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CfP: "Cities and Decolonization: Anti-colonial Struggles, Urban Protest, and Global Solidarities"Date: 19/20 March 2026Venue: University of Oxford, Wadham College, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PNOrganizers: Norman Aselmeyer (Oxford), Eric Burton (Innsbruck) Main objective The aim of the workshop is to reassess the relationship between the city and the struggle for decolonization in the colonial world. It brings together scholars examining anti-colonial movements in specific urban contexts in the twentieth century. The workshop seeks to foster dialogue on the relationship between anti-colonial protests and colonial cities in Africa and Asia, exploring how these struggles were shaped by diverse social groups, the spatial organization of urban environments, and the tensions between competing visions of anti-colonial practice. Workshop description What role did cities play in shaping the dynamics of twentieth-century decolonization? This question continues to captivate scholars across disciplines. Contemporaries perceived revolutionary movements as originating from urban hubs and radiating outward into rural regions. Aristide Zolberg evocatively characterized anti-colonial movements as “creatures with a relatively large head in the capital and fairly rudimentary limbs.”[1] In contrast, postcolonial thinkers like Frantz Fanon, significantly influenced by Marxist scholarship, insisted that “the peasants alone are revolutionary.”[2] Historian Raymond Betts proposed a nuanced interpretation, suggesting anti-colonial movements were simultaneously “rooted in the countryside and grounded in the city.”[3] In recent years, research in anthropology, political science, and history has increasingly shifted focus toward the role of cities and urban populations, emphasizing the urban dimension of anti-colonial protest and the complex connections between urban centers and rural hinterlands in shaping anti-colonial resistance. As political scientist Jeffrey Herbst has argued, “nationalist politics in the 1950s and 1960s were very much urban affairs.”[4] The most recent literature on cities as centers of anti-imperial activism has shown how colonial metropoles like London (M. Matera), Paris (J. Boitin; M. Goebel) or Brussels (M. Louro; D. Laqua) emerged as nodal points for activists in the interwar period and after World War II. Non-colonial or semi-colonial cities in Asia could also be hubs of anti-colonial networking in the interwar or postwar period, including Beijing (R. Leow), Hanoi/Saigon, or Bangkok (C. Goscha). From the late 1950s, governments of newly independent states in Asia and Africa became sponsors of anti-colonial organizations, turning cities into “hubs of decolonization” (E. Burton). Across postcolonial Africa, cities such as Accra (M. Grilli), Cairo (R. Abou-el-Fadl; J. R. Brennan), Dar es Salaam (A. Ivaska; G. Roberts), Algiers (J. Byrne), Léopoldville (L. Passemiers), Lusaka (C. Chongo, H. Macmillan) and Maputo (N. Manghezi) harbored liberation movements and provided infrastructures to mobilize followers, engage with international actors and get access to transnational audiences and support. Afro-Asian connections with cities such as Bombay, Rangoon, and Delhi also played a role here (C. Stolte; G. McCann), as did links to Havana and growing Tricontinentalism (A.G. Mahler; R. J. Parrott). This recent scholarship emphasized significant variation across regions and contexts. The dynamics of resistance differed between trade and settler colonies, as Jean Allman has pointed out, and were further shaped by the specific character of colonial rule, the diversity of local cultures of resistance, and the distinct temporalities of decolonization.[5] Some regions, such as the so-called “hinterland countries” (J. Herbst), that is, countries lacking densely populated urban centers, followed markedly different trajectories. Moreover, decolonization was not solely an elite-driven or urban-centered process. Elizabeth Schmidt’s work on Guinea compellingly demonstrates that nationalist narratives were often imagined and propelled “from below,” shaped by a wide range of actors (including urban workers, women, peasants, and military veterans) rather than imposed by political leadership from above.[6] Similarly, John Lonsdale’s concept of “moral ethnicity” underscores the significance of local political languages and ethnic frameworks in shaping nationalist politics in Kenya.[7] The complexities of twentieth-century decolonization demand a nuanced understanding of the urban-rural interface in anti-colonial movements. Drawing on the various strands of recent scholarship, the workshop aims to reassess the distinctive role cities played in shaping the trajectory of decolonization. Focus areas: actors, venues, and tensions The workshop advances current approaches to anti-colonialism by rethinking the urban histories of the struggle against empire through a focused examination of actors, venues, and tensions. By grounding discussions in the lived experiences of historically overlooked groups (across lines of class, gender, religion, and age) the workshop foregrounds the diverse actors who shaped anti-colonial protest on the ground, moving beyond purely elite narratives. Special attention is given to the spatial strategies employed by urban crowds, exploring how both major cities and smaller towns, as well as their hinterlands, became venues of unrest, organization, and resistance, and how the relationships between these spaces influenced the broader anti-colonial struggle. The workshop also seeks to complicate conventional understandings by investigating the role of labor and neighborhood movements, the significance of liminal spaces, and the moments when activism was blocked or constrained. This line of enquiry will also pay attention to everyday practices of anti-colonialism, asking for the quotidian dimensions and prerequisites of political and ideological work. By probing the tensions between competing visions and practices of anti-colonialism, the workshop aims to produce a nuanced analysis of how anti-colonial efforts, including their failures, contributed to reconfiguring strategies and solidarities across Africa and Asia. Ultimately, this approach moves beyond comparative frameworks to reveal the complex entanglements and ongoing legacies of urban anti-colonial protest, connecting historical struggles with contemporary debates over urban space and colonial heritage. Application and funding To express your interest in the workshop, please submit a title and abstract (max. 300 words) matching one of the aforementioned areas and a brief CV to the organizers Norman Aselmeyer (norman.aselmeyer@history.ox.ac.uk) and Eric Burton (eric.burton@uibk.ac.at). The deadline for submission is 30 September 2025. