Coming of age as an anthropologist: Lorraine Nencel
In this series we invite anthropologists to share stories of growth, change, and discovery throughout their careers. By reflecting on the life choices that shaped them, the unexpected…
Tag: Regio Afrika
In memoriam James Ferguson
by Freek Colombijn and Marjo de Theije – Renowned anthropologist James (Jim) Ferguson passed away on 14 February 2025 at 65. He obtained his PhD in Social Anthropology…
Photo Essay: Finding a place for historical nostalgia in Postcolonial Anthropology
by Yatou Sallah I have long been intrigued by the anthropological framing of Africans in the context of postcolonialism. As scholars and theorists in the field attempt to…
In the meantime on the other side of the world…
By Marina de Regt While we were all busy watching the US elections in the first week of November, an armed conflict broke out on the other side…
If you eat Nsima, you are happy
By Liza Koch This photo essay is about the process of making Nsima flour, the most important food people eat every day in Malawi.
Beyond ABC: Sexual Mobility in Uganda
by Esther Platteeuw
Fighting a silent killer in the slums
By Vera van Rijn Although the media frequently reports on African children dying from malaria or HIV, it is actually pneumonia that is the biggest killer in…
Beyond ABC: sexual mobility in Uganda
Beyond ABC: sexual mobility in Uganda By Esther Platteeuw Quote on a classroom wall in Wairaka – From January to March 2017 I conducted my fieldwork in Uganda to…
Ik (b)en de Ander
Door Irene Smouter. Afgelopen jaar kreeg ik de kans om een half jaar te studeren in Johannesburg, Zuid Afrika, waar ik als antropologe in de dop enorm veel…
Het verhaal achter haar Ugandese haar
“Een vriendin op een ‘boda boda’ (motortaxi) op weg naar het Victoriameer” Door Esther Platteeuw Op een warme dag in maart loop ik in de straten van Jinja…
A day in Makata village (Malawi)
The neighbour baking mandasi early in the morning Liza Koch My day starts at 5:15 because of the noise outside. The sun is rising and people are…
A Journey to Experience: Tanzania-Kenya-Uganda
Door Ottla Lange In my first week of studying cultural Anthropology I had been told to write down everything I observe, when in a new or…
Some thoughts on film in ethnography
Still from ‘Inside the Mind of Favela Funk’ By Ina Keuper On 7 December the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology organized its second Ethnographic…
Antropologie in de praktijk: aan het werk
Foto door Mariska van Zanten Door Mariska van Zanten Naar aanleiding de blog van Freek Colombijn, reflecteer ik, als “pas” afgestudeerde antropoloog in deze blog op de eerste baan…
“I belong in Africa”: African-Americans going ‘home’
Sankofa. Image: Damiyr Saleem Studios By Marije Maliepaard The Ghanaian ethnic group of Akan is (among other aspects) known for their Adinkra symbols. Symbols that…
Stable Instability: renewed turmoil in Ethiopia (part 2)
Qilinto prison burning, Addis Ababa 3 September 2016. Opposition voices state that not the fire but the prison guards killed more than 60 inmates, most of them political…
Stable instability: renewed turmoil in Ethiopia
by Jan Abbink Ethiopia in 2016 is seeing a new round of major turmoil: massive protests and demonstrations have led to severe state repression, with more than 600…
Pregnancies, high-school drop-outs and personal struggles: The joys of anthropological fieldwork
Laetitia Simorangkir. Now that I completed my thesis (on care arrangements in South African communities), I can really say that I love anthropology and do research. But there…
African-Americans returning to Ghana: A photo blog
Plague on the wall of the W.E.B Du Bois Museum By Marije Maliepaard. My Master’s research is about African-Americans who return to Ghana after their ancestors got enslaved…
“Playing gives experience” – a fieldwork photo blog
by Tessa Gruijs For my Master’s research I went to Ghana. In cooperation with a local NGO I got access to a couple of primary schools. There I…
The reality of race: fieldwork experiences from Ghana
Millicent, one of the staff members of the hostel where I stayed, and I. By Marije Maliepaard Recently my Colombian friend and I were talking about being white in a country like…
Teaching-learning materials on ICT in rural Ghana
Door: Tessa Gruijs During my three months of fieldwork in Ghana for my Master’s research, together with a local NGO I tried to figure out how (future) primary…
A different kind of pilgrimage
Photograph by Neil Rickards By Dimetri Whitfield The most surprising thing for me about conducting fieldwork is that you encounter all these interesting people that ultimately do…
Oerwoudgeluiden
Door Ton Salman. Excuses dat ik nu pas mee kom; de krantenberichten erover zijn al oud. De kwestie is dat het krantenkaternen betreft waaraan ik meestal geen prioriteit…