Discussion with Maarten Mous, Kwesi Kwaa Prah, Azeb Amha, Mandipa Ndlovu, Akinyinka Akinyoade, and many others.