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by mid-October 2025. The workshop is jointly organized by Norman Aselmeyer (University of Oxford) and Eric Burton (University of Innsbruck), in collaboration with Wadham College, Oxford. Meals and accommodation for all accepted participants will be provided by the college. We are currently seeking funding to support travel costs; please indicate in your application whether you would require financial assistance for transportation. The workshop will be held in person at Oxford. A publication of the proceedings is intended.https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20120547/cfp-cities-and-decolonization-anti-colonial-struggles-urban-protestBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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OTHER
CfP: "Cities and Decolonization: Anti-colonial Struggles, Urban Protest, and Global Solidarities"Date: 19/20 March 2026Venue: University of Oxford, Wadham College, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PNOrganizers: Norman Aselmeyer (Oxford), Eric Burton (Innsbruck) Main objective The aim of the workshop is to reassess the relationship between the city and the struggle for decolonization in the colonial world. It brings together scholars examining anti-colonial movements in specific urban contexts in the twentieth century. The workshop seeks to foster dialogue on the relationship between anti-colonial protests and colonial cities in Africa and Asia, exploring how these struggles were shaped by diverse social groups, the spatial organization of urban environments, and the tensions between competing visions of anti-colonial practice. Workshop description What role did cities play in shaping the dynamics of twentieth-century decolonization? This question continues to captivate scholars across disciplines. Contemporaries perceived revolutionary movements as originating from urban hubs and radiating outward into rural regions. Aristide Zolberg evocatively characterized anti-colonial movements as “creatures with a relatively large head in the capital and fairly rudimentary limbs.”[1] In contrast, postcolonial thinkers like Frantz Fanon, significantly influenced by Marxist scholarship, insisted that “the peasants alone are revolutionary.”[2] Historian Raymond Betts proposed a nuanced interpretation, suggesting anti-colonial movements were simultaneously “rooted in the countryside and grounded in the city.”[3] In recent years, research in anthropology, political science, and history has increasingly shifted focus toward the role of cities and urban populations, emphasizing the urban dimension of anti-colonial protest and the complex connections between urban centers and rural hinterlands in shaping anti-colonial resistance. As political scientist Jeffrey Herbst has argued, “nationalist politics in the 1950s and 1960s were very much urban affairs.”[4] The most recent literature on cities as centers of anti-imperial activism has shown how colonial metropoles like London (M. Matera), Paris (J. Boitin; M. Goebel) or Brussels (M. Louro; D. Laqua) emerged as nodal points for activists in the interwar period and after World War II. Non-colonial or semi-colonial cities in Asia could also be hubs of anti-colonial networking in the interwar or postwar period, including Beijing (R. Leow), Hanoi/Saigon, or Bangkok (C. Goscha). From the late 1950s, governments of newly independent states in Asia and Africa became sponsors of anti-colonial organizations, turning cities into “hubs of decolonization” (E. Burton). Across postcolonial Africa, cities such as Accra (M. Grilli), Cairo (R. Abou-el-Fadl; J. R. Brennan), Dar es Salaam (A. Ivaska; G. Roberts), Algiers (J. Byrne), Léopoldville (L. Passemiers), Lusaka (C. Chongo, H. Macmillan) and Maputo (N. Manghezi) harbored liberation movements and provided infrastructures to mobilize followers, engage with international actors and get access to transnational audiences and support. Afro-Asian connections with cities such as Bombay, Rangoon, and Delhi also played a role here (C. Stolte; G. McCann), as did links to Havana and growing Tricontinentalism (A.G. Mahler; R. J. Parrott). This recent scholarship emphasized significant variation across regions and contexts. The dynamics of resistance differed between trade and settler colonies, as Jean Allman has pointed out, and were further shaped by the specific character of colonial rule, the diversity of local cultures of resistance, and the distinct temporalities of decolonization.[5] Some regions, such as the so-called “hinterland countries” (J. Herbst), that is, countries lacking densely populated urban centers, followed markedly different trajectories. Moreover, decolonization was not solely an elite-driven or urban-centered process. Elizabeth Schmidt’s work on Guinea compellingly demonstrates that nationalist narratives were often imagined and propelled “from below,” shaped by a wide range of actors (including urban workers, women, peasants, and military veterans) rather than imposed by political leadership from above.[6] Similarly, John Lonsdale’s concept of “moral ethnicity” underscores the significance of local political languages and ethnic frameworks in shaping nationalist politics in Kenya.[7] The complexities of twentieth-century decolonization demand a nuanced understanding of the urban-rural interface in anti-colonial movements. Drawing on the various strands of recent scholarship, the workshop aims to reassess the distinctive role cities played in shaping the trajectory of decolonization. Focus areas: actors, venues, and tensions The workshop advances current approaches to anti-colonialism by rethinking the urban histories of the struggle against empire through a focused examination of actors, venues, and tensions. By grounding discussions in the lived experiences of historically overlooked groups (across lines of class, gender, religion, and age) the workshop foregrounds the diverse actors who shaped anti-colonial protest on the ground, moving beyond purely elite narratives. Special attention is given to the spatial strategies employed by urban crowds, exploring how both major cities and smaller towns, as well as their hinterlands, became venues of unrest, organization, and resistance, and how the relationships between these spaces