Lectures

Abstract This presentation is a field report on my ongoing research about the deity Akonedi and her shrines in the Akuapem town Larteh. Doing ethnographic fieldwork at her shrines, I trace the multiple ways in which Akonedi is present in people’s lives in Ghana. Based on my findings, I tell a history of thisdeity. I ... Read more

Abstract n Africa more generally, funerals have been shown to bring together members of the extended family to renew and reaffirm their individual membership within the larger family and to also compete for social prestige. In Northern Ghana, the past few decades have witnessed dramatic changes in funerary and mortuary institutions because of changing political ... Read more

Abstract:From China to Africa, passing through Europe... are we not all wise? do we not all dance and sing? do we, indisputably, take care of ourselves, then? Taking up this simple common sense, I draw the two objectives that I intend to achieve in this presentation. Firstly, to draw a critical and epistemological reflection on the possible meaning, possibilities and virtues of the academy's knowledge in the context of African realities. Secondly, and consequently, to ... Read more

Abstract: This study conducted in the Western region of Ghana, specifically Ellembelle District which is a hub of Ghana’s oil and gas activities and industries, critically looked at the gaps and overlaps in the land transfer deal from the communities to the oil companies in terms of the level of participatory land administration used for ... Read more

MIASA Conference Room, 7th November 2023 Abstract: The role of politics in the enforcement of SDG 11 cannot be overemphasized. This goal is focused on cities, with targets to enhance access to basic services and safe, affordable housing, improve slums, increase public transportation, encourage inclusive and sustainable urbanization, safeguard cultural and natural heritage, lower the ... Read more

Abstract: At the end of the 2010s, Benin embarked on digitalizing the public services, which began with the instalment of the permanent computerized electoral register. This initiative has gained momentum in recent years, with the creation, from 2020 onwards, of numerous platforms to offer almost all public services. Since then, digitalization seems to be affecting ... Read more

Abstract: The use of LPG by collective transport actors is becoming increasingly widespread in many African cities. Moving beyond strict geographical and economic approaches to transport and mobility, our talk, based on ethnographic research in Accra and Bobo-Dioulasso, explores the way in which taxi drivers navigate their paths by transforming their cars, which goes well ... Read more

Information Stone Karim Mohamad is a poet, photographer, and also a well-known spoken-word artist in Cameroon and Germany. He splits his time between Yaoundé, Buea and Stuttgart. He is currently Artist in residence at MIASA, University of Ghana.

The Anton Wilhelm Amo Lecture is organized annually by the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) in collaboration with the Institute of African Studies and the Department of Philosophy and Classics at the University of Ghana. It is named after the 18th century philosopher from present-day Ghana who taught at the universities of Halle and Jena. ... Read more

MIASA Conference Room, 13th February 2024 Abstract: This paper examines the intractable perennial problem of the nomadic Mbororo-Fulani in Cameroon’s Northwest region. The problem that has not been sufficiently historicized and comprehensively studied by scholars to shed light on its changing scenarios, and to connect it to its African parallels in order to better articulate ... Read more

MIASA Conference Room, 5th March 2024 Abstract This presentation considers European forts and trading posts on Ghana’s coast from a critical heritage perspective and in the context of artistic approaches. The focus is on the Brandenburg sites in the Western Region, Fort Gross Friedrichsburg and the ruins of the Dorothea trading post (Dorothenschanze), two sites ... Read more

MIASA Conference Room, 2nd April, 2024 Abstract From the late 1950s onwards, European geologists were widely dispatched to the "Global South" to survey the newly independent countries and forge new political-economic alliances. While deployed in West Africa, they became agents of a new spatial reorganisation of the respective countries and their symbolic and imagined place ... Read more