Publications

This article addresses the potential widespread conflict between the development of energy access projects and human rights risks and violations in Africa. While this conflict is well known in the continent of Africa due largely to the need to increase energy access, solutions to tackle it are scarce. This article proposes using the United Nations (UN) Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) strategically to create a new framework to conceptualize and solve such conflict. For this purpose, it analyses the effectiveness of the HRBA framework, whilst highlighting some of the challenges facing its implementation in African countries. The article concludes that until human rights risks and violations – considered to be ‘energy injustice’ concerns – are mainstreamed through the HRBA framework and its principles into the plan and development of energy access projects, the conflict will continue to rise and may become another dilemma similar to the environmental protection and energy development discourse in Africa.

Child labour continues to be a global problem affecting children and families across the globe. It is work performed by a child that is likely to interfere with their education or harm their health, physical, mental, moral, or social development. To address the problem, the international community agreed to adopt different legal frameworks on child labour. Malawi ratified these international human rights instruments and has even enacted domestic legislation to overcome the problem. Furthermore, initiatives that include the legal ban on child labour, access to education initiatives, poverty alleviation programmes, and direct interventions by governments and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on incentive-based schemes have been implemented to combat the problem. Despite these efforts, child labour is increasing, especially in the agricultural sector. In this study, I argue that there is a gap between the promise the legal framework gives children of addressing child labour and the reality of the problem. Thus, the existing legal framework on child labour fails to operate to cure child labour, mainly as a result of contextual barriers outside and within the law. At its core, the thesis argues that children in Malawi experience their childhood in a context where they are expected to work for their households’ survival strategies and as expected by the community. The thesis demonstrates that if the gap between the legal frameworks on child labour and the reality of child labour on the ground is to be addressed, there is a need to reimagine and restate the notion of childhood through the lens of integrated childhood. This new integrated childhood perspective acknowledges the reality that children's roles are incorporated into household survival strategies and community expectations, which sometimes diverge from the legally framed notion of childhood and child labour captured in international and Malawi's legal frameworks. The study explores its research questions by employing socio-legal research methods that first involve desk research, followed by empirical field research that incorporates Theatre for Development (TfD) as a research approach. Through a performative analysis in the TfD process, the child labour legal framework is examined alongside the communities’ lived realities to explore both analytical and practical solutions to the problem of child labour in Malawi.

The Swahili poetry of the master poet Fumo Liyongo, which dates between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, draws much of its imagery from the Indian Ocean, and in a particularly sensuous way: the poems paint baroque tableaux of Swahili material culture, evoking multiple elsewheres. They conjure the Indian Ocean through tastes, scents, and views of its rich interiors, which delineate a distinctively coastal world implicated to different degrees in the vaster oceanic region. Borrowing from aesthetic theories, the article explores the poem’s sensuality as a productive way of “thinking” about Indian Ocean relations, namely as a continual reemergence of cycles of sensation, questioning the clear-cut dichotomy of the “exterior” world and “intimate” notions of irreducible personhood as well as notions of local and cosmopolitan. Zeroing in on the betel quid, which has turned into a “mythological” cultural node of Swahili identity as well as a prominent rhetorical topos of Swahili love poetry, this article explores its imaginative productivity.

This article considers how Christianity contributes to the appearance of cognitive disability in Uganda, a country with some of the most progressive disability policies in the world but little in the way of formal care and advocacy for cognitively disabled people. As a point of departure, the article invokes Hannah Arendt’s notion of appearance as a way to thematize the importance of public display in Ugandan social life, as well as the challenge that people with evidently profound disabilities pose to Ugandan social aesthetics. It first traces how cognitive disability disappears under the liberal logics that organize Uganda’s secular disability laws and activism, and then compares the ways that Catholic and Pentecostal efforts sustain the appearance of cognitive disability, in light of their theological differences and their common paternalism. Even as Christian paternalism in the face of cognitive disability may prove repugnant to a liberal vision of disability politics, I argue that it sustains a form of disability appearance otherwise not possible in Uganda

In this essay, we offer an economics-rooted conceptualisation of the term “relationality”. To achieve the fundamental purpose of economic analysis, we argue, it is useful to conceptualise “relationality” as a process of exploring links that explain outcomes. In alignment with the broad objective of economic research, our perspective on “relationality” sheds light on how it can aid in comprehending our world as is and how it came to be. We illustrate the power of our suggested conceptualisation of “relationality” via three specific empirical applications, including the analysis of regional economic integration in Africa. We also discuss the potential of our conceptualisation in “Reconfiguring African Studies”.

