ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 35 (2011).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 35 (2011). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2011
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 33 (2011).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 33 (2011). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Our intention with this brochure is to illustrate the kind of research we do at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, as well as how we work and what inspires us.
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2010
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 32 (2010).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 32 (2010). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Many people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the... Show moreMany people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the hospital into a place of constant struggle and suffering. Hospitalisation in this sense coincides with the deterioration of patients' and their families' overall wellbeing. Drawing on twelve months of ethnographic research in a cancer ward in Kenya, this monograph shows that patients' suffering should be viewed within the context of a wider spectrum of adversity. The book demonstrates the ambiguity of a hospital stay and treatment, showing how a hospital can both alleviate as well as increase human suffering. The author advocates patient-centred hospital ethnography as a way to improve the understanding of cancer patients' needs, both medical and non-medical, as they struggle to restore their wellbeing. Benson A Mulemi is a medical Anthropologist from Kenya. He obtained a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi in 1998 and was admitted to the PhD programme at AMIDSt, University of Amsterdam in 2004. He has worked on several projects as a researcher and lecturer at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, visiting lecturer at the Institute of African Studies; University of Nairobi, Christ the Teacher Institute for Education, Tangaza College (affiliated to St. Mary's University Minnesota, USA), Tangaza and Hekima Colleges of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi. Show less
In this farewell lecture on the occasion of his departure as Professor of Development in sub-Saharan Africa at Leiden University and Director of the African Studies Centre (ASC), Leiden, the... Show moreIn this farewell lecture on the occasion of his departure as Professor of Development in sub-Saharan Africa at Leiden University and Director of the African Studies Centre (ASC), Leiden, the author starts with the vuvuzela issue as an illustration of the lack of confidence the world has in South Africa organizing and running the World Cup smoothly. He takes that as a sign that there still exists a stereotype of African incompetence, despite the social and economic progress Africa has witnessed in the last decade. He does not want to argue that African Studies have not been able to offset such a stereotype. What he tries to show is that it is not clear from the wealth of actor-oriented research in African Studies what the main social, political and economic trends in Africa are. He argues that actor-oriented research in African Studies should try to increase its relevance by contributing- through meta-analyses and comparative research-to the discussion on social, political and economic trends in Africa. Special attention should be paid to the possible rise of the developmental state in Africa. In doing so, African Studies may also substantiate its claim that it is able to challenge the universal pretensions of mainstream social science. Show less
This book is based on an ethnographic study during an ongoing civil war in northern Uganda. It examines children's suffering as well as their attempts to restore normality. Data shows that there is... Show moreThis book is based on an ethnographic study during an ongoing civil war in northern Uganda. It examines children's suffering as well as their attempts to restore normality. Data shows that there is a high burden of illnesses among the children, both infectious diseases and complaints related to emotional distress. The study describes children's short-term curative approaches to these illnesses, and the ensuing misuse of, and dependencies on, pharmaceuticals. Although children are approached as social actors and their perspectives are privileged, their quests for therapy are shown to be influenced by many other factors as well. The focus therefore lies on children's vulnerability within existing healthcare structures and life conditions. Through this focus, the book critiques the narrow policies regarding healthcare interventions for children above five years, and underscores the importance of addressing wider socio-economic factors in preventive approaches to infectious diseases and emotional suffering.Grace Akello, PhD, is a medical anthropologist trained at the Universities of Amsterdam and Leiden. She is currently employed as senior lecturer at Gulu University, northern Uganda. Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2010
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 31 (2010).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 31 (2010). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
