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| Cambridge Centre for African Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cambridge Centre for African Studies |
| Formation | 1963 |
| Type | Research centre |
| Location | Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| Leader title | Director |
| Leader name | Professor John Smith |
| Parent organisation | University of Cambridge |
Cambridge Centre for African Studies is an interdisciplinary research centre within the University of Cambridge focused on the study of African societies, histories, politics and cultures. It brings together scholars, students and practitioners to foster comparative research on Africa and to engage with institutions across the continent and beyond. The centre hosts seminars, publishes research, and coordinates postgraduate supervision and collaborative projects.
The centre was established in the early 1960s amid decolonisation debates involving figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Nelson Mandela, Haile Selassie, and Julius Nyerere and interacted with visiting scholars from institutions like SOAS University of London, Oxford University, School of Oriental and African Studies, Makerere University, University of Ibadan. Early funding and partnerships connected it to organisations including the British Council, Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation, UNESCO, and African Development Bank. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the centre convened panels featuring researchers associated with Manchester School, Cambridge University Press, Royal African Society, African Studies Association, and archives such as the Bodleian Library and Cambridge University Library. Directors and affiliates have included scholars with ties to the Institute of Development Studies, African National Congress, Pan-African Congress, Freetown University, University of Ghana, and policy networks like Chatham House. Major milestones include collaborative fieldwork projects in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, and engagements with initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the African Union.
The centre’s mission aligns with objectives advanced by institutions such as UNICEF, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Global Fund, and Wellcome Trust to produce policy-relevant scholarship. It aims to deepen understanding of historical trajectories involving events like the Scramble for Africa, the Berlin Conference, the Mau Mau Uprising, and the Angolan Civil War, while supporting comparative analysis of postcolonial transitions led by leaders associated with African Union Commission, Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and regional courts such as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The centre prioritises collaborations with graduate programmes at King's College London, London School of Economics, University of Edinburgh, University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University and engagement with policy actors like UNDP, OECD, African Development Bank Group, Transparency International, and Human Rights Watch.
Academic programs span postgraduate supervision tied to degrees from Faculty of History, Department of Politics and International Studies, Department of Archaeology, School of Clinical Medicine, and interdisciplinary initiatives with Department of Sociology, Department of Geography, Department of Anthropology, and Department of Land Economy. Research clusters have examined subjects including colonial archives in National Archives (UK), agrarian change in regions studied by International Institute of Environment and Development, urbanisation research in Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, health systems research connected to WHO priorities, and cultural studies referencing artists like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti, Yaa Asantewaa. Project funding has involved bodies such as ESRC, AHRC, NERC, Wellcome Trust, GCRF, and partnerships with museums like the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and archives including the National Archives of Kenya.
Faculty and staff draw from fellows of colleges such as King's College, Cambridge, Trinity College, Cambridge, St John's College, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and include researchers affiliated with institutes like the Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, Royal Society, Newton Fund, and visiting scholars from Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, McGill University, University of Toronto, Australian National University, and University of Cape Town. Staff roles cover research fellows, postdoctoral associates, and administrative officers who liaise with bodies like UK Research and Innovation, British Council, Commonwealth Secretariat, and legal advisers connected to cases before the International Criminal Court.
Student groups associated with the centre coordinate reading groups, film screenings, and conferences that highlight writers and activists such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ayi Kwei Armah, Leila Aboulela, Wole Soyinka, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Steve Biko, Desmond Tutu, and musicians like Fela Kuti and Ali Farka Touré. Outreach programmes engage with schools in regions including Cambridgeshire, Addis Ababa, Accra, Kampala, and Lagos, and partner with charities such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, Save the Children, ActionAid, WaterAid, and community organisations including African Students' Union chapters, diaspora networks linked to Commonwealth Students' Associations, and alumni from Cambridge Union involvement.
Key partnerships include exchanges and joint projects with University of Nairobi, University of Ghana, Ahmadu Bello University, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, Addis Ababa University, Ruhr University Bochum, Leiden University, Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, Tate Modern, Wellcome Collection, and international consortia like Global Challenges Research Fund programmes. The centre collaborates on capacity-building with African Union Commission, Economic Commission for Africa, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, European Union research initiatives, and philanthropic partners including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Open Society Foundations.
The centre organises lecture series, workshops, and conferences featuring keynote speakers from institutions such as Princeton University, University of Oxford, SOAS University of London, Makerere University, University of Cape Town, University of Ibadan, and publishes working papers, edited volumes, and special issues in journals like Journal of African History, African Affairs, African Studies Review, Review of African Political Economy, Journal of Modern African Studies, and collaborates with presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Indiana University Press, James Currey Publishers. Annual events mark anniversaries and foster dialogue with policymakers from African Union, Commonwealth Secretariat, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and civil society convenors like Actors of Change.
Category:Research centres at the University of Cambridge Category:African studies