Public Lecture: “Our Mothers are Not Free” The Ndi’ishi Tradition and Social Control among the Nsukka Igbo, Southeastern Nigeria, Speaker: Ngozika Obi-Ani (University of Nigeria, Nsukka)
Abstract: African writers normally romanticize the past ontologies of African women contending that they held considerable social power. This overarching narrative obscures the gender imbalances in precolonial and post-contact Africa. The nd’ishi tradition of northernmost Igbo communities–generally called Nsukka–is a paradox that all pre-contact Africa had a fair deal for women.Among them, married women that engage ... Read more
Public Lecture: Women and Survivability: Ecofeminist Representation of Oil Pollution and Environmental Degradation in Niger Delta Poetry, Speaker: Chinasa Abonyi (University of Nigeria, Nsukka)
Abstract: Environmental Degradation is a global phenomenon that affects all life forms including plants, animals, humans and especially women and children. One major cause of environmental pollution and degradation is oil exploration and this has been a major problem in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In contemporary Nigerian literature, ecological writings are dominated by ... Read more
Public Lecture: The Politics of the Punchline: Elections, Ebola and the Power of Laughter in Goma, DR Congo; Speaker: Silke Oldenburg (University of Basel)
Abstract In Goma, a provincial capital in Eastern DR Congo, the urban and the catastrophic have long been intertwined purveying analytical power to punchlines as indicative of everyday absurdity. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and social media analysis, this lecture reveals the 'Power of Laughter' by illustrating how Goma’s comedians turn the incongruity of expectation and ... Read more
Public Lecture: Akonedi, An African Deity and Her Shrines in Larteh: A Field Report, Speaker: Dr. Benedikt Pontzen
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
Midterm Conference: Sustainable Governance in a Time of Global Flux: Issues, Concepts and Future Directions
The Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) is dedicated to the issue of “Sustainable governance” in an interdisciplinary perspective. It is based on a collaboration between the University of Ghana and four German partners and aims at making African thinking increasingly relevant in academic debates. The Institute is jointly sponsored by the German Federal Ministry ... Read more
Public Lecture: Changing Mortuary and Funeral Economy and the Politics of Prestige in Northwest Ghana, Speaker: Prof. Isidore Lobnibe (Western Oregon University)
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
Public Lecture: From the African University we no longer want, to the one we will unavoidably build, Speaker: Abdorahmane Seck (Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis)
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
Public Lecture: Petroleum Driven Land Grab; Threat to Peasant Livelihood? Speaker: Jones Ebenezer Osei (Akenten Appiah-Menka University)
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
Poetography Workshop with Stone Karim Mohamad (MIASA Artist in Residence)
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, Univ. of Ghana.This workshop is comprised of two one-hour sessions, which will be offered on Tuesday, 17 October 2023, and Wednesday, 18 ... Read more
Public Lecture: African cities and the Sustainable Development Goals: Political Settlement Analysis of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana; Speaker: Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah (University of Ghana)
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
Public Lecture: Elections in the context of digitalization in Benin: Issues and challenges for people in illiteracy, Speaker: Issifou Abou Moumouni (University of Parakou/ University of Bayreuth/LASDEL)
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