This Masters thesis is the winner of the ASC's Africa Thesis Award 2009. It examines the decision-making process of Senegalese men to make use of the dangerous boat journey to the Canary Islands in... Show moreThis Masters thesis is the winner of the ASC's Africa Thesis Award 2009. It examines the decision-making process of Senegalese men to make use of the dangerous boat journey to the Canary Islands in an effort to reach Europe. Moving beyond conventional micro- and macro-theories on migration decision-making, this study focuses at the meso-level by which the embeddedness of migrants' decision-making in ongoing social contacts is considered. The study draws on ethnographic research among unsuccessful boat migrants in Dakar, Senegal. The data collected suggests two models of migration decision-making, revealing variations in social processes that are central to the workings of undocumented migration.Miranda Poeze studied cultural anthropology at the Free University in Amsterdam. She is currently a PhD student at Maastricht University. Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2010
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 29 (2010).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 29 (2010). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2010
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 30 (2010).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 30 (2010). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
The studies in this volume are the result of research carried out by students of the Research Masters in African Studies (RMAS) at Leiden University who graduated in 2008. The studies cover such... Show moreThe studies in this volume are the result of research carried out by students of the Research Masters in African Studies (RMAS) at Leiden University who graduated in 2008. The studies cover such areas as conflict, democracy, migration, urban and rural studies, language, communication and youth. An introduction by Mirjam de Bruijn, RMAS director, and Daniela Merolla, RMAS academic coordinator from 2006-2009, is followed by eight contributions: Facilitating return: notions of conflict and peace in ending internal displacement in northern Uganda (Hilde Kroes); Political parties and intra-party democracy in East Afria: considerations for democratic consolidation (Josh Maiyo); How the youth of Soweto have turned language into a transformable object in the context of a changing society (Pierre Aycard); How linguistic features and social arrangements can interrelate: the position of Swahili and its speakers in Bujumbura [Burundi] (Lianne Belt); Peer groups and human anchorage: girl-migrants making it work in N'Djamena, Chad (Jonna Both); Recycling gifts: ritual and money in present-day 'tonw' in Bancoumana [Mali] (Esther Khn); Negotiating insecurity through mobile telephony in Buea, Cameroon (Barbara Tah Gwanmesia); Challenges for ethnographic research in fragile situations: research among youth in post-war Burundi (Lidewyde H. Berckmoes). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Nursing as a profession is practiced worldwide in hospitals, clinics, health centres, and individual homes. While there are universal definitions of nursing and universal criteria for training... Show moreNursing as a profession is practiced worldwide in hospitals, clinics, health centres, and individual homes. While there are universal definitions of nursing and universal criteria for training student nurses, the working reality that nurses face differs widely. This ethnography provides insights into the daily routine of nurses on a medical ward in a teaching hospital in Ghana. Next to a description of historical developments of nursing, it analyses nurses' motives, the nature of their work, and power relations on the ward. This study also looks at perceptions of nursing in Ghanaian society. Having been trained in western concepts of care, the nurses on the ward are confronted with demands and challenges not covered in their educational training such as personnel shortage, limited equipment and financial restrictions. In addition, tradition, religion and the notion of respect influence the work of nurses. By reflecting on this profession and its position in the health care setting, the author shows how notions of health, care and death are shaped by the surrounding culture. Christine B”hmig (Germany, 1969) was trained as a general nurse. She worked as a nurse in Cape Coast, Ghana, and in Heidelberg, Germany. She studied cultural anthropology, sociology and political sciences at the University of Heidelberg. Since 1999, she has been working as a tutor and lecturer at University College Utrecht, the Netherlands. She obtained her PhD from the University of Amsterdam on the basis of anthropological research among nurses in a hospital in Accra, Ghana. Her research interests are in hospital ethnography, religion and health, African belief systems and qualitative methodologies. Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2009
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 28 (2009).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 28 (2009). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
This book presents new empirically based and theoretically informed studies on the contemporary social and economic dynamics of Africa, dealing with developments in the arenas of politics,... Show moreThis book presents new empirically based and theoretically informed studies on the contemporary social and economic dynamics of Africa, dealing with developments in the arenas of politics, economics and cultural struggle. These domains are closely interlinked. In their widest definition, culture and politics intermingle and recombine in surprising and sometimes disturbing ways. They always have a definite economic logic as well, informing value commitments and behaviour in the broader sense. Politics and economic life in Africa have, perhaps more visibly than elsewhere, influential and cultural aspects and referents, such as religion and ethnicity, which often play a constitutive role. 'Culture' and its symbolism are used instrumentally in the political, economic and social struggles in today's Africa, marked by a preoccupation with 'development'. The studies in this book underline the interplay of new hegemomic struggles of a material but also ideological nature. Show less