influenced the broader anti-colonial struggle. The workshop also seeks to complicate conventional understandings by investigating the role of labor and neighborhood movements, the significance of liminal spaces, and the moments when activism was blocked or constrained. This line of enquiry will also pay attention to everyday practices of anti-colonialism, asking for the quotidian dimensions and prerequisites of political and ideological work. By probing the tensions between competing visions and practices of anti-colonialism, the workshop aims to produce a nuanced analysis of how anti-colonial efforts, including their failures, contributed to reconfiguring strategies and solidarities across Africa and Asia. Ultimately, this approach moves beyond comparative frameworks to reveal the complex entanglements and ongoing legacies of urban anti-colonial protest, connecting historical struggles with contemporary debates over urban space and colonial heritage. Application and funding To express your interest in the workshop, please submit a title and abstract (max. 300 words) matching one of the aforementioned areas and a brief CV to the organizers Norman Aselmeyer (norman.aselmeyer@history.ox.ac.uk) and Eric Burton (eric.burton@uibk.ac.at). The deadline for submission is 30 September 2025. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by mid-October 2025. The workshop is jointly organized by Norman Aselmeyer (University of Oxford) and Eric Burton (University of Innsbruck), in collaboration with Wadham College, Oxford. Meals and accommodation for all accepted participants will be provided by the college. We are currently seeking funding to support travel costs; please indicate in your application whether you would require financial assistance for transportation. The workshop will be held in person at Oxford. A publication of the proceedings is intended.https://networks.h-net.org/group/announcements/20120547/cfp-cities-and-decolonization-anti-colonial-struggles-urban-protest Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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EDUCATION
CfP: Behind the Scenes of Journals in African StudiesDeadline for the submission of abstracts: September, 5th. This special issue of Cahiers d’Études africaines seeks to examine academic writing and publishing within the scientific editorial system of African studies, both today and in the past. Reflexive and critical, this call encourages future contributors to take scientific publishing in African studies as a subject and a field of investigation, focusing on three entry points: texts, individuals, and journals. Its ambition is to investigate the “engine room” of the African studies publishing by examining its operating mechanisms and the challenges they reflect or activate. CfP: Behind the Scenes of Journals in African StudiesBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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EDUCATION
CfP: Behind the Scenes of Journals in African StudiesDeadline for the submission of abstracts: September, 5th. This special issue of Cahiers d’Études africaines seeks to examine academic writing and publishing within the scientific editorial system of African studies, both today and in the past. Reflexive and critical, this call encourages future contributors to take scientific publishing in African studies as a subject and a field of investigation, focusing on three entry points: texts, individuals, and journals. Its ambition is to investigate the “engine room” of the African studies publishing by examining its operating mechanisms and the challenges they reflect or activate. CfP: Behind the Scenes of Journals in African Studies Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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EDUCATION+1
CFP Between Two Oceans: Connected Histories of Labour, Race, and Gender in the AmericasCall for Papers (CFP) In recent years, labour and its many worlds have once again occupied a central place in historiographical debates on the history of the Americas. This renewed interest has not only brought a critical lens to hierarchies, coercion, and violence—both past and present—but has also sought to examine the agency, negotiations, connections, and strategies of those who, from below, acted amid various forms of inequality. We are grounded in a tradition of social and cultural labour history that seeks to understand the heterogeneous labour realities across the Americas. This field of study has placed workers—men and women—their families, support networks, spaces of socialisation, and lives in movement at the centre of analysis, enriching the notion of "worlds of labour" by showing how labour experiences are deeply intertwined with cultural values, political identities, and racial and gender relations. This fertile historiography has pushed beyond the factory, the union, and the white male worker as the privileged historical subject and beyond the classic periodisations that defined labour as a by-product of capitalism and the industrial revolution. From this perspective, we aim to contribute to the global and connected histories of labour, focusing on the period between the 16th and 19th centuries, and inviting reflections on how racial and gendered relations shaped these labouring worlds. We seek to make explicit how collective imaginaries of difference have been inscribed in labour dynamics, reinforcing, challenging, and subverting established hierarchies. We aim to echo these entangled conversations and are particularly committed to including the voices of young scholars from the global South—voices that have too often been sidelined in these historiographical debates. In addressing these absences, we highlight, on one hand, disparities in access to research funding and the pervasive preference for English as the default language for narrating the history of the Americas. On the other hand, we underscore the persistence of historiographical traditions that have long taken methodological nationalism as both their point of departure and arrival. We are especially interested in contributions that question, expand, or reframe methodological nationalism in the Americas by focusing on the transnational circulation of people, ideas, and labour practices. We welcome, in particular, studies that explore connections between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and labour circuits across the Pacific that can challenge Atlantic centrality. To that end, we invite research that explicitly employs connected history methodologies (e.g., multi-case studies, network analysis, prosopography, or transnational microhistory) and that integrates interdisciplinary approaches (history, anthropology, sociology, gender studies) to investigate the intersections of race, gender, and labour. By centring the Americas in this analysis, we open space for comparative and relational inquiries into colonisation, population movements, the imposition of diverse forms of coerced labour, and the formation of global markets and exchange networks. In this spirit, we encourage submissions in multiple languages (Spanish, Portuguese, English, and French) and, through a hybrid format, seek to broaden participation among researchers with limited access to funding or traditional academic venues. Important information: The seminar Between Two Oceans: Connected Histories of Labour, Race, and Gender in the Americas (16th–19th centuries) will take place on 12 November 2025 at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), in a hybrid format. The event is promoted by Laboratório de Pesquisas em Conexões Atlânticas (CNPq/PUC-Rio). We look forward to welcoming in-person and remote participants whose proposals are selected. Submission: Submit your proposal in Portuguese, Spanish, or English. Abstract deadline (up to 250 words): July 31, 2025Extended abstract deadline (up to 12 pages): September 15, 2025 Submission link: https://forms.gle/hEyMuaTTBgK3NzpZ8Contact: fidelrodv@gmail.com / gmitidieri@gmail.comMore info: https://www.his.puc-rio.br/pb/4943-2/By: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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EDUCATION+1
CFP Between Two Oceans: Connected Histories of Labour, Race, and Gender in the AmericasCall for Papers (CFP) In recent years, labour and its many worlds have once again occupied a central place in historiographical debates on the history of the Americas. This renewed interest has not only brought a critical lens to hierarchies, coercion, and violence—both past and present—but has also sought to examine the agency, negotiations, connections, and strategies of those who, from below, acted amid various forms of inequality. We are grounded in a tradition of social and cultural labour history that seeks to understand the heterogeneous labour realities across the Americas. This field of study has placed workers—men and women—their families, support networks, spaces of socialisation, and lives in movement at the centre of analysis, enriching the notion of "worlds of labour" by showing how labour experiences are deeply intertwined with cultural values, political identities, and racial and gender relations. This fertile historiography has pushed beyond the factory, the union, and the white male worker as the privileged historical subject and beyond the classic periodisations that defined labour as a by-product of capitalism and the industrial revolution. From this perspective, we aim to contribute to the global and connected histories of labour, focusing on the period between the 16th and 19th centuries, and inviting reflections on how racial and gendered relations shaped these labouring worlds. We seek to make explicit how collective imaginaries of difference have been inscribed in labour dynamics, reinforcing, challenging, and subverting established hierarchies. We aim to echo these entangled conversations and are particularly committed to including the voices of young scholars from the global South—voices that have too often been sidelined in these historiographical debates. In addressing these absences, we highlight, on one hand, disparities in access to research funding and the pervasive preference for English as the default language for narrating the history of the Americas. On the other hand, we underscore the persistence of historiographical traditions that have long taken methodological nationalism as both their point of departure and arrival. We are especially interested in contributions that question, expand, or reframe methodological nationalism in the Americas by focusing on the transnational circulation of people, ideas, and labour practices. We welcome, in particular, studies that explore connections between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and labour circuits across the Pacific that can challenge Atlantic centrality. To that end, we invite research that explicitly employs connected history methodologies (e.g., multi-case studies, network analysis, prosopography, or transnational microhistory) and that integrates interdisciplinary approaches (history, anthropology, sociology, gender studies) to investigate the intersections of race, gender, and labour. By centring the Americas in this analysis, we open space for comparative and relational inquiries into colonisation, population movements, the imposition of diverse forms of coerced labour, and the formation of global markets and exchange networks. In this spirit, we encourage submissions in multiple languages (Spanish, Portuguese, English, and French) and, through a hybrid format, seek to broaden participation among researchers with limited access to funding or traditional academic venues. Important information: The seminar Between Two Oceans: Connected Histories of Labour, Race, and Gender in the Americas (16th–19th centuries) will take place on 12 November 2025 at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), in a hybrid format. The event is promoted by Laboratório de Pesquisas em Conexões Atlânticas (CNPq/PUC-Rio). We look forward to welcoming in-person and remote participants whose proposals are selected. Submission: Submit your proposal in Portuguese, Spanish, or English. Abstract deadline (up to 250 words): July 31, 2025Extended abstract deadline (up to 12 pages): September 15, 2025 Submission link: https://forms.gle/hEyMuaTTBgK3NzpZ8Contact: fidelrodv@gmail.com / gmitidieri@gmail.comMore info: https://www.his.puc-rio.br/pb/4943-2/ Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
The Toyin Falola Interviews: A Panel Discussion on African Women in Science and TechnologyPlease join us for a panel discussion with our distinguished panelists, Professors Catherine Ngila, Ibraheem T. Badejo, Veronica Okello, Lucie T. Tchouassi, and Wunmi Sadik who will be sharing their expertise on "African Women in Science and Technology" Sunday, July 27, 202511 AM Austin5 PM Nigeria6 PM South Africa Register Here:https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/africanwomenscitech Join via Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84207007757By: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AN...
