Rian’aina Razafimandimby Rabarihoela – L’ouvrage: « Antananarivo : circulation automobile et ses enjeux. Etude socio-anthropologique » paraît aux Editions de l’Harmattan
Rian'aina Razafimandimby Rabarihoela - L’ouvrage : « Antananarivo : circulation automobile et ses enjeux. Etude socio-anthropologique » paraît aux Editions de l’Harmattan À Antananarivo, Madagascar, la circulation est l’image même d’une anarchie : embouteillages monstres à toute heure, course folle des deux roues entre les files et les voitures, comportement irrespectueux des grosses cylindrées tout-terrain, arrêts impromptus et stationnement à la sauvette des véhicules de transport en commun dits taxibé, encombrement de la chaussée par les véhicules à bras et ...
Yacouba Magassouba et Boucary Ombotimbe – en échange avec les étudiant.e.s de la filière „jeu et objet“ de la Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch à Berlin
Yacouba Magassouba et Boucary Ombotimbe - en échange avec les étudiant.e.s de la filière "jeu et objet" de la Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch à Berlin Du 1er au 20 mai 2024, nous, Yacouba Magassouba et Boucary Ombotimbe, deux marionnettistes de la Compagnie Nama du Mali, nous sommes rendus en Allemagne dans le cadre d’un échange culturel et artistique. Notre première étape a été la Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch à Berlin, connue pour son département de marionnettes. Nous y ...
Thought piece #3 – Antoinette Danebaï Lamana: „The Ink of the Scholars“ – „The Taming of Fate“: reflections on knowledge production in social sciences and parrhêsia
Thought piece #3 - Antoinette Danebaï Lamana: "The Ink of the Scholars" - "The Taming of Fate": reflections on knowledge production in social sciences and parrhêsia June 2024 Michel Foucault, in The Hermeneutics of the Subject, refers to parrhêsia as a way of saying everything frankly, with openness of speech, openness of mind, openness of language, and exercising freedom of speech – this is both a technê, a technique, and an ethos, a way of being. This is an entry ...
Joël Fabrice Djaha – Six months in Basel: an enriching experience
Joël Fabrice Djaha - Six months in Basel: an enriching experience On 14 February 2023, my stay in Basel began with a guided tour of Basel’s main landmarks, suitcase in hand, accompanied by Veit Arlt, the scientific coordinator of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel. The tour was on foot, but I realised that mobility in the city is suprisingly easy. There are regular buses, trams, and self-service bicycles. This ease of getting around encouraged me ...
Reisch Vanel Attipo – My memorable experience in Basel
Reisch Vanel Attipo - My memorable experience in Basel My stay in Basel, Switzerland, was an enriching experience in many ways. Located at the crossroads of Switzerland, France and Germany, this cosmopolitan city offers a unique fusion of cultures, a picturesque landscape and a stimulating atmosphere for study and discovery. Through this note, I will share my impressions of the captivating landscape, the vibrant multicultural aspect of the city, as well as the inspiration I have found within the Centre ...
Thought piece #2 – Peter Ayoola Oderinde: The challenge of nomenclature in African traditional religion as an academic discipline in African Studies
Thought piece #2 - Peter Ayoola Oderinde: The challenge of nomenclature in African traditional religion as an academic discipline in African Studies April 2024 One of the biggest concerns in Religious Studies is the appropriate nomenclature for all religions that emanated from Africa. Previous consensus among scholars shows that the developmental stage of Religious Studies as an academic discipline in Africa favoured the use of the term, African Traditional Religion (ATR) (Shishima and Dzurbga, 2022: 4-7). ATR as a concept ...
Thought piece #1 – Lerato Posholi: Decolonization and African scholarship: Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò’s cautionary tale
Thought piece #1 - Lerato Posholi: Decolonization and African scholarship: Olúfémi Táíwò’s cautionary tale November 2023 The term decolonization and calls for decolonizing practices have been popular in African scholarship and elsewhere. Philosopher Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò’s book "Against Decolonization: Taking African Agency Seriously" presents a scathing critique of the continued use of decolonization especially in scholarship on Africa. The core argument of the book is that using decolonization as an analytical lens in scholarship on Africa is harmful and undermines African ...
Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie – a career update
Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie - a career update My path crossed with Foundation Oumou Dilly at the maiden edition of the CODESERIA Summer School in 2015. The programme was organized in Dakar, Senegal, in collaboration with the Centre for African Studies of the University of Basel. After the Summer School, there was an opportunity to apply for a full PhD scholarship among participants of which I won. The Foundation sponsored my four-year PhD programme at the Centre for African Studies (Sociology ...
Antoinette Danebaï Lamana – a spring in Basel: a sojourn between the academy and culture, renewing oneself!
Antoinette Danebaï Lamana - a spring in Basel: a sojourn between the academy and culture, renewing oneself! I started my stay in Basel for a semester in February 2023: a spring semester on wheels... a time when, literally and figuratively, the harshness of winter gives way to renewal. First, a working environment reminiscent of chalets, a view over the River Rhine at the Center for African Studies, and many researchers. Warm support from the entire Centre team in general and, ...
Albert Tibaijuka – it feels like a homecoming
Albert Tibaijuka - it feels like a homecoming Receiving a postdoc fellowship from the Oumou Dilly Foundation to join the Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel, feels like a homecoming. I was in Basel between 2012 and 2016 for my PhD studies. My stay in the city at the time was a great honour and a tremendous experience, which broadened my horizons in a very remarkable manner. Back in Tanzania, the nostalgia followed me all along like ...
Mamadou Soma – un jeune comédien à l’Accademia Teatro Dimitri à Versico
Mamadou Soma - un jeune comédien à l'Accademia Teatro Dimitri à Versico Je suis arrivé en Suisse en novembre 2020 pour suivre un Master en théâtre physique à l'Accademia Teatro Dimitri à Verscio. Il faut noter que ce n'était pas ma première fois de venir en Europe. Mais cette année était particulière à cause de la pandémie qui avait fait que tout était fermé. Malgré le fait que tout était clos, l'école a gardé ses portes ouvertes. Ce fut une ...
Fousseyni Touré – De Bamako à Bâle : une expérience inoubliable
Fousseyni Touré – De Bamako à Bâle : une expérience inoubliable Je suis arrivé à Bâle un dimanche 9 septembre 2019. Les objectifs du séjour étaient la recherche et la participation aux activités scientifiques de Centre d’Etudes Africaines de l’Université de Bâle (CEAB). Du tain qui me ramenait de Zurich, mes premières impressions ont d’abord porté sur la beauté du paysage. Mon séjour à Bâle est le fruit d’une rencontre scientifique qui a eue lieu à Dakar lors de l’école ...
Lerato Posholi – Basel: a beautiful calm city for intellectual life
Lerato Posholi – Basel: a beautiful calm city for intellectual life I came to Basel with the goal to spend a few months doing some focused reading for and writing of my PhD, as well as to open up opportunities to engage with international scholars from a wide variety of disciplines and to form new friendships. I am now six months into my one-year research visit, and I can happily say that the University of Basel has been the best ...
Calvin Minfegue – Opening up to the diversity of a city…
Calvin Minfegue – Opening up to the diversity of a city… Being awarded a fellowship from the Oumou Dilly Foundation for joining the Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel was a fantastic opportunity in my academic career but also to be immerged in Basel as a city. Basel appears to me as a structured living space marked by the nourishing udder of the Rhine, which seems to give it a particular imprint. Basel is also a striking ...
Tina Goin Lou Virginie Tra – Une belle histoire d’amour entre une étudiante et la ville de Bâle
Tina Goin Lou Virginie Tra – Une belle histoire d’amour entre une étudiante et la ville de Bâle Lauréate de la bourse du canton de Bâle pour des recherches doctorales, je suis arrivée à Bâle en Mars 2015. La Suisse a été ma première expérience dans un pays Européen et deuxième expérience hors de la Côte d’Ivoire après le Kenya, en Afrique de l’Est. Cette expérience a néanmoins été facilitée par des chercheurs venus de la Suisse avec qui j’ai ...
