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Conference presentations

 Under the title "Reconfigurations in Africa - and in African Studies,” this year’s VAD conference took place in Bayreuth from 30 September to 02 October 2024. Saïkou Sagnane and Kingsley Jima convened the panel “How does Information Circulate in Disruptive Situations? The Cases of Military Takeovers in West Africa.” Based on his ongoing field research, Sagnane critically engaged with political calls and warnings against rumours. His presentation "Why do people say rumors are true?” highlighted the normality of rumors, the liberating effect of sharing information, and the usefulness of Amadou Hampâté Bâ’s writings for conceptualising rumors as part of West African everyday life. Joschka Philipps, served as a discussant on the same panel, convened another on “Postcolonial In-Securities: Contested hierarchies and unsettled knowledges in relation” and gave a presention on "Politics of suspicion. Uncertainty and information leaks in Burkinabè social media.”

Book publication

Rogers Orock’s book "Conspiracy Narratives from Postcolonial Africa Freemasonry, Homosexuality, and Illicit Enrichment,” written with Peter Geschiere and published with Chicago University Press, just came out. Aiming at unravelling "the epistemological knot of homosexuality, Freemasonry, and enrichment,” its primary goal is to explore two key debates: first, the investigation of conspiracy thinking, which has become increasingly relevant on a global scale, and second, the contentious discussion surrounding "homosexuality” and how "queer studies" can be localized in African contexts. 

Interim Professorship for Dr. Joschka Philipps

From October 2024 to March 2025, Dr. Joschka Philipps will be interim professor at the Sociology of Africa Chair [link] at the University of Bayreuth. He will act as a substitute for Prof. Jana Hönke who is on leave for a sabbatical devoted to her INFRAGLOB ERC project. During the fall term 2024/25, Joschka will be the main lecturer for the Introduction to Global Political Sociology (BA) and the Introduction to African Studies (MA) and teach two additional seminars.