The Toyin Falola Interviews: A Panel Discussion on African Women in Science and TechnologyPlease join us for a panel discussion with our distinguished panelists, Professors Catherine Ngila, Ibraheem T. Badejo, Veronica Okello, Lucie T. Tchouassi, and Wunmi Sadik who will be sharing their expertise on "African Women in Science and Technology" Sunday, July 27, 202511 AM Austin5 PM Nigeria6 PM South Africa Register Here:https://www.tfinterviews.com/post/africanwomenscitech Join via Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84207007757 Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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OTHER
CFP Theoretical and practical aspects of East European development aid to Africa during the Cold WarWorkshop, University of Warsaw, 20-21 November 2025 The Warsaw Centre for Global History invites colleagues to participate in a workshop exploring theoretical and practical aspects of Eastern European development aid in Africa, as well as economic cooperation between Eastern European and African countries during the Cold War era. For most of the 20th century, Eastern Europe and Africa shared experiences of underdevelopment and aspirations to overcome it. Decolonization in Africa opened a space for Eastern European countries, which themselves had experience of dependance, to engage in development aid on the continent. Given their experience during the interwar period in overcoming underdevelopment resulting from previous subjugation to European imperial monarchies, coupled with their emphasis on national economic sovereignty, these nations could serve as an attractive and alternative model for newly independent countries with similar ambitions. The Cold War marked the emergence of development studies as a distinct academic discipline. Scholars from Eastern and Central Eastern Europe did not lag behind in this evolution. While Western studies of dependency and underdevelopment focused primarily on the Global South, researchers from the East could also draw on empirical materials from their part of the world. For example, in Poland, historian Marian Małowist identified the roots of underdevelopment in Eastern Europe and Africa in early modern history. Specialized academic chairs and institutes were established to research development issues and provide expertise. Additionally, these institutions offered educational exchange programs for visitors from developing countries. Internationally recognized economists such as Oskar Lange and Michał Kalecki conceptualized their observations and provided expertise to governments of developing countries in the Third World. Eastern Europeans managed their development efforts while working to overcome underdevelopment in their home countries, a fact acknowledged by their leadership. These countries could not match the volume and scope of development aid provided by the West. While they spoke the Soviet language of solidarity, domestic economic performance more than ideological factors seemed to inform their developmental initiatives. Development aid also involved some degree of competition, not only with the West but also inside the Eastern bloc. Eastern European countries generally steered clear of Soviet efforts to coordinate development initiatives in the regional framework. Instead, they engaged in what scholars refer to as "socialist bilateralism." States played a significant role in promoting socialist development aid efforts. Communist parties influenced the geography of development aid by regulating the movement of expertise, controlling who could enter or leave their countries. In addition, East European experts were carefully selected to represent the appropriate ideological profile. Nevertheless, direct contacts with citizens of the Global South opened up opportunities for the exchange of ideas on the pitfalls of development policy in countries ruled by progressive regimes within Socialist societies that were subject to official censorship. Internal discussions among Communist Party members, meetings of their International Departments, and the proceedings of specialized international commissions provided a platform for exchanging views on development directions and models. Historians of Eastern European anti-colonial social movements recognize that, although these movements were closely linked to the state, there was still a degree of criticism directed at their countries’ excessive or insufficient development efforts in the decolonizing world. Additionally, popular culture, magazines, analyses by economic experts, press bulletins aimed at Communist party members and state apparatus, as well as journalistic accounts all contributed to disseminating knowledge about the societies and cultures of African countries. We are specifically seeking contributions based on these diverse official and unofficial documents in relation to the following problems: 1. The concept of the development Among the key topics to be discussed is the very idea of development. Scholars agree that its origins can be traced to the late colonial era, specifically in the European colonial powers’ discourse on the so-called civilizing mission. Among the justifications of colonial rule was the responsibility to participate in the advancement of economic and social conditions of the colonized societies. By the post-World War II period, development discourse had taken a different tone, emphasizing the need to transform Africa according to patterns imposed by the West or the East. From the economic point of view, development drew the line between the industrialized countries and resource-producing agrarian economies. The discussants will try to answer the following questions: In what ways (if any?) did the Eastern European concept of development differ from the contemporary Western, postcolonial or Soviet, anti-imperial models? What criteria and parameters were used as determinants of development? 2. The flow of knowledge on development We would also like to consider the flow of knowledge on development. Since the 1950s, political economy and research into the challenges faced by the developing world have reflected global tensions, diverging into two distinct approaches: one focused on pro-market developing economies and the other on those with socialist orientations. Early Western development theories, which eventually dominated the field, were informed by the experiences of the so-called first generation of newly industrialized countries - in other words developing nations – in Latin America or East Asia who had prioritized pro-market orientation. The focus of development models would evolve – from industrialization to the provision of basic needs via agriculture before the neoliberal model emerged in 1980s. How did international debates on development resonate in Eastern European countries? Did these countries create distinct theories on development? If so, was this expertise based on first-hand contacts with the new nations in Africa and recognition of their unique conditions? Or was it an adaptation of Eastern European Marxism and their own experience in fighting against underdevelopment? 