Charles Nomwendé Tiendrebéogo – Je suis arrivé en Suisse
Charles Nomwendé Tiendrebéogo – Je suis arrivé en Suisse Je suis arrivé en Suisse en Septembre 2015 pour un master à l’Accademia Teatro Dimitri. La Suisse avec ses cantons aux paysages magiques, son eau plus que potable, la diversité de ses langues et leur coexistence intelligente, m’ont beaucoup impressionné. Mais par-dessus tout, c’est sa culture théâtrale, la liberté et la créativité de ses artistes qui ont surtout retenu mon attention. De Lausanne à Zurich en passant par Verscio, j’ai pu ...
Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie – I came with no expectations
Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie – I came with no expectations I arrived in Basel in September 2016 and it was my first time in Europe. I came with no expectations, I was ready for any experience that awaits me, and I have had thrills of experiences. My first impression of Basel was the calmness of the city and how that shapes everything that goes on. The calmness produces warmth and security which can almost be felt tangibly. You immediately feel welcomed ...
Aïdas Sanogo – Blessed and lucky
Aïdas Sanogo – Blessed and lucky I was blessed and lucky to get a twelve-month scholarship from the Oumou Dilly Foundation to fund my fourth PhD year at the University of Basel. This funding allowed me to stay in Basel to pursue my doctoral studies. The city of Basel, located right between Germany, France and Switzerland, is a beautiful town, which has a lot to offer. There are about 40 museums for culture lovers, the opportunity to swim in a ...
Amal A. Abdrabo – Joining the Center for African Studies
Amal A. Abdrabo - Joining the Center for African Studies Joining the Center for African Studies at Basel University in Switzerland as a visiting scholar on a six-month Oumou Dilly postdoc fellowship (2017-2018) was a great opportunity to expand my academic and personal perspectives ...
Victoria Osei-Bonsu – My Basel experience
Victoria Osei-Bonsu – My Basel experience I first arrived in Basel on the 4th of October, 2013. It was another kind of experience for me! Even though I had already been to France, to the US and was a regular visitor to the UK, I still could not help but have a cultural shock upon arrival in Basel. For one thing the language was different. Apart from English, I speak passably good French, and some Spanish. But here I was ...
Valentin Bognan Koné – Mon expérience à Bâle
Valentin Bognan Koné – Mon expérience à Bâle Mon expérience à Bâle, dans le cadre de la préparation de ma thèse, financée par la Fondation Oumou Dilly, mérite d’être appelée le tremplin de mon ouverture sur le monde. Cette opportunité m’a permis de quitter mon cocoon ivoirien et de vivre une aventure enrichissante en connaissances scientifiques, mais surtout linguistique et culturelle ...
Zoumana Sidibe – A photographer in Ghana
Zoumana Sidibe – A photographer in Ghana My Name is Zoumana Sidibe, I am a photographer currently in Ghana. I am here for a 6 months training in English sponsored by the Fondation Oumou Dilly; I am studying at the Centre of Languages and professional studies (CELPS). The first month I was in a class of 20 students from different countries. This integration has an important moment for me to learn and share experiences. For some years, Ghana has become ...
Mamane Sani – La première fois je quitte mon pays
Mamane Sani – La première fois je quitte mon pays La première fois je quitte mon pays était pour aller en France. Un grand saut pour quelqu’un, anthropologue de surcroit qui marche pour la première fois au-delà des frontières de son pays. C’était le premier d’une succession de séjours alternés entre ce beau pays et mes terres d’origine ...
Nestor Zante – Ma présence à l’université de Bâle
Nestor Zante - Ma présence à l’université de Bâle Ma présence à l’université de Bâle, se résume à quatre semestres de collaboration, de rencontres, d’amitiés, de partage, d’acquisition d’expériences ainsi que de fortunes diverses et de belles aventures dans la recherche ...