Our research focuses on a critical analysis of categories of difference and their political effectiveness. We investigate how dynamics of knowledge production relate to questions of (in)equality and processes of inclusion and exclusion. Social movements, migration and border regimes, economic justice, forms of racialization, and politics of belonging all count among our empirical fields.
LATEST FROM THE BLOG:
Building (b)ridges beyond the Portrait – Mapping Memories of Kwasi Boachi – Exit Frame!
A new article published by group member Andrea-Vicky Amankwaa-Birago on arthistoricum.net The following essayistic synthesis takes two portraits of Ashanti Prince Kwasi Boachi (1827–1904) as an opportunity to explore the life and work of this Black nobleman. The focus is particularly on Boachi’s contributions…
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How Hope Defi(n)es South Africa: Reimagining Hope in Johannesburg’s Slovo Park Beyond State Failures
Aerial night view of Johannesburg, South Africa, showing a vast urban landscape of city lights, with glowing streets and highways winding through the metropolis. © Eileen Jahn, all rights reserved, courtesy of the artist New article of our group member Eileen…
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An interview with Eleanor Schaumann on her dissertation “Priceless but Worthless: Values and Valuation Practices in Namibian Karakul Sheep Farming”
On the 18th of January, our group member Eleanor Schaumann has brilliantly defended her dissertation supervised by Katharina Schramm, becoming the 200th graduate of the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS). Dear Eleanor, your dissertation developed from the broader…
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Genetic ancestry and the colonial legacies of race in genomics: a cross-disciplinary dialogue
A new article published in Frontiers in Genetics co-authored by Katharina Schramm together with Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Tayyaba Jiwani, Sarah Abel, Yulia Egorova, Amade M’charek, Diogo Meyer, Andrés Moreno Estrada, Peter Wade, Michel Naslavsky As genomics initiatives have spread around the world–often…
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A Collective Effort to Remember Scientific Racism: The Opening of the Memorial Ihnestraße in Berlin
Flowers were placed next to a stele in the opening of the Ihnestraße Memorial Site’s exhibition “History of Science and Injustice”, October 2024 (Photo by the author)by Thiago P. Barbosa The beautiful three-story building at oak-shaded Ihnestraße 22 gives little indication…
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Sabine Netz receives the prestigious “Preis der Stadt Bayreuth” for her PhD thesis
Dr. Sabine Netz with the Mayor of Bayreuth Thomas Ebersberger and the president of the University Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible.Source: University of Bayreuth. Credits: Peter Kolb. On the 22 of November, Sabine Netz, a member of our working group, “Preis der…
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On the ethics of talking about illegalized routes with potential migrants: an interview with Viola Castellano
Viola Castellano, a member of our working group, was interviewed by Anthropological Theory Commons on ethics of talking about illegalized routes with potential migrants based on her article “Social connections and ethical entrapments: On doing anthropology of and through the border…
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An interview with Joshua Matanzima on his experience at the Bayreuth Humboldt Center
Could you tell us a bit more about your project? Climate change imperatives are pushing the world to transition from the use of fossil fuels (such as coal- lignite, oils and gas) to clean energy sources (such as wind turbines, solar…
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Public Anthropology Lecture: “Youth Revolt in Bangladesh 2024: Political-Cultural Foundations and Implications”
By Prof. Manosh Chowdhury, Social Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh We cordially invite you to the online presentation of Prof. Manosh Chowdhury, titled “Youth Revolt in Bangladesh 2024: Political-Cultural Foundations and Implications” on 2 December 2024, 16-18 hours CET As the ousting of…
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NO ONE CAN BE BORN TWICE: Panel discussion in Munich
On 18 October a panel discussion with anthropologists of the University of Bayreuth, together with Bremen refugees and activists, took place in Munich at the no-profit space Bellevue di Monaco. The discussion presented the joint work of the project No One Can be Born Twice, which…
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“Subcontractors of Guilt”: Professor Esra Özyürek discusses her new book with our group
On Tuesday, October 22, we had the great pleasure of engaging in a conversation with Professor Esra Özyürek about her book “Subcontractors of Guilt”, published in 2023 by Stanford University Press. The book explores how at the turn of the millennium,…
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Neuer Beitrag von Eileen Jahn in dem Buch Sammelband “Klimageschichten“
New in Klimageschichten: Eileen Jah’s narrative draws from 2022 ethnographic research in Johannesburg, capturing the sensory impact of power outages – dense diesel clouds, the hum of generators – and offering new ways to experience climate challenges. Zum Sammelband: Klimageschichten bietet…
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Knowing – Unknowing. African Studies at the Crossroads.
A new Open Access book edited by Katharina Schramm and Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni. This book emerges at a time when critical race studies, postcolonial thought, and decolonial theory are under enormous pressure as part of a global conservative backlash. However, this is also…
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“A Sufi is Someone who Breathes Well!”
Breathing Well in Suffocating Times. by Nasima Selim On Wednesday, July 3rd, the Berlin Anthropology Seminars, a joint initiative by anthropologists from the Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology at FU Berlin, ZMO, and Ethnologisches Museum, hosts a festive book launch & Shared Breathwork (Universität Bayreuth) by Nasima Selim in conversation with…
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ORDINARY DANGEROUS LIVING: EVERYDAY LIFE IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER 30 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY
Lecture by Dr Trevor Ngwane, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Wednesday 26 June, 14:00 – 15:30 in RW S 59, University of Bayreuth. The anti-apartheid movement was arguably one of the greatest international solidarity movements in history.It was driven by the…
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NO ONE CAN BE BORN TWICE. Website launch of born-twice.de
With a panel discussion of anthropologists (Uni Bayreuth) and activists (Together we are Bremen) on their joint research project. We cordially invite you to the launch of our website born-twice.de on June 28 at 6.30 pm, at the Lichtburgforum, Behmstraße 13, Berlin. Why…
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Public Anthropology Lecture: “The Natural Border: Bounding Migrant Farmwork in the Black Mediterranean”
Presentation by Timothy Raeymaekers (University of Bologna) online | June 17, 2024 | 6 p.m. We cordially invite you to the online presentation of our colleague Timothy Raeymaekers titled “The Natural Border: Bounding Migrant Farmwork in the Black Mediterranean” on June 17th at 6…
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Operationalizing the Social Gaze. Doing Race in Affirmative Action Practices in Brazil – By Sarah Lempp
The dissertation of our member Sarah Lempp is now published online. The dissertation ethnographically examines a specific aspect of the Brazilian affirmative action policies: so-called hetero-identification commissions that have to decide whether candidates who applied for a quota vacancy for Black…
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Kick Off event “Anton Wilhelm Amo in Berlin”
The Kick Off event “Anton Wilhelm Amo in Berlin” took place on April 26, 2024 at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. This event was added last minute to the closing event and publication of the “Remembering Colonialism” (Kolonialismus erinnern). It…
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Why