3. The rationale for providing aid Eastern European countries used the language of solidarity to emphasise their separation from colonial legacies and their specific approach to development aid. It would be valuable to explore the relationship between the official discourse and the motivations outlined in the internal documents of political parties, official journalism, or economic analyses. Were there efforts to understand the social specifics of Africa, considering the various paths of modernization? To what extent did development policies serve as tools for securing Eastern European countries’ specific interests, such as promoting Marxism-Leninism globally, accessing African markets, or the globalization of foreign policies? Furthermore, how did the official justifications and practices of development evolve over time in connection with changes in regimes, ruling elites, and their economic priorities? Of particular importance is the relationship between Eastern European development initiatives and the political regimes of African countries. Were Marxist-governed countries, such as Mozambique, Angola, and Ethiopia, treated differently from other African nations? 4. Planning and organization of expertise The development and organization of expertise could serve as a foundation for examining both the intentions behind state policies on cooperation with independent African countries, and the perceptual frameworks that accompany them. It would be interesting to study the practical and theoretical preparation of expert personnel travelling to Africa, whether for aid programs or profit-driven ventures. Contributions could consider programs in African studies, courses tailored to the specific needs of various fields related to Africa, language training, and health and diet counselling. Scholars interested in attending the workshop are invited to send 300-word abstract, including the title, the current or a most recent academic affiliation and a short bio to: eeurope-africa@uw.edu.pl by September 1, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by September 15, 2025.By: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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OTHER
CFP Theoretical and practical aspects of East European development aid to Africa during the Cold WarWorkshop, University of Warsaw, 20-21 November 2025 The Warsaw Centre for Global History invites colleagues to participate in a workshop exploring theoretical and practical aspects of Eastern European development aid in Africa, as well as economic cooperation between Eastern European and African countries during the Cold War era. For most of the 20th century, Eastern Europe and Africa shared experiences of underdevelopment and aspirations to overcome it. Decolonization in Africa opened a space for Eastern European countries, which themselves had experience of dependance, to engage in development aid on the continent. Given their experience during the interwar period in overcoming underdevelopment resulting from previous subjugation to European imperial monarchies, coupled with their emphasis on national economic sovereignty, these nations could serve as an attractive and alternative model for newly independent countries with similar ambitions. The Cold War marked the emergence of development studies as a distinct academic discipline. Scholars from Eastern and Central Eastern Europe did not lag behind in this evolution. While Western studies of dependency and underdevelopment focused primarily on the Global South, researchers from the East could also draw on empirical materials from their part of the world. For example, in Poland, historian Marian Małowist identified the roots of underdevelopment in Eastern Europe and Africa in early modern history. Specialized academic chairs and institutes were established to research development issues and provide expertise. Additionally, these institutions offered educational exchange programs for visitors from developing countries. Internationally recognized economists such as Oskar Lange and Michał Kalecki conceptualized their observations and provided expertise to governments of developing countries in the Third World. Eastern Europeans managed their development efforts while working to overcome underdevelopment in their home countries, a fact acknowledged by their leadership. These countries could not match the volume and scope of development aid provided by the West. While they spoke the Soviet language of solidarity, domestic economic performance more than ideological factors seemed to inform their developmental initiatives. Development aid also involved some degree of competition, not only with the West but also inside the Eastern bloc. Eastern European countries generally steered clear of Soviet efforts to coordinate development initiatives in the regional framework. Instead, they engaged in what scholars refer to as "socialist bilateralism." States played a significant role in promoting socialist development aid efforts. Communist parties influenced the geography of development aid by regulating the movement of expertise, controlling who could enter or leave their countries. In addition, East European experts were carefully selected to represent the appropriate ideological profile. Nevertheless, direct contacts with citizens of the Global South opened up opportunities for the exchange of ideas on the pitfalls of development policy in countries ruled by progressive regimes within Socialist societies that were subject to official censorship. Internal discussions among Communist Party members, meetings of their International Departments, and the proceedings of specialized international commissions provided a platform for exchanging views on development directions and models. Historians of Eastern European anti-colonial social movements recognize that, although these movements were closely linked to the state, there was still a degree of criticism directed at their countries’ excessive or insufficient development efforts in the decolonizing world. Additionally, popular culture, magazines, analyses by economic experts, press bulletins aimed at Communist party members and state apparatus, as well as journalistic accounts all contributed to disseminating knowledge about the societies and cultures of African countries. We are specifically seeking contributions based on these diverse official and unofficial documents in relation to the following problems: 1. The concept of the development Among the key topics to be discussed is the very idea of development. Scholars agree that its origins can be traced to the late colonial era, specifically in the European colonial powers’ discourse on the so-called civilizing mission. Among the justifications of colonial rule was the responsibility to participate in the advancement of economic and social conditions of the colonized societies. By the post-World War II period, development discourse had taken a different tone, emphasizing the need to transform Africa according to patterns imposed by the West or the East. From the economic point of view, development drew the line between the industrialized countries and resource-producing agrarian economies. The discussants will try to answer the following questions: In what ways (if any?) did the Eastern European concept of development differ from the contemporary Western, postcolonial or Soviet, anti-imperial models? What criteria and parameters were used as determinants of development? 2. The flow of knowledge on development We would also like to consider the flow of knowledge on development. Since the 1950s, political economy and research into the challenges faced by the developing world have reflected global tensions, diverging into two distinct approaches: one focused on pro-market developing economies and the other on those with socialist orientations. Early Western development theories, which eventually dominated the field, were informed by the experiences of the so-called first generation of newly industrialized countries - in other words developing nations – in Latin America or East Asia who had prioritized pro-market orientation. The focus of development models would evolve – from industrialization to the provision of basic needs via agriculture before the neoliberal model emerged in 1980s. How did international debates on development resonate in Eastern European countries? Did these countries create distinct theories on development? If so, was this expertise based on first-hand contacts with the new nations in Africa and recognition of their unique conditions? Or was it an adaptation of Eastern European Marxism and their own experience in fighting against underdevelopment? 