This paper investigates the question of ownership of collective memories in the age of digitized archiving. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (henceforth Unesco) philosophy of preserving the world cultural heritage has boosted research on African oral literatures. The emphasis on the documentation of endangered cultures of Africa is salutary but also raises some critical questions. The central question this contribution addresses is that of the authorship-ownership of cultural heritage that is being archived in the framework of digital humanities. The interrogation centres on the role of power with regard to the form in which these (hi)stories are published, where, how and to whom they are accessible, and to the habit of researchers to name people from whom they receive the bulk of knowledge which they transcribe and translate into the academic jargon “informants” instead of giving them more credit by referring to them as research partners or even by recognising them as co-authors. In this vein, the paper rounds up by exploring the possibility of reversing the customary auctorial perspective by bringing into the discussion the idea of “researchers as griots” suggested by (Merolla, Ameka & Dorvlo 2013).

Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, den Gebrauch von Phraseologismen in der Gesundheitskommunikation zu untersuchen. Ausgehend von einem Korpus, das aus Plakaten der HIV/AIDS-Aufklärung im frankophonen Afrika besteht, liegt der Fokus auf den Beziehungen der Phraseologismen zu Bildelementen. Die Analyse dieses bislang wenig beachteten Typs der sozialen Werbung zeigt, dass Phraseologismen in den Aufklärungsbotschaften eher selten vorkommen und zudem jene mit schwacher semantischer Idiomatizität überwiegen. Diese sind vergleichsweise transparent, da ihre phraseologische kaum von der wörtlichen Bedeutung abweicht, welche in der Regel durch ein Bildelement illustriert wird.

The chapter discusses the idea and ideology of “art for art’s sake” in historical context. It argues that the late nineteenth-century aestheticist version of this concept must be seen as a particular configuration with roots stretching back to antiquity. It presents a number of systematic clusters proposed by historians of aesthetics for approaching art for art’s sake and explores key elements of the debates in which the idea was fielded. These include the artwork’s autonomy, its reference to external reality, its value and utility (including the obligation to moral didacticism), and the shifting roles of critics and of audiences/readers.

How can cinema be used to understand our society? Different sociologists asked throughout history this question. Generally, they assume that since all subjects act within social institutions, films necessarily tell us something about aspects of life in society. Besides, their "visual power," and their narratives, would be even able to shape our expectations in unconscious ways. That's because the “social life” is presented to us as orderly, where people accept prescribed roles that they find satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Some of them portray alienation and despair, as well as a series of ways in which people face their social conditions and the challenges that life imposes on them. In this sense, watching a film becomes a sociologically significant event as its experience affects us emotionally, psychologically, and pedagogically. Based on this, the paper aims to discuss some sociological perspectives on the relationship between art, cinema, and society.

Un mundo marcado cada vez más por las desigualdades, violencias y restricciones de movilidad, nos motivó a analizar fenómenos relacionados con las fronteras, sean políticas, geográficas, simbólicas, sociales, psicológicas o virtuales, que controlan cuerpos y regulan vidas. Dichos fenómenos se encuentran presentes en las fronteras internas y externas de muchos países latinoamericanos. En este texto planteamos que el arte de frontera está evidenciando la cromática del poder, (re)creando intersticios que desmantelan la estructura jerarquizada de separación. Nos referimos a proyectos que se nutren y retroalimentan de diversos discursos, acciones y posibilidades simbólicas, en zonas intersticiales de espacio y tiempo, caracterizadas por oposiciones antonímicas, como centro/periferia, superioridad/inferioridad o riqueza/pobreza. Estos proyectos se nombran como arte de frontera, comprendiendo como tal, aquél que procura reconocer y replantear cualquier tipo de límite, realizado por artistas que enfocan su interés en espacios impregnados de violencia, incomprensión, conflictos, diferencias, resentimientos y malentendidos. Para analizar este acontecer seleccionamos las fronteras nacionales e intraurbanas pertenecientes a las ciudades de Tijuana (México) y Salvador de Bahía (Brasil).

