Parution - Journal des Anthropologues

The latest issue of the Journal des anthropologues, coordinated by Monique Selim and Barbara Morovich, is hot off the press.

Entitled "Imaginaires en pandémie" (Pandemic imaginaries), the thematic dossier examines the novel political and ideological bricolages that emerged during and in the wake of the Covid-19 health crisis.

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La dernière livraison du Journal des anthropologues, coordonnée par Monique Selim et Barbara Morovich, sort fraîchement de l'imprimerie.

Updates on the Ife-Sunbgo Archeological Project

Between the 18th of June and the 15th of July 2023, a research team led by Prof. Gérard Chouin worked on the Ife-Sunbgo Archeological Project. Besides the continuation of the usual annual archaeological excavation, two trainings took place (see below). The Ife-Sungbo team hosted the team of Her Excellency the Ambassador of France to Ife between the 3rd and 5th of July 2023. The team opened additional units of the excavation at both the Ita-Yemoo and Lujumo compound sites to study further the context of the different layers and types of pavements discovered.

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Visiting Faculty Global Programme / Sciences Po

Please find here the call for applications for the Sciences Po Visiting Faculty Global Programme.

Sciences Po is calling for outstanding applications for visiting faculty from around the world. In the 2023-2024 academic year, Sciences Po will open two visiting faculty positions in the social sciences or humanities, for up to a semester-long each (6-weeks minimum).

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Interview with Emilie Guitard // Conducting fieldwork in Ibadan to study relations to plants and nature within the city

Can you explain to us what the INFRAPATRI project is, what brings you to Ibadan and what is your role in this project?

INFRAPATRI is a program funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), from March 2021 to March 2025. It is a program that I supervise within my research unit, PRODIG, based at the Campus Condorcet in Aubervilliers, France. The objectives of this program are to compare the relationships, knowledge, and attachments of city-dwellers and municipal authorities to plants in four cities in sub-Saharan Africa: Yaoundé in Cameroon, Ibadan in Nigeria, Porto-Novo in Benin Republic, and Dakar in Senegal. One hypothesis that we want to test in these four cities pertaining to these relationships to plants is that, in addition to the heritage policies that have been implemented in African cities and that are often focused on the built environment and, moreover, on colonial buildings, there may also be memorial attachments to plants by the inhabitants of these cities.

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Call for applications: field research “observing the election process in Nigeria”

The unfolding electoral moment in Nigeria is a period of critical importance for the country and of great interest to the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA), based at the Institute of African Studies (University of Ibadan). IFRA intends to play a role in observing and analysing the social impacts of Nigerian policies, polities, and politics in a short- and long-term perspective. In this electoral setting, IFRA is launching an observatory overseeing the 2023 elections in Nigeria. The aim is to produce socio-anthropological data and analysis on the election process. For this, IFRA is funding several young Nigerian researchers to conduct fieldwork-based research upon different topics (political violence, fraud, public space dynamics, particular groups voting intentions, ethnic based voting patterns…).

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Small Grants Competition for Writers, Researchers & Activists

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Abuja, Nigeria announces a small grants competition for writers, researchers, and activists working on or in Nigeria. The grant forms a part of a wider programme on the Digitisation of Nigerian Heritage funded by the French Institute for Research in Africa, (IFRA-Nigeria), and the Embassy of France in Nigeria.

The component of the project undertaken by CDD aims to digitally preserve and disseminate the inspiring documentary heritage of earlier generations of Nigeria’s radical and pro-democracy activists. These efforts are anchored on the premise that unearthing the activities and debates that preoccupied earlier generations of Nigeria’s radical thinkers and activists can help enrich contemporary activism, public discourses, and academic scholarship in and on Nigeria.

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Call for applications // PhD position in “Experiences of climate change : Protests and mobilizations in coastal urban areas (Gulf of Guinea)”

Call for applications // Field research internship in social sciences (INFRAPATRI programme)

Call for applications for a field research internship for 1 master student in social sciences (anthropology, sociology, cultural geography). The intern will be part of the research program INFRAPATRI “Knowledges and Attachments to Urban Plants in Sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal): Identification and Production of a Heritage from Below" (coordinated by Dr Emilie Guitard). 

The interdisciplinary project INFRAPATRI aims to study the local knowledges and forms of attachment to urban plants in four sub-Saharan African cities : Yaounde in Cameroon, Ibadan in Nigeria, Porto-Novo in Benin and Dakar in Senegal.

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Event 'Cannabis Africana: Drugs and Development in Africa' (21 November / online)

On Monday 21 November, the Centre of Criminology at the University of Cape Town and the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol will be holding two events in Cape Town and online, relating to the role and position of cannabis in the African context. These events are part of the "Cannabis Africana: Drugs and Development in Africa" that IFRA-Nigeria has been a partner of since its inception. 

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Meet... Femi Olanrewaju

A trained architect with a strong interest in heritage preservation, Femi Olanrewaju has recently joined IFRA's project on 'Religious Architectural Heritage in Ibadan'. He will conduct research on shrines in historical Ibadan.

 - Hi ! Could you please introduce yourself to the readers ?

My name is Femi Olanrewaju, I obtained MLA in Landscape Architecture from the University of Lagos. As a student of landscape architecture and with my passion for heritage preservation, I chose to write my thesis on “Conservation of a cultural landscape: A Case Study of Osun Grove”. My goal was to examine and digitize the Osun Grove as a tool for cultural and natural heritage preservation framework and urban design. Currently, I am MSc student in the department of Architecture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. I am also a member of International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). 

 - What is your major aim at IFRA ?

My main objective with IFRA is to add to the existing knowledge of Ibadan religious heritage documentation by using GIS techniques to fill the current void of heritage documentation using Ibadan core area as a pilot study for other researchers.

 - What is your goal after IFRA ?

I intend to further the research at PhD level with the knowledge I would have acquired with IFRA.