3. The rationale for providing aid Eastern European countries used the language of solidarity to emphasise their separation from colonial legacies and their specific approach to development aid. It would be valuable to explore the relationship between the official discourse and the motivations outlined in the internal documents of political parties, official journalism, or economic analyses. Were there efforts to understand the social specifics of Africa, considering the various paths of modernization? To what extent did development policies serve as tools for securing Eastern European countries’ specific interests, such as promoting Marxism-Leninism globally, accessing African markets, or the globalization of foreign policies? Furthermore, how did the official justifications and practices of development evolve over time in connection with changes in regimes, ruling elites, and their economic priorities? Of particular importance is the relationship between Eastern European development initiatives and the political regimes of African countries. Were Marxist-governed countries, such as Mozambique, Angola, and Ethiopia, treated differently from other African nations? 4. Planning and organization of expertise The development and organization of expertise could serve as a foundation for examining both the intentions behind state policies on cooperation with independent African countries, and the perceptual frameworks that accompany them. It would be interesting to study the practical and theoretical preparation of expert personnel travelling to Africa, whether for aid programs or profit-driven ventures. Contributions could consider programs in African studies, courses tailored to the specific needs of various fields related to Africa, language training, and health and diet counselling. Scholars interested in attending the workshop are invited to send 300-word abstract, including the title, the current or a most recent academic affiliation and a short bio to: eeurope-africa@uw.edu.pl by September 1, 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by September 15, 2025. Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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EDUCATION
African Critical Inquiry Programme Announces 2025 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research AwardThe African Critical Inquiry Programme has named Maja Jakarasi as recipient of the 2025 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Award. Jakarasi, a Zimbabwean student in the Anthropology Department, is working on his PhD at the University of the Western Cape. Support from ACIP’s Ivan Karp Award will allow Jakarasi to pursue significant research for his dissertation. He will do ethnographic research in Rushinga District, Zimbabwe and across the border in Mozambique as well as archival work in Harare, Zimbabwe for his project, Spiritual Transformation, Healing, and Mental Illness in Contemporary Zimbabwe. Founded in 2012, the African Critical Inquiry Programme (ACIP) is a partnership between the Centre for Humanities Research at University of the Western Cape in Cape Town and the Laney Graduate School of Emory University in Atlanta. Supported by donations to the Ivan Karp and Corinne Kratz Fund, the ACIP fosters thinking and working across public cultural institutions, across disciplines and fields, and across generations. It seeks to advance inquiry and debate about the roles and practice of public culture, public cultural institutions, and public scholarship in shaping identities and society in Africa through an annual ACIP Workshop and through the Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Awards, which support African doctoral students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences enrolled at South African universities. About Maja Jakarasi’s project: Jakarasi’s research project, Spiritual Transformation, Healing, and Mental Illness in Contemporary Zimbabwe, will address how healing practices have transformed from the Second Chimurenga to the political and socio-economic challenges that Zimbabwe is facing today. (The Second Chimurenga (1964-79) was Zimbabwe’s War of Independence.) Jakarasi’s research will explore the transformations of practices, meanings, and rituals that are apprehended as traditional against the backdrop of the current socioeconomic crises bedeviling Zimbabwe, crises that are traced back to the 1990s when the Zimbabwean government adopted the market-oriented Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). ESAP liberalised, deregulated, and privatised the economy, which resulted in rapid and adverse sociocultural changes and inequalities. Through ethnographic work, Jakarasi will investigate traditional healing practices among the Shona people in Rushinga district, Mashonaland Central Province in Eastern Zimbabwe. What has been the significance of traditional healing practices to people on the ground and to society at large? How has this changed over the four decades since Zimbabwean independence in 1980? Which forms of spiritual transformation have been relevant to healing practices in Zimbabwe? Historical and archival research will expand the ethnographic work in order to capture the trajectories of change in traditional healing from the time of the second Chimurenga to the 21st century. Jakarasi will draw insights on the forms and importance of spiritual transformations and healing practices by synthesizing theoretical frameworks related to indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), explanatory models of illness, and comparative work on spiritual transformation and healing. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Information about the 2026 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Awards for African students enrolled in South African Ph.D. programmes will be available in November 2025. The application deadline is 1 May 2026. For further information, see http://www.gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.html and https://www.facebook.com/ivan.karp.corinne.kratz.fund. Contact Email ckratz@emory.edu URL https://gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.htmlBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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EDUCATION