Exploring the art of living in unequal and racist societies across the Black Atlantic requires decolonial methods that go beyond logocentric approaches. Cultural expressions such as music, dance and poetry offer a chance for a co-production of knowledges that transcends epistemological, socio-spatial and racial boundaries. This paper revolves around the quest for a life in dignity and possible ways of transformation towards this horizon. It is based on the ongoing research project “Moral Geographies of (Re-)Existence” that brings together Afro-diasporic artists, academics and community actors to explore, discuss and exchange different answers to the empowering question of a life in dignity. Diverse actors from Brazil, Colombia, Mozambique and Germany engage in this collaborative approach to participatory research-creation. Working remotely under Covid-19 conditions, we produced six transdisciplinary video performances in this collective. Different types of knowledges emerge from a dialogue of music, dance, poetry and academic concepts, fulfilling the different needs and interests of the participants. The focus of this paper lies on diverse modes of (re-)existence that appear in the videos and map out struggles for a life in dignity. Multiple rhythms, movements and images envision an ethics and aesthetics of existence in the African diaspora. Combining academic research with artistic production not only unfolds conditions of racialized exploitation, but also helps discover possibilities of transformation and overcoming. Thus, connecting artists, researchers and community actors from Latin America, Africa and Europe through Afro-diasporic music and culture stimulates mutual learning processes and contributes to academic and racial justice.

Urban bias remains a debated topic in South Africa in many spheres of society. Due to the logic of apartheid, ‘rural’ came to mean ‘black’; or in post-apartheid-speak ‘previously disadvantaged’. Up to today, the effects of long-term structural and systematic disadvantaging are quite tangible in the country. Though in parts also applicable to urban settings, poverty, insufficient infrastructure and lack of access are largely foremost still a problem of the rural – and mostly black – population. These structural imbalances are purported through a number of social fields including academia. Often, studies are conducted where access and conveniences are close and risks impeding the successful completion of research projects are low. While the tendency to consider feasibility in research is not per se questionable, the total body of research projects and results might foreground a distorted reflection of South Africa’s sociolinguistic landscape. Binary categories of urban/rural, however, carry a certain bias within themselves and are thus not comfortably fitting in a South African context but call for deconstruction. On this background, the chapter presents a critical review of 135 scholarly articles (2010–2017) from the eminent linguistic journal Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies examined for traces of urban bias in the research set up and weighs the results in the light of the current socio-political situation in South Africa.

Promoting human mobility and reducing inequality among countries are the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) targets. However, measuring human mobility, assessing its heterogeneity and changes, and exploring associated mechanisms and context effects are still key challenges, especially for developing countries. This study attempts to review the concept of human mobility with complex thinking, assess human mobility across forty countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and examine the effect of climatic and socioeconomic factors. Based on the coined definition of human mobility, international migration and cross-border trips are taken to assess human mobility in terms of permanent migration and temporary moves. The forty SSA countries are hence classified into four mobility groups. Regression models are performed to identify key determinants and estimate their effects on mobility. The results reveal that seven of these forty countries had a high mobility, whereas most experienced a decline in permanent migration. Lesotho, Cabo Verde, and Namibia presented high temporary moves, while Eritrea, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, and Liberia had a high permanent migration. Climatic and socioeconomic conditions demonstrated significant effects on mobility but were different for temporary moves and permanent migration. Wet extremes reduced mobility, whereas extreme temperature variations had positive effects. Dry extremes promoted permanent migration but inhibited temporary moves. Economic wealth and political instability promoted permanent migration, while the young population counteracted temporary moves. Food insecurity and migrant networks stimulated human mobility. The analysis emphasises the interest in analysing human mobility for risk reduction and sustainability management at the multi-county level.

