The African Studies Centre Leiden celebrated its 75th anniversary at Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden on 8 September 2022. It was a festive day with colleagues, students, alumni, and societal partners.... Show moreThe African Studies Centre Leiden celebrated its 75th anniversary at Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden on 8 September 2022. It was a festive day with colleagues, students, alumni, and societal partners. This ASCL Occasional Publication presents the keynote speeches of the day, giving insight into the Centre’s rich past and present research, education, library and societal activities. In addition, it is illustrated with many pictures of the day and showcases the ASCL Library’s special items from the collection that were exhibited. Show less
This book presents the views of 22 women philosophers from outside the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian worlds. These eminent thinkers are from Mesopotamia, India, Tibet, China, Korea, Japan... Show moreThis book presents the views of 22 women philosophers from outside the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian worlds. These eminent thinkers are from Mesopotamia, India, Tibet, China, Korea, Japan,Australia, America, the Philippines and Nigeria. Six philosophers, the earliest of whom predates the Greek pre-Socratics by two thousand years, lived at “the dawn of philosophy”; another six from late Antiquity through the Classical period; five more taught and wrote during the Middle Ages up to the Age of Exploration, and yet five others were active during the modern period to the mid-twentieth century. Most belonged to major philosophical traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zen, or Sufism. The chapters of the book describe the life and views of the philosophers, outline the fundamental features of their respective schools, and contain translations of their writings. The book is intended for scholars of philosophy and women’s studies who wish to expand their knowledge of non-Western philosophical traditions and is ideally suited for undergraduate education. Comprehensive multilingual bibliographies of carefully documented sources offer scholars many promising resources for further research. Show less
Agada, A.; Afolayan, A.; Rettová, A.; Aoussine, A.; Gonzales, A.D. de; Ogunnaike, A.; ... ; Ethoke, N. 2023
Louise Müller e o jogo da filosofia africana*“O conhecimento é como um baobá, nenhuma pessoa sozinha pode abraçá-lo”. Esse é um provérbio Akan que pode ser combinado com outro que diz “Que nenhuma... Show moreLouise Müller e o jogo da filosofia africana*“O conhecimento é como um baobá, nenhuma pessoa sozinha pode abraçá-lo”. Esse é um provérbio Akan que pode ser combinado com outro que diz “Que nenhuma cidade (polis) possui sozinha a verdade”. Nenhuma cidade poderia almejar a posse integral da verdade. É nesse sentido que a filósofa holandesaLouise Müller, especialista na cultura akan, tem se dedicado à filosofia africana, desenvolvendo diálogos interculturais, assim como, buscando se aprofundar nos conhecimentos de línguas e culturas africanas. Show less
This paper focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education system in Kenya with reference to vocational training institutions. The paper analyses how the provision of vocational... Show moreThis paper focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the education system in Kenya with reference to vocational training institutions. The paper analyses how the provision of vocational training was impacted after Covid-19 from the perspective of principals of colleges, tutors, and students. The paper collected qualitative experiences of the above-mentioned stakeholders to understand to which degree vocational education has been affected by Covid-19. This was accomplished through the use of interviews, questionnaires, and document analysis. The study has found that the Covid-19 pandemic completely disrupted learning in six public VTCs as institutions were closed and students and tutors did not meet or interact for more than eight months. It was impossible for a work-based learning model to be used by students after institutions were closed because even the industries and businesses where they were supposed to undertake their practicum and internship programmes downscaled their operations, while others closed down completely. After reopening of VTCs in January 2021, close to 34.8% of their former students did not report back because some of them dropped out, some could not pay fees, some engaged in alcoholism, drugs, and substance abuse, some emigrated to other areas to look for opportunities while some settled down in marriage. It is recommended that guidance and counselling should be continuously provided to tutors and students as a way of addressing the psychological and behavioural challenges brought about by Covid-19, tutors need to be trained on remote learning methodologies (digital skills) and county governments need to invest in setting up infrastructure to support online learning in VTCs. This research provides a realistic picture of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on vocational education and training in public institutions in West Pokot County which is considered to be a marginalised and arid and semi-arid region in the North-western part of Kenya. Show less
Nowadays, urban-rural connections are accelerating in sub-Saharan Africa resulting in agricultural transformations, which in turn lead to the transformation of rural livelihoods. This paper... Show moreNowadays, urban-rural connections are accelerating in sub-Saharan Africa resulting in agricultural transformations, which in turn lead to the transformation of rural livelihoods. This paper examines agricultural transformations in the Dodoma Region, Tanzania, and their impact on local rural livelihoods. Triggered by transportation development and rising demand for agricultural produce on the national and international level, the transformation of rural livelihoods on the village level entails: the application of more advanced methods and organisation of agricultural production; the increased use wage-labour; considerably higher agricultural revenues; a distinct rise of livelihoods partly or exclusively based on small-scale industry, petty trade and other businesses; and a distinctively higher level of incomes and consumption. Show less
