Jon KeuneThis announcement is for a Call for Proposals to participate in an experimental virtual workshop on "Subaltern Transnationalism," which will take place February 26 - March 6, 2026.   As explained in the attached PDF file, we will gather a small group of scholars to discuss ways in which "subaltern" or historically marginalized people developed emancipative possibilities by envisioning themselves as belonging to worlds beyond their immediate locales.  Mindful of how the terms "subaltern" and "transnationalism" carry different meanings in different global contexts, we hope that our call invites participants who work on relevant topics even if they do not typically resort to these terms to describe their research. Scholarship on transnationalism/transregionalism often takes for granted a high degree of financial, social, educational, or political status among participants who can engage the international world reciprocally. In contrast, we view subaltern transnationalism as reflecting marginalized people’s own imagination, agency, and uses of international knowledge according to their limited resources in their local contexts. In these cases, such knowledge may be rooted in partial information, rumor, media fragments, religious networks, political propaganda, or localized interpretations of rhetoric and events from elsewhere, which subaltern groups use to develop social imaginaries that give them hope and new forms of self-understanding. Our anticipated historical scope for the workshop is colonial and early postcolonial periods, but we will consider proposals that speak directly to the theme in other historical periods. To maximize engagement and feedback among participants, the workshop will have two parts. The asynchronous part will be facilitated through a private website hosting participants' shared materials February 26-March 5, 2025, followed soon after by a 2-hour group Zoom meeting that suits participants' availability and time zones.  Work in progress is welcome; a full paper is not required.  Please see the attached PDF file for more details, including how to submit proposals before the January 24 deadline, and how to contact the organizers. Contact Information Jon Keune, Associate Professor in Religious Studies, Michigan State University Surajkumar Thube, Visiting Faculty in Political Science, Ashoka University Contact Email subalterntransnationalism@gmail.com Attachments CFP & concept note Read more

Do you need support with planning field research? If you or your students need help with fieldwork and preparation of field research (running from research design to participant recruit, budget, ethics, grant applications, community access, etc), consider taking our virtual course on fieldwork across the social sciences at the Essex Summer School (July 7 to July 18, 2025). You can bring your own project, and together we make it field-ready over the two weeks of the course. This course is co-taught by Dr Alexandra Hartman (UCL) and Dr Florian G. Kern (University of Essex). For more information see here: https://essexsummerschool.com/summer-school-facts/courses/ess-2025-course-list/1n/ Contact Information   Dr. Florian G. Kern Reader (Associate Professor) Department of Government University of Essex Tel. +44 (0)1206 87-2745 fkern@essex.ac.uk       Contact Email fkern@essex.ac.uk URL https://essexsummerschool.com/summer-school-facts/courses/ess-2025-course-list/… Read more

Virtual Conference: Religion and Democracy on the African Continent: Colonial Legacies and Postcolonial Possibilities “A broad rethinking of political issues becomes possible when Western ideals and practices are examined from the vantage point of Africa.”—Pankaj Mishra, New York Review of Books Join us Saturday, May 7–Sunday, May 8, for a virtual conference, featuring scholars of Africana Studies, Religious Studies, Anthropology, History, Sociology, Law, and Politics, who will share their expertise on religion and democracy on the African continent. The event will feature a keynote address by Mahmood Mamdani, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University and author of the book, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, (Harvard University Press, 2020). The conference presentations will result in the publication of an edited volume to be made freely available next year.  Registration The conference will be hosted on Zoom; attendees must register separately for each session. Click on the linked session titles below to register and to learn more about the sessions and speakers. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the Religion, Race & Democracy Lab’s Vimeo channel. Schedule of Events Saturday, May 7: Looking Back 9–11 AM EST Historical Formations of Religion and Democracy   11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST African Religious Movements & Democracies   2–4 PM EST Keynote Lecture: Mahmood Mamdani, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities    Sunday, May 8: Looking Forward 10 am–12 PM EST Contemporary Conflicts, the State, and Religion in Africa   1–4 pm EST New Theories and the Future of Religion and Democracy in Africa (followed by Closing Remarks)   Co-sponsored by the University of Virginia Democracy Initiative's Religion, Race & Democracy Lab, the Page-Barbour Funds, the Institute of the Humanities & Global Culture, the Carter G. Woodson Institute, and the Virginia Center for the Study of Religion. Read more

