Guests of 2024

Rory Frederick du Plesis - I See You

November - December, 2024

I am Rory du Plessis, a Professor in Visual Studies at the School of the Arts, University of Pretoria, South Africa. I have pioneered the investigation of photographic records from South African psychiatric facilities as a resource to humanise the subjects who were institutionalised in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I am the co-editor of the academic journal, Image & Text, author of the monograph, Pathways of Patients at the Grahamstown Lunatic Asylum, 1890 to 1907 (Pretoria University Law Press 2020). ...more

Dr. Afis Ayinde Oladosu - Looking through Your Eyes- On Being and Becoming Muslim in Nigeria and in Contemporary Africa

October - December, 2024

I am Afis A. Oladosu, a Professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria and Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Letters (FNAL). My disciplinary expertise, interest and specializations straddle Arab-Islamic Studies broadly-defined, Arabic Literary Writings of Egypt and Sudan, Arabic Manuscript Culture of West African origin, Race, Gender and Global politics. ...more

Diego Maria Malara - On Generation: Crisis, History and Change

November, 2024

I am Diego Maria Malara, an Associate Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Glasgow. My research has focused on religion and politics in Ethiopia, with a particular emphasis on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. During my stay in Bayreuth, I collaborated with Dr. Koreen Reece to organise an international workshop titled On Generation: Crisis, History and Change. This event brought together leading anthropologists and early career researchers from Germany, the US, the UK, Ireland, and France, with the goal to spark new debates on generational continuity and change in the age of polycrisis. ...more

Dr. Kayode Michael Samuel - Performing Therapy: Music in the Context of Condolence Practices among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria

October - November, 2024

I am Kayode Samuel, Professor of Musicology at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
During my stay at University of Bayreuth, Germany, I was able to advance conversations towards the strengthening the implementation of an existing memorandum of understanding between the University of Ibadan and the University of Bayreuth.
I made a presentation on one of my ongoing research works, entitled Performing Therapy: Music in the Context of Condolence Practices among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria at a well-organized colloquium organised by the Department of African Verbal and Visual Arts. ...more

Milka Wahu - Enhancing Access to Justice for the Marginalised Groups in Africa through University Legal Clinics

August - September, 2024

I am a lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) school of law, Kenya, and a PhD student at the Chair of African Legal Studies - University of Bayreuth, Germany. I am also the founder and current executive director of Amka Africa Justice Initiative (Amka Africa), a Pan-African non-profit organization registered in Kenya. Amka Africa works through collaborative tripartite partnerships with university legal clinics on one part, and grassroots human rights organisations on the other part, to promote access to justice for the marginalised and indigent communities and persons. ...more

Dr. Alhassane Abdourahamane Najoum - Round Table Discussion on the Political Situation in Niger one Year after the Events of July 26, 2023

July - August, 2024

I am Alhassane A. Najoum, lecturer at Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey (Niger). I was in Bayreuth from July 1 to August 2, 2024 as part of a project to strengthen academic activities between Abdou Moumouni University and University of Bayreuth. The purpose of my stay was twofold: 1) to discuss ways of strengthening the existing cooperation between the Abdou Moumouni University and the University of Bayreuth, and 2) to hold a round table discussion on the political situation in Niger one year after the events of July 26, 2023. ...more

Dr. Marion Atieno Ouma - Social Protection Policymaking in Africa

July, 2024

I am a research fellow in Sociology, with a focus in Social Policy at the university of South Africa. My research expertise and interests broadly include sociology, social policy, social protection, policymaking and the political economy of Africa’s development. As part of my research, I have examined the process of social protection policymaking in Africa with specific focus on Kenya by drawing on theories of political economy and notions of unequal power, the influence of transnational actors, and nation policy sovereignty of policy. ...more

Dr. Pingdewinde Issiaka Tiendrebeogo - Eléments de sémiologie théâtrale

May - June, 2024

The aim of my mission was not only to work on my book Eléments de sémiologie théâtrale, but also to meet colleagues and students from the University of Bayreuth. As part of this mission, I was able to take part in a course run by Prof. Dr. Ute Fendler entitled “Intercultural Communication and Intercultural Mediation”. In this exchange, I focused on African approaches to crisis mediation, and more specifically on Burkina Faso, highlighting the question of the “humanities”, which play a considerable role in this mediation. The aim of my mission was not only to work on my book Eléments de sémiologie théâtrale, but also to meet colleagues and students from the University of Bayreuth. ...more

Prof. Dr. Sati Umaru Fwatshak - "The impact of private universities on public universities in Nigeria"
April - May, 2024

My name is Prof. Dr. Sati Umaru Fwatshak, a tenure-track Professor of African History at the University of Jos, Nigeria. As a Historian, my research and teaching career has been focusing on explaining contemporary economic and social conditions in Africa using time-series data that highlight resilience and transitions: continuity and change. My research interest therefore spans the broad spectrum of the conventional divisions of African/Nigerian history: pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial... ...more