Join us for the May edition of our Methodological seminar series titled “Mysterious Absences: Initial Reflections from an Ongoing Study in Ivory Coast”. This session will feature Dr Stefan Le Courant, research at CNRS and currently attached to IFRA-Nigeria.
In this presentation, Dr Le Courant will offer an initial set of methodological reflections on an ongoing study -conducted jointly with his colleague, Dr Carolina Kobelinsky, - focusing on the absent and the disappeared in the Ivorian contexts heavily marked by migration (mainly in Abidjan and Daloa).
Dr Le Courant will focus on examining the discourses used to discuss the absent, the role and position of intermediaries in the investigation. He will further address the ethical issues involved in researching such a sensitive topic.
Seminar Details:
Date: Thursday 21 May 2026
Time: 10:00am – 12.00pm
Venue: IFRA-Nigeria Resource Centre, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan
Meet the speaker
Dr Stefan Le Courant is an anthropologist (CNRS, IFRA-Nigeria). After dedicating his research to migration control policies in France and their effects on migrants, he began a study in September 2025 on absence and disappearance.