Universität Leipzig: Institute of African Studies

institute

A bird's eye view of the roofs of Zanzibar Stone Town, showing roofs made of different materials from brown, rusty corrogated iron to new, read, shiny plastic roofs.

about us

We see African Studies as part of Area Studies with a particular historical responsibility. Our interdisciplinary institute works within the scope of the humanities and the social sciences.

The picture shows all staff members of the IFA.

STUDIES

A thatch-roofed round hut directly in front of the Chinese-built glass block that is the Faculty of Business at the University of Botswana in Gaborone.

African Studies

We learn to think critically about Africa and its role in a globalised world as well as in the social sciences. Here you find information on our Bachelor and Master programme in African Studies.

Photo of the reading room of the Library of Oriental Studies in Schillerstrasse

Bachelor African Studies

A big satelite dish in Accra, Ghana that was converted into an AVN telescope and belongs to the Square Kilometer Array project.

Master African Studies

A selfie with four PhD students and their supervisor in their midst.

Doctorate

Research

Bundles of electrical wires, assorted cables and water pipes attached to houses throughout the Stone Town Zanzibar.

Diverse, dynamic and changing

We engage in individual and collaborative research projects on Africa in its regional and global entanglements, and we orient towards Leipzig University’s strategic research field “Changed order in a globalised world”.

Recalibrating Afrikanistik (RecAf)

This is the first page of Mamadou Chetima’s Quran, showing the first sura al-fâtiha. The bold print is Arabic and the translation between the lines is old Kanembu.

Language as Archive

Electricity pole and cables photographed from below against the background of an urban neighbourhood in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Precarious and Informal Labour in South Africa and Nigeria

A mining pit in Burkina Faso that is covered with a tarp and connected to a solar panel.

Local Self-Governance for the Provision of Security: Vigilantes in Burkina Faso

Hands holding on to a yellow handrail on a bus in Dar es Salaam.

Doing the City: Socio-Spatial Navigation in Urban Africa

A picture of the Julius Nyerere Building for Peace and Security in Addis Ababa on the left side, and the African Union Headquarters on the right.

Interregionalism and Security in the Sahel: The African Union, ECOWAS, and the EU

News

Institut für Afrikastudien 12/01/2023

ASA scholarship 2023: Application

The application phase for the ASA scholarship 2023 has started.

Institut für Afrikastudien 20/12/2022

Erasmus+ Applications - winter term 2023/24

Dear students,
the deadline for the Erasmus+ applications fot the winter term 2023/24 is April, 1 2023!

Institut für Afrikastudien 15/12/2022

New Video Podcast – Afrikanists Assemble

Have a look at the first episode of Afrikanists Assemble, a Video Podcast produced by the research project Recalibrating Afrikanistik; a forum that seeks dialogue and exchange.

Institut für Afrikastudien 15/12/2022

RELANGUAGING LANGUAGE FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP SCHOOL

Multilingual Matters has published a book by one of our institute members.

Institut für Afrikastudien 15/12/2022

CITY LIFE IN AFRICA. ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSIGHTS

This book introduces readers to the anthropology of urban life in Africa, showing what ethnography can teach us about African city dwellers’ own notions, practices, and reflections.

Institut für Afrikastudien 15/12/2022