Centre for African Studies, University of Cambridge

Centre for African Studies, University of Cambridge
Name	Centre for African Studies, University of Cambridge
Established	1963
Type	Research centre
Parent	University of Cambridge
City	Cambridge
Country	United Kingdom

Contents

Centre for African Studies, University of Cambridge is an interdisciplinary research and teaching hub within the University of Cambridge focused on the study of Africa. The centre brings together scholars across the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Faculty of History, Department of Politics and International Studies, and the Department of Sociology to support research on regions including West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and North Africa. It contributes to debates involving figures, institutions and events such as Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Jomo Kenyatta, Haile Selassie, and the African Union.

History

The centre was founded in the context of postwar British academic expansion alongside institutions like the School of Oriental and African Studies, the Royal African Society, and the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Early influences included scholars associated with Max Gluckman, the Manchester School (anthropology), and the intellectual networks of Cambridge University Press and the Royal Historical Society. During the late twentieth century the centre engaged with debates around decolonisation involving actors such as Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Julius Nyerere, and international frameworks like the UN General Assembly resolutions on Decolonisation. Collaborations and tensions with organisations including the British Council, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the African Studies Association (UK) shaped its institutional trajectory.

The centre operates under the aegis of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge with oversight from a faculty board including representatives from the Faculty of History, the Department of Archaeology, the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and the Department of Geography. Governance structures draw on models from research units such as the Centre of African Studies (Oxford) and the Institute of Development Studies, and engage external advisory input from institutions like the Royal African Society, the African Studies Association (US), and the Wellcome Trust. Funding and partnerships have involved bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, and the Leverhulme Trust.

The centre supports postgraduate and doctoral supervision linked to programmes across the Faculty of History, the Department of Politics and International Studies, the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Research spans themes including colonial and postcolonial histories tied to events like the Mau Mau Uprising, the Angolan Civil War, and the Eritrean War of Independence; political studies engaging cases such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya; and cultural research addressing figures like Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wole Soyinka, and Miriam Makeba. Project collaborations have involved archives and collections such as the Cambridge University Library, the Fowler Museum, the British Library, and the National Archives (UK), and research grants from the European Research Council and the Department for International Development.

Teaching activities include supervising MPhil and PhD candidates connected to courses run by the Faculty of History, the Department of Sociology, and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, with seminars drawing speakers from institutions such as Makerere University, University of Cape Town, University of Nairobi, and University of Ibadan. Student engagement is fostered through colloquia featuring scholars like Achille Mbembe, Seymour Hersh, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, and Fatou Sow, and practitioner guests from organisations such as the United Nations, the African Development Bank, and Human Rights Watch. The centre facilitates fieldwork logistics and ethical review in partnership with host-country institutions such as the Kenyan Ministry of Education and the South African National Research Foundation.

Public-facing activities include lecture series, workshops, and film screenings that have featured intersections with cultural institutions like the British Museum, the Tate Modern, and the Africa Centre. Partnerships extend to media and policy nodes such as the BBC, the Guardian, the Chatham House, and the International Crisis Group. The centre organises conferences addressing topics linked to the Berlin Conference (1884–85), transatlantic slavery, and regional security issues involving Mali, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and collaborates with NGOs including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Practical Action for public engagement and policy briefs.

Affiliated scholars and alumni have included historians, anthropologists, and policymakers who went on to roles at the African Union Commission, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and national governments such as Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa. Notable academic figures associated through teaching, supervision, or visiting fellowships encompass scholars with ties to Cambridge University Press publications and those involved in debates alongside Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Benedict Anderson, and Paul Gilroy. Alumni have held positions at universities including Makerere University, University of Cape Town, University of Ibadan, University of Ghana, and policy posts within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.