Congratulations to LUCAS member Jane Plastow, Professor of African Theatre at the University of Leeds, who recently published her latest book, A History of East African Theatre, Volume 1: Horn of Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). Please read the Q&A with her in the Leeds African Studies Bulletin, where she answers some questions to introduce the book.
Ezekiel Chibeze, a Ghanaian environmental champion, was named the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize winner, citing his ‘commitment to promoting good governance in the environmental sector in Ghana’ and his leadership in climate change in Africa and in the world. The Goldman Environmental Prize is the world’s largest award for environmental activists. Chibeze joins an eminent...
Congratulations to Dr Kamal Salhi who has been promoted to the position of Chair in Francophone and North African Studies. Kamal says: “University is an impressionable time, and a professor can make or break your experience. Peter Thomson was the one professor who took me under his wing and had faith in my ability. I...
The Leeds University Centre for African Studies is delighted to announce the winner of the 2020 Lionel Cliffe Prize for the best undergraduate dissertation on a topic relevant to African Studies at the University of Leeds. Yet again, our judges were delighted to review another cohort of outstanding dissertations, leaving them with a tough decision....
The documentary film Kenyan Christian Queer is about to be released! The film offers an intimate portrait of a group of LGBT Christians in Kenya, their courage, determination and hope. It specifically features the first LGBT church in Nairobi, Kenya. Called Cosmopolitan Affirming Community, this group of young queer Christians seeks to promote an inclusive...
The Leeds University Centre for African Studies is deeply upset about recent events in the United States. We condemn police brutality and state violence against black people. We support those protesting against white supremacy and systematic racial injustice, and demonstrating for the recognition that black lives matter. We are very aware that these issues are...
Two films, produced as part of a Leeds-led research project, have been selected for screening at the Changing the Story Online International Film Festival, taking place 1-5 June, 2020. The drama films, “Daniel in the Homophobic Lions’ Den”, and “Jesus and the Guys Charged with Indecency”, use stories from the Bible to tell the life...
You may have noticed that our journal, the Leeds African Studies Bulletin has recently moved to a digital, online format, helping us to quickly publish scholarly articles, book reviews and opinion pieces that are easily accessible and free to access. We will publish under 5 categories: Studying Africa, Analysing Africa, Imagining Africa, Reading Africa and...
The Conversation have published an article by Dr Adriaan van Klinken entitled 'Desmond Tutu’s long history of fighting for lesbian and gay rights'. The article is an abbreviated version of a chapter about Desmond Tutu in the book Reimagining Christianity and Sexuality in Africa, co-authored by Adriaan van Klinken and Ezra Chitando, and to be published with...
Call for Papers BAAL Language in Africa (LIA) SIG Annual Meeting in collaboration with the Leeds University Centre for African Studies 15th May 2020, University of Leeds Keynote speaker & LUCAS Annual Lecturer: Professor Grace A. Musila, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg Grace A. Musila is an Associate Professor in the African Literature Department at the University...