This workshop will serve as a knowledge transfer for early career researchers and students and we will invite local subject matter experts, entrepreneurs, government leaders, and development agencies to discuss their current and future activities related to water equity access.  We will actively seek opportunities to further expand our research activities through collaborations and educational programs, which would highlight the role of gender in different levels for providing water in different regions of the world.  The workshop will have graduate students (from Nigeria and the U.S.) as the audience.  The mixed format of the workshop will combine seminars and roundtable discussions.  This workshop is intended to inspire students and researchers and build their enthusiasm for science, engineering, and technology.    Sponsored by a Michigan State University African Studies Center Strategic Partnership Grant.   Although the Workshop will be held virtually, there will be audiences gathered at both Michigan State University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.   Registration Link: Click here to register (No registration fee)   The details for the workshop can be found at https://www.egr.msu.edu/boehlertgroup/upcoming-events  Read more

A virtual discussion exploring the latest research and technology in aquaculture production systems for improved livelihoods.Thursday, 27 January 202219:00-20:30 (UTC+8) / 13:00-14:30 (UTC+2) Click here to register and save your spot The Advancing Climate-Smart Aquaculture Technologies (ACliSAT) project promotes climate-resilient and sustainable aquaculture practices of the Nile Tilapia for different water and environmental conditions in Egypt, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. The project's work focuses on aquaculture systems such as the Improved Pond Raceway Aquaculture System (IPRAS) and Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture system (IAA), that optimize water use efficiency and adapt to different environmental conditions are important for successful tilapia farming in arid lands. WorldFish and IFAD are organizing a joint webinar to share the research findings, knowledge, and know-how on the climate-smart aquaculture systems gathered from the ACliSAT project. The webinar aims to promote IPRAS and IAA as production systems that enable intensification of Tilapia production, the efficient use of natural resources and feed nutrients, and managing waste and loss by re-using wastes such as pond water and mud as crop fertilizer.Climate-smart aquaculture systems are of particular importance in mitigating the pressing effects of climate change as well as adapting to the changing climate conditions that directly affect the food security, nutrition, and livelihoods of millions of vulnerable people in developing countries.    Follow WorldFish and the hashtag #aquaticfoods to join the virtual dialogue on Twitter.  We look forward to your active participation. To register: Webinar Registration - Zoom  Read more

AP is excited to be hosting a virtual panel discussion regarding “The Role of Youth in Building Resilient Agri-Food Systems in Africa” this Thursday, October 21st at 8:30am-10:00 EDT. This discussion will be hosted with the help of The World Food Prize Foundation. The session will discuss evidence-based and pragmatic approaches that could foster productive youth engagements supportive of resilient agri-food systems in Africa. A panel of experts drawn from MSU and AAP partner institutions, Foundations and youth leaders will share insights highlighting the relevance of the agri-food system to youth livelihoods, the role youth could play to foster a resilient agri-food system, and salient trends, barriers and promising entry points for policy that could equip African youth with the skills, space and resources to effectively contribute to a productive and resilient agri-food system. Building a sustained and resilient agri-food system in Africa is an intergenerational mandate which demands the active engagement of African youth, and AAP is proud to be a part of this progress.   This side event is organized by Michigan State University’s Alliance for African Partnership under the auspices of the African Youth Transformation Platform, a collaborative and cross-disciplinary platform that seeks to transform the lives of African youth and their communities through research, capacity building, and advocacy that enhances youth development outcomes.   To register/learn more: https://msu.zoom.us/.../register/WN_iguFgRtBTYyhZi8hiZaCmA Read more