This contribution aims to approach the theme of a traveling Islam by starting frommoving people and considering how their religious “luggage”—in terms of beliefs,ideas, and practices—travels with... Show moreThis contribution aims to approach the theme of a traveling Islam by starting frommoving people and considering how their religious “luggage”—in terms of beliefs,ideas, and practices—travels with them and what this means for the circulation ofreligious ideas in Africa and beyond. The paper focuses particularly on Senegalesemigrants of the Murid Sufi order residing in Italy and the Netherlands; it investigateshow their religious luggage is important to them in the migration context and maycirculate further from there. In addition, it explores how their religious luggage ismoulded in, and through, their migration experiences: for instance, its meaning maychange, or another layer may be added. Finally, ideas on (the force of) the Muridiyyamay travel back to Senegal, adding other layers to the meaning of religion there as well. Show less
This study examines the impact of armed conflicts on the fiscal capacity of African governments. It made use of a data set covering 1997–2021 for 50 countries, as well as the system dynamic... Show moreThis study examines the impact of armed conflicts on the fiscal capacity of African governments. It made use of a data set covering 1997–2021 for 50 countries, as well as the system dynamic generalised method of moment estimation technique. The results show that, in the short run, conflicts undermine tax revenue, mount pressure on military expenditure, and force governments to rely more on mineral resource rents for their fiscal needs. As conflicts persist, this fiscal feature changes to a pattern that reflects a decline in mineral resource earnings and an increase in tax revenue. The impact on public health expenditure also changes from an increasing to a decreasing pattern, whereas the positive impact on military expenditure and external borrowing persists over time. The findings suggest that African countries in conflict can address their fiscal challenges by observing these patterns and putting in place policies that protect public resources (e.g., the adoption of digital financial technology protocols to facilitate remote revenue collection and strategic protection of mineral resource-endowed zones from insurgents' control). Overall, enhancing government effectiveness and strengthening the institutions of governance is important to facilitate a quick return to normalcy in the event of conflict and to prevent future conflicts. Show less
Over the past decades, extremist violence and jihadism/religious movements have become an important factor in the political and economic developments of drylands. This evolution has been attributed... Show moreOver the past decades, extremist violence and jihadism/religious movements have become an important factor in the political and economic developments of drylands. This evolution has been attributed to a variety of underlying dynamics that are typical for drylands, including increasing scarcity of land and water due to climate change; a growing population; the poor performance and authoritarian character of states; increasing displacements and resettlements related to large-scale investments; and progressive marginalization and exclusion of specific social groups. In addition, increasing levels of conflict between population groups have provided a fertile ground for recruitment by armed groups for self-defence and religious purposes, often along ethnic lines, and also to secure access to natural resources. The chapter discusses the backgrounds of these movements and shows how a jihadist movement in the Sahel transformed from a terrorist movement into a rural insurgency. Show less
The new connectivity, through mobile phones, social media, and wireless internet, is an agent in social change in the drylands. In this chapter, we present four case studies: the introduction of... Show moreThe new connectivity, through mobile phones, social media, and wireless internet, is an agent in social change in the drylands. In this chapter, we present four case studies: the introduction of mobile apps in Mongolia and Kenya, the role of mobile telephony in the Sahel, and the introduction of online learning in the Negev Desert. Each of these case studies develops an argument around the role of connectivity in ‘giving a voice’ to the people living in drylands. Indeed, as the studies show, the new technology of communication is a resource for such populations, especially when we focus on the benefits of improved communication and access to information. However, the effective use of such a resource is hampered by the lack of knowledge of dryland dynamics among the developers of the new technology and by the imposed power relations of the State. Also, the technology may follow its own pathway, being appropriated by the population in unexpected ways and creating new power relations that may also lead to conflict. Show less
This article aims to enhance understanding of the changing nature of the pre-colonial,(neo)colonial and postcolonial imagination of space and time in Africa and of its organising principle in... Show moreThis article aims to enhance understanding of the changing nature of the pre-colonial,(neo)colonial and postcolonial imagination of space and time in Africa and of its organising principle in African cinema. It will focus on the cartographic and time reckoning techniques and traditions of Africans in precolonial times in contrast to the space-time imagination expressed in colonial film in Africa,such as in the instruction documentary Daybreak in Udi (1949). This documentary, which promotes British colonial self-help development projects in Africa, tells the story of the building of a maternity home in an Igbo village in Nigeria. Furthermore, the article will enhance understanding of the cinematic turn toa counterhegemonic film tradition as a stepping stone to the newly emerging field of African intercultural philosophical cinema. The time-space imagination in Common Threads (2018), shortlisted by the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) for the best documentary will be analysed as a case in point. Thisdocumentary concentrates on the nineteenth-century and current Afro-Indian textile trade, the associated oral narratives and their visual impact on the so-called Kanga and Vitenge textiles. Show less
