On April 2, 2021, the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) held the virtual launch of the book, Researching Peacebuilding in Africa: Reflections on Fieldwork, Theory and Context, edited by Ismail Rashid and Amy Niang. Following the successful book launch, Natalie Bernstien, APN’s program assistant, interviewed both editors, posing questions about the […]
Africa
The Cognitive Empire and Gladiatory Scholarship
The cognitive empire is underpinned by gladiatory scholarship. The cognitive empire invades the mental universe of its targets. Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his book, Decolonizing the Mind: the Politics of Language in African Literature, depicted the cognitive empire as that “metaphysical” formation which operates through the detonation of cultural bombs at the center of a people’s universe and through the removal of hard disks of previous knowledge and memory so as to download into their minds the software of another knowledge and another memory.
Africa
Between Hopes and Nightmares: A Reflection on Armed Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Two Years into President Tshisekedi’s Administration
Two years into President Tshisekedi’s administration, people continue to go through harrowing experiences in the conflict zones of the eastern DRC.
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Interviews
Graduate Studies, the Makerere Factor, and the Future of Social Sciences in Uganda: A Conversation with Prof. Kasaija…
2020 APN Fellows ![]()
by Erick Sourna Loumtouang and Natalie Bernstien
An Interview with Erick Sourna
Erick Sourna Loumtouang, a 2020 APN Individual Research Fellow, recently granted interviews to Jeune Afrique and Africa Report and published an article in Kujenga Amani, in which he drew on his APN-supported research project titled “Governing Bodies in the Lake Chad Basin: Control, Repression, and Restrictions on Mobility in the Era of the Fight against Terrorism” to comment on the […]
Covid-19 in Africa ![]()
by Tapiwa Madimu
Reflections on Conducting Fieldwork during the Covid-19 Pandemic
The pandemic has necessitated the creation of new methodological tools and ethical practices, as well as the adaptation of older practices, to meet the challenges faced by researchers and the researched. Researchers have been confronted with the dilemma of either canceling field research, postponing it indefinitely, or continuing, with the attendant risks to their own health and the health of their informants.
Conflict
The Challenge of Mothering in the Context of Violent Conflict: How War Is Impacting Women in Tigray, Ethiopia
Africa ![]()
by Ngozi Ugo Emeka-Nwobia
Understanding Gender Complementarity in Igbo Society: The Role of Ụmụada and Ụmụnna in Peacebuilding
Introduction This essay argues that gender roles and relations in peacebuilding in Igbo society are complementary against the background of some misconceptions about the social relationships and cultures of the Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria. Of note is the portrayal of Igbo women by some scholars as being subservient, inferior, voiceless, and mere appendages to […]
Africa ![]()
by African Peacebuilding Network
An Interview with Ismail Rashid and Amy Niang
On April 2, 2021, the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) held the virtual launch of the book, Researching Peacebuilding in Africa: Reflections on Fieldwork, Theory and Context, edited by Ismail Rashid and Amy Niang. Following the successful book launch, Natalie Bernstien, APN’s program assistant, interviewed both editors, posing questions about the […]
Africa ![]()
by Justin B. Munyakazi
Between Hopes and Nightmares: A Reflection on Armed Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Two Years into President Tshisekedi’s Administration
Two years into President Tshisekedi’s administration, people continue to go through harrowing experiences in the conflict zones of the eastern DRC.
Africa ![]()
by Sela Muyoka Musundi
Genocidal Rape? The Tigray Conflict and Women’s Bodies as a Battleground
In the early hours of November 4, 2020, the armed wing of the former ruling party of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), attacked several federal military bases across Tigray including the military’s Northern Command headquarters in the capital Mekelle and killed or captured and detained soldiers and raided several armories.1Reuters, […]
Africa
Building Peaceful Masculinities in the Context of Covid-19: Reflections from Fieldwork among the Dagaaba of Northwestern…