Public lectures

Public lectures are free and open to the general public. They are a great way to learn more about Africa and African studies! Below you will find a list of public lectures that include interventions from AfriStadi members.
African Studies at the nexus of universalism and multiplicities in a globalised yet plural world

An AfriStadi panel discussion featuring:

Prof. Souleymane Bachir Diagne (Columbia University)

Prof. Harri Englund (Cambridge University)

Prof. Karen Lauterbach (University of Copenhagen)

Prof. Friederike Lüpke (AfriStadi)

Dr. Jules Mansaly (University of the Gambia and Gambian Book Centre)

Chair: Dr. Sai Väyrynen (AfriStadi)



April 13, 16:15-17:45

Fabianinkatu 24

Room 531

AfriStadi’s main goal for the year 2023 is establishing Black History Month at the University of Helsinki during the month of October. This panel discussion launches our activities by providing an epistemological anchoring for this enterprise, through the interaction with one of the world’s most influential thinkers, the Senegalese philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor of French and Philosophy at Columbia University New York. His research interests span the history of logic, the history of philosophy, Islamic philosophy, African philosophy and literature. He is the author of the following books translated into English: African art as philosophy: Senghor, Bergson, and the idea of Négritude (Seagull Books, 2011), The Ink of the scholars: reflections on philosophy in Africa (Dakar, Codesria, 2016), Open to reason: Muslim philosophers in conversation with western tradition (New York, Columbia University Press, 2018). His book Bergson postcolonial. L’élan vital dans la pensée de Senghor et de Mohamed Iqbal (Paris: Editions du CNRS, 2011) was awarded the Dagnan-Bouveret prize of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences for 2011. In the same year, he was awarded the Edouard Glissant Prize. His most recent books are En quête d'Afrique(s): Universalisme et pensée décoloniale. Paris, Albin Michel, 2018 (co-author Jean-Loup Amselle), Le fagot de ma mémoire (Paris: Philippe Rey, 2021) and De langue à langue (Paris: Albin Michel 2022).

Two panellists will reflect on Prof. Diagne’s work in relation to their own research:

Prof. Karen Lauterbach (Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen, chair of NARN (Nordic Africa Research Network): contextualization and entextualisation in the study of charismatic Christianity

Prof. Harri Englund (University of Cambridge): Freedom in translation

Prof. Friederike Lüpke (Chair of AfriStadi, University of Helsinki) and Dr. Jules Mansaly (University of the Gambia and Casamance Book Center) will be discussants.

Etnosoi!-seminaari: World Wide Women

Mini-seminar about female musicians in Mali & Senegal.

Time: 12.11.2022, 15:00-17:00

Location: Maailman Musiikin Keskus Ry, Hämeentie 34 D, 00530 Helsinki

Miniseminaarin aiheena ovat naismuusikot Malissa ja Senegalissa.

World Wide Women -hankkeen aloitteesta Malissa muodostettiin tänä syksynä vain naisista koostuva kokoonpano, johon kuuluu viisi malilaista ja kaksi suomalaista muusikkoa. Kahden viikon yhteisen työskentelyn aikana luotiin uutta musiikkia ja jaettiin kokemuksia useimmiten miesvaltaisilla musiikin kentillä toimimisesta.

Senegalissa taas on jo pari vuotta toiminut paikallinen vain naisista koostuva yhtye, Orchestre Jigeen Ni. Lisäksi senegalilaiset naismuusikot ovat viime vuosina järjestäytyneet yhdistyksiin, joilla on monenlaista toimintaa konserteista mielenosoituksiin ja hyväntekeväisyyteen.

Lähteet: [1], [2]

Sivistys – Kielitaidon monet muodot

As part of the lecture series Studia Generalia, there will be a public lecture about the many forms that linguistic skills take in Finland and Africa. This event will be held in Finnish, 25.10.2022, 17:00-19:00, at Tiedekulma (Yliopistonkatu 4, Helsinki).

Bildung – The many forms of linguistic skills. Linguistic skills and the ability to interact with other people is an essential part of education. But how does the human brain enable linguistic skills? Why do children learn languages more easily than adults? Does multilingualism make us smarter? What is multilingual everyday life like in Finland and Africa? What counts as good linguistic skills? How could we better support language learning and multilingualism? Scholars at University of Helsinki research the foundations and diversity of linguistic skills broadly and in different disciplines.

Sivistys – Kielitaidon monet muodot. Kielitaito ja kyky vuorovaikutukseen muiden ihmisten kanssa on olennainen osa sivistystä. Mutta miten ihmisaivot oikein mahdollistavat kielitaidon? Miksi lapset oppivat kieliä vaivattomammin kuin aikuiset? Tekeekö monikielisyys meistä fiksumpia? Millaista on monikielinen arki Suomessa ja Afrikassa? Mitä on hyvä kielitaito?  Miten voisimme paremmin tukea kielten oppimista ja monikielisyyttä? Helsingin yliopistossa tutkitaan kielitaidon perustaa ja moninaisuutta laajasti eri tieteenaloilla. 

African linguistic diverisity / Afrikan kielellinen monimuotoisuus: professori Friederike Lüpke

Linguistic skills, the brain and cognition / Kielitaito, aivot ja kognitio: professori Riikka Möttönen

Supporting multilingualism in Finnish society / Monikielisyyden tukeminen suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa: yliopistonlehtori Heini Lehtonen

Chair / Puheenjohtajana: professori Samuli Siltanen

A dream deferred: Young adults in South Africa at the intersection of faith, race and inequality

INEQ - Helsinki Inequality Initiative warmly welcomes you to 'Inequality Talks' keynote by Professor Nadine Bowers Du Toit (University of Stellenbosch), titled A dream deferred: Young adults in South Africa at the intersection of faith, race and inequality. The lecture takes place on Tuesday, 20 September 2022 at 14:00­–15:30 UTC+3 (Finnish local time), online via Zoom.

Moderator: INEQ Professor of Urban Theology Henrietta Grönlund 

Commentator: Professor Auli Vähäkangas (Theology, UH) 

Please register for the talk via E-fo​rm by September 19. Registration is mandatory and Zoom link will be sent only to registered participants. 

For more information, please visit the event website & Facebook event. You can also find INEQ on Twitter

Studying Africa and African Studies in a Nordic landscape: contemporary trends and future trajectories

On September 21 at 10-11am CET, the Nordic Africa Research Network (NARN) invites you to the panel discussion Studying Africa and African Studies in a Nordic landscape: contemporary trends and future trajectories.

The panellists are Jonas Ewald (Linnaeus University, Sweden), Divine Fuh (Director of HUMA, University of Cape Town, South Africa), Amanda Hammar (University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Anne Kubai (Södertörn University College, Sweden), Friederike Lüpke (University of Helsinki, Finland) and Jacinda Victoria S. Muinde (University of Oslo). The panel is introduced by Carin Norberg (NARN chair) and moderated by Vito Laterza (University of Agder, Norway). Details can be found here: https://nordicafricapanel.mystrikingly.com/

Please register here to get the Zoom details (registration link also available in the webpage above): https://uia.pameldingssystem.no/nordicafricapanel