African Critical Inquiry Programme Announces 2025 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research AwardThe African Critical Inquiry Programme has named Maja Jakarasi as recipient of the 2025 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Award. Jakarasi, a Zimbabwean student in the Anthropology Department, is working on his PhD at the University of the Western Cape. Support from ACIP’s Ivan Karp Award will allow Jakarasi to pursue significant research for his dissertation. He will do ethnographic research in Rushinga District, Zimbabwe and across the border in Mozambique as well as archival work in Harare, Zimbabwe for his project, Spiritual Transformation, Healing, and Mental Illness in Contemporary Zimbabwe. Founded in 2012, the African Critical Inquiry Programme (ACIP) is a partnership between the Centre for Humanities Research at University of the Western Cape in Cape Town and the Laney Graduate School of Emory University in Atlanta. Supported by donations to the Ivan Karp and Corinne Kratz Fund, the ACIP fosters thinking and working across public cultural institutions, across disciplines and fields, and across generations. It seeks to advance inquiry and debate about the roles and practice of public culture, public cultural institutions, and public scholarship in shaping identities and society in Africa through an annual ACIP Workshop and through the Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Awards, which support African doctoral students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences enrolled at South African universities. About Maja Jakarasi’s project: Jakarasi’s research project, Spiritual Transformation, Healing, and Mental Illness in Contemporary Zimbabwe, will address how healing practices have transformed from the Second Chimurenga to the political and socio-economic challenges that Zimbabwe is facing today. (The Second Chimurenga (1964-79) was Zimbabwe’s War of Independence.) Jakarasi’s research will explore the transformations of practices, meanings, and rituals that are apprehended as traditional against the backdrop of the current socioeconomic crises bedeviling Zimbabwe, crises that are traced back to the 1990s when the Zimbabwean government adopted the market-oriented Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). ESAP liberalised, deregulated, and privatised the economy, which resulted in rapid and adverse sociocultural changes and inequalities. Through ethnographic work, Jakarasi will investigate traditional healing practices among the Shona people in Rushinga district, Mashonaland Central Province in Eastern Zimbabwe. What has been the significance of traditional healing practices to people on the ground and to society at large? How has this changed over the four decades since Zimbabwean independence in 1980? Which forms of spiritual transformation have been relevant to healing practices in Zimbabwe? Historical and archival research will expand the ethnographic work in order to capture the trajectories of change in traditional healing from the time of the second Chimurenga to the 21st century. Jakarasi will draw insights on the forms and importance of spiritual transformations and healing practices by synthesizing theoretical frameworks related to indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), explanatory models of illness, and comparative work on spiritual transformation and healing. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Information about the 2026 Ivan Karp Doctoral Research Awards for African students enrolled in South African Ph.D. programmes will be available in November 2025. The application deadline is 1 May 2026. For further information, see http://www.gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.html and https://www.facebook.com/ivan.karp.corinne.kratz.fund. Contact Email ckratz@emory.edu URL https://gs.emory.edu/about/special/acip.html Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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HEALTH AND NUTRITION+1
CFP (Extended deadline): Decolonizing Archaeological Epistemologies - Leiden, the NetherlandsThe opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum has been hailed as a major museological achievement, a cutting-edge and high-tech advancement with the potential to shift global discourses on the repatriation of Pharaonic antiquities. And yet, little emphasis has been placed on how such discourses entrench existing museological norms, situating categories of “antiquity”, “artifact”, “treasure”, and “discovery” through extractive, colonial frameworks. Decolonizing Archaeological Epistemologies is a conference critically examining archaeological histories and practices, proposing instead more expansive, democratic, and liberatory approaches to the past and material culture, challenging extant museological, academic, economic, and legal systems governing the ways that material culture is collected, studied, and traded. With implications spanning beyond Egyptology to archaeology, museology, and historical disciplines more broadly, this conference proposes a counter-colonial approach that rethinks the status of the historical object in the public eye. Sessions include: Beyond “treasure”; challenging artifactual ontologies and epistemologies Counter-colonial museum exhibition strategies Resisting archaeological extractivism; new approaches to field-based research Community-based archaeology in theory and practice Beyond the “thing itself”; digital and ephemeral approaches to archaeological collections Who gets the past? New discourses in restitution, return, and repair Keynote: Dr. Monica Hanna (Arab Academy for Science Technology and Maritime Transport) Scholars engaging with these themes at a graduate, post-graduate, or professional level are invited to apply. Scholars working in the Global South are particularly encouraged to apply. Small travel stipends are available on a limited basis to offset travel costs. Interested participants are requested to submit a 250 word abstract and contact information via the form below by August 15, 2025: https://forms.office.com/e/BTewqkNM9UBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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HEALTH AND NUTRITION+1
CFP (Extended deadline): Decolonizing Archaeological Epistemologies - Leiden, the NetherlandsThe opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum has been hailed as a major museological achievement, a cutting-edge and high-tech advancement with the potential to shift global discourses on the repatriation of Pharaonic antiquities. And yet, little emphasis has been placed on how such discourses entrench existing museological norms, situating categories of “antiquity”, “artifact”, “treasure”, and “discovery” through extractive, colonial frameworks. Decolonizing Archaeological Epistemologies is a conference critically examining archaeological histories and practices, proposing instead more expansive, democratic, and liberatory approaches to the past and material culture, challenging extant museological, academic, economic, and legal systems governing the ways that material culture is collected, studied, and traded. With implications spanning beyond Egyptology to archaeology, museology, and historical disciplines more broadly, this conference proposes a counter-colonial approach that rethinks the status of the historical object in the public eye. Sessions include: Beyond “treasure”; challenging artifactual ontologies and epistemologies Counter-colonial museum exhibition strategies Resisting archaeological extractivism; new approaches to field-based research Community-based archaeology in theory and practice Beyond the “thing itself”; digital and ephemeral approaches to archaeological collections Who gets the past? New discourses in restitution, return, and repair Keynote: Dr. Monica Hanna (Arab Academy for Science Technology and Maritime Transport) Scholars engaging with these themes at a graduate, post-graduate, or professional level are invited to apply. Scholars working in the Global South are particularly encouraged to apply. Small travel stipends are available on a limited basis to offset travel costs. Interested participants are requested to submit a 250 word abstract and contact information via the form below by August 15, 2025: https://forms.office.com/e/BTewqkNM9U Read moreBy: Baboki Gaolaolwe-Major
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