AEGIS
Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies

European Conference of African Studies

Conference home

Theme

Plenaries

Panels

Timetable

Events

Theme

The conference represents a new stage in the development of AEGIS* which was founded in 1991 as a network of university centres of research on Africa within the European Union.

AEGIS has never sought to organize events exclusively for the Centres belonging to its network, but rather to open its events widely. These have included such joint activities as workshops, small thematic conferences and summer schools. The 2005 conference is seen as a further step in the process of achieving the organisational resources needed for a European organisation of Africanists.

While the conference was not thematized, its plenary track, considered the broad and contentious theme:
‘Approaching the post-colonial half century in sub-Saharan Africa’.

How to understand the significance of the past half century in Africa, as well as prospects for its future, will be discussed with particular – though not exclusive – focus on Africa-Europe relations.

A number of position papers were presented by scholars who were themselves active during the post-colonial half century, as well as by younger scholars looking to the future of African studies.

The AEGIS conference took place in the context of many other Africa-focused events in London forming part of the Africa 05 programme.

* Initially consisting of five members, the network has now grown to 17, including a Swiss member: Barcelona, Basel, Bayreuth, Bordeaux, Brussels, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Leiden, Leipzig, Lisbon, London, Naples, Göteborg, Trondheim, Mainz and Uppsala.

 ©2004 - web design by NomadIT.co.uk