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ANU Africa Network
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This website was established in 2013 by David Lucas, and renovated and relaunched in 2020 as part of a project to increase awareness of Africa and African studies in the ANU and the ACT, funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Another outcome of that project was a major research report, published in August 2021, African Studies at the Australian National University and in the Australian Capital Territory, analyzing the past, present and future of the study of Africa at the Australian National University and the wider Australian University sector.
The major innovation on this updated website is the creation of the ACT Africa Expert Directory which lists experts on Africa from institutions around the ACT, primarily the ANU. We will continue to curate this list, offering a key resource for media, government and non-government organizations seeking expert facts and opinions on Africa. Individuals can request to be added to the list by contacting the website managers.
Another notable addition is the expanded directory of PhD theses on Africa produced in the territory’s universities, a solid measure of the vitality of the study of Africa in the city of Canberra.
Reviewing these directories, it is revealing to note that the vast majority of research on Africa is produced by disciplinary experts (environmental scientists, economists, demographers, etc.) rather than area studies experts. This means that the study of Africa is woven into the fabric of the research culture of the ANU and the ACT’s other universities in ways that are not necessarily apparent.
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Belonging in a Cosmopolitan Society: Perspectives from African Migrants in the Diaspora
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University of Melbourne, 12-14 March, 2020
Background
‘Borders, Identities and Belonging have been at the centre of debates on the profound transformations wrought by globalisation. But perhaps the movement of people across geographical borders, and the transformative impact of the digital revolution that has ushered in the information age, are the most illustrative examples.’African Studies Group( ASG) invites submissions for a paper
proposal to their inaugural conference titled Borders, Identities and Belonging in a Cosmopolitan Society: Perspectives from African Migrants in the Diaspora to be held on 12-14 March .The ASG is an association of researchers with interests in African studies, which is hosted by the University of Melbourne .
Conference Themes
The Borders, Identities and Belonging conference will be organised around the following thematic questions:
1. The Concept of Home : What and where is home? Where, when and how do we feel a sense of ‘belonging’?
2. Relevance of Borders : How do borders permeate our social lives?
3. Digital Transformation : How have digital communication platforms transformed the concepts and experiences of borders, identity and belonging?
4. Multiculturalism and Integration : What are the experiences and prospects of multiculturalism in increasing our sense of belonging and social integration?Paper proposals related to the main themes of the conference are welcome with a deadline of 20 January, 2020, at 11:59 AEST .
They can be submitted on the online form or copy/paste the following link to your
browser: https://forms.gle/Qu7aUn3atDJ8ak6JAA few travel bursaries are available for student applicants from within Australia.
More Information on the Conference is at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RrCklNU2NzyW-qPs0lr1bJrAr91Zyk78/view
For inquiries please contact africanstudiesgroup@gmail.com
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Africa Studies coursework resumes at ANU after several decades
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When the Development Studies major at was set up at ANU around 1981, regional specialisations included Africa, East Asia and SE Asia. John Ballard taught a course in Post-Colonial Politics in Africa and the Pacific and Ian Hancock taught one in African History. Also Geography and Anthropology courses had substantial African material although Geography later dropped its regional courses. Africa became unviable by the end of the 1980’s, when Ian and John moved to other courses.
POLS3030, an undergraduate course offered in Second Semester, 2020 by the School of Politics and International Relations, seems to have started quite recently. The Course Convener is Dr Richard Frank.
Conflict and change in sub-Saharan Africa
‘This class explores the issues, ideas, and trends that shape the politics of sub-Saharan Africa, across almost 50 countries and a billion people. Unlike what often appears in the press, Africa is not all conflict, famine, and state collapse. This class offers an overview of both successful and unsuccessful cases of political and economic development in this region and seeks to answer a number of questions including: What are the legacies of colonial rule? Why do some African countries suffer political violence more frequently than other countries within Africa or without? Why has democracy been consolidated in certain African countries but regressed or collapsed in others? What accounts for the failures and successes of African countries’ economic development? How have international actors and events affected African politics and society?’
See: https://programsandcourses.anu.edu.au/2020/course/POLS3040
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Research on Africa at the Crawford School, aNU
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CRAWFORD SCHOOL RESEARCH PROJECTS
The Individual Deprivation Measure (IDM)
Helen Suich of the Crawford School leads the IDM country study in South Africa. Her research focuses on issues of poverty alleviation, examining the impacts of rural development interventions on multidimensional poverty and vulnerability. See
https://individualdeprivationmeasure.org/
An international conference will be held in 2020.
https://www.individualdeprivationmeasure.org/conference2020/State Fragility
By building on seven in-depth country case studies, three of which are in Africa (Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone ) the other four being Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Papua New Guinea) and recent developments in the field, a 2019 panel discussed dimensions of state fragility and pathways that can help to escape fragility. This event is part of an ongoing research project on state fragility at the Development Policy Centre, Crawford School, ANU.Livestock, aquaculture and sustainable food security policy
Robyn Alders is a senior consulting fellow with the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security focusing on policy opportunities to support sustainable livestock and aquaculture strategy implementation and sustainable food and nutrition security. Robyn is also an honorary professor with the Development Policy Centre within the Australian National University. She is currently involved with a Chatham House research project in Nigeria. Also with Chatham House she’s involved with One Health Food Security Policy research. She is also the Chair of the Kyeema Foundation which has a regional office in Mozambique and development projects being implemented in Mozambique and Uganda.Robyn has recently co-authored ‘The global institutional
landscape of food and agriculture’. Chatham House Discussion Paper 265, https://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Global-Institutional-Landscape-Food-Agriculture-How-To-Achieve-SDG2-ECDPM-Discussion-Paper-265-With-Chatham-House.pdf