«‹Rassen› gibt es nicht!» Diesen Satz haben wohl alle, die sich mit Rassismus beschäftigen, so oder ähnlich bereits einmal gehört oder gelesen, und viele dürften ihn auch schon selbst einmal geäussert haben, um sich damit gegen ein biologisches Verständnis zur Einteilung von Menschen nach Herkunft und Hautfarbe abzugrenzen. Oft wird dabei auf die Autorität naturwissenschaftlicher Expertise rekurriert, wenn beispielsweise angeführt wird, dass «es keine ‹Rassen› gibt» (Arndt 2011, 660), dass «Rassen […] keine biologischen Tatsachen» seien, es «keine wissenschaftliche Basis für die Einteilung der Menschheit in Rassen» gebe (Degele 2008, 96) bzw. dass «‹Rassen› […] keine biologische Realität» hätten (El-Tayeb 2005, 7). Solche Aussagen sind wichtig, um gegen Versuche vorzugehen, soziale Ungleichheit, Ausbeutung und Rassismus mit biologischen Differenzierungen zu rechtfertigen. «Rasse» erscheint in derlei Äusserungen aber überwiegend als anachronistische Fiktion sowie als Produkt pseudowissenschaftlicher Verirrungen, denen in aufklärerischer Manier – so die Hoffnung – die Faktizität neuester wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse entgegenzusetzen sei. Doch die häufige Wiederholung dieser Aussagen hat bis heute weder biologische Rassifizierungen abgeschafft, noch Rassismus beendet. Zudem wird zumeist übersehen, dass dadurch die Biologie und insbesondere die Bedingungen und Praktiken biologischer Wissensproduktion der kritischen Betrachtung entzogen werden, wodurch wichtige Aspekte des Problems Rasse aus dem Blick geraten.

Connecting creative movements of Black re-existence across the African diaspora is crucial to fight colonial and racist exclusion. However, this requires highly sensitive means and media to express bodily, emotional and spiritual experiences of transformation that can hardly be captured by logocentric approaches. Against this backdrop, the multimedia book “Todo Rio Resiste Mar: Cartografias de Memorias Afrolatinas” (dirs. Valerie V. V. Gruber and Gilbert Shang Ndi, Andarilha Edições 2023, https://doi.org/10.15495/EPub_UBT_00007702) presents illustrations, poems, memoirs, choreographic and music performances created by young Afrodescendant artists from marginalised communities in Salvador da Bahia (Brazil) and Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). The anthology is the result of an exchange programme carried out over four years based on transdisciplinary methods of participatory action research, social arts and research-creation. The design of the e-book follows the journey of a river returning to the ocean, meandering through complex social and cultural territories. The encounter of different waters and currents is more than just a metaphor; it is the conceptual ground for the understanding of Afro-Latin American re-existence, personal and collective overcoming as well as decolonial healing. This presentation invites the public to dive into the rhythms, memories and imaginations of the exchange participants, reorganized in a map-collage with strong audio-visual impulses. The diverse voices and representations will set afloat discussions on the ethics and aesthetics of Afro-Latin American struggles against colonialism and racism, while raising questions on the degree to which traumatic experiences can be transmitted and transformed through artistic means across time, space and power hierarchies.

This paper engages in an ocean-centred reading of the novels Le pagne léger and Patera by Aïssatou Diamanka-Besland and Celles qui attendent by Fatou Diome. I show how the liminal space of the coast enables the characters to think and imagine beyond restrictions on land, but also to overcome notions of the ocean as either an adversary or a source of income. In the novels, the acknowledgment of the powerful presence of the ocean opens new paths to navigate towards self-determination and rebirth. The novels can inspire us, as readers and researchers, to acknowledge the powerful presence of the ocean in our academic work. I argue that Fatou Diome and Aïssatou Diamanka‐Besland propose to navigate with the ocean, an ally and agent in drafting a ‘blue’ ecocritcism.