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.

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Team

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Students

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A picture of Lara-Stephanie Krause, Alumna and now staff member of the Institute of African Studies in her office.

Alumni

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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.

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Bachelor African Studies

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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

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Doctorate

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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”.

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A graphic logo of the project Recalibrating Afrikanistik project.

Recalibrating Afrikanistik (RecAf)

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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

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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

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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

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

Doing the City: Socio-Spatial Navigation in Urban Africa

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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

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news

African Studies - NEWSLETTER

The Institute of African Studies at Leipzig University has a weekly newsletter that announces new events, publications and projects.

  • To subscribe click here.

CITY LIFE IN AFRICA. ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSIGHTS
by Katja Werthmann

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. It asks what anthropologists have come to learn about Africans’ views on city life. It provides a critical acclaim of ethnographies in English, French, and German and elucidates anthropology’s contribution to understanding city life in Africa. It highlights the significance of female, African and Diaspora scholars for an emerging urban anthropology of Africa. The book will be an essential read for students and researchers of social anthropology, African and urban studies, but also for professionals in research and development organizations, thinktanks, and other institutions concerned with urban Africa.

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RecAf — 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. There will be new episodes of Afrikanists Assemble every month centring around changing topics related to the field of Afrikanistik and African Studies.
 

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Information about Coronavirus

  • Our University’s crisis management team will provide regular updates here.
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  • Students
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Prof. Beck during a presentation.

News & Events

Everything you currently need to know from the Institute of African Studies: news, lectures, workshops, colloquia and conferences.

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African Studies Research, 07 December 2022

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We would like to invite you to our first African Studies Research Seminar of the 2022/23 winter semester. Our seminar will take place in-person and online, 11h15 —13h. Our speakers will be:

  • Julia Schweers (University of Oxford) — Citizenship Abroad, Capital at Home — the Value of Dual Citizenship in Ghana

  • Stefanie Mauksch (Leipzig University) — Failing Onwards, Fastly: Entrepreneurial Futures in Sudan

Venue: Room 2.216, at Institute of African Studies (GWZ, Beethovenstr. 15) and
BigBlueButton Link: https://lecture.uni-leipzig.de/b/luk-jyf-uic-4s1

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contact

Institute of African Studies

Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum
Beethovenstraße 15
04107 Leipzig
Head: Prof. Dr. Dmitri van den Bersselaar

Phone: +49 341 97-37030
Fax: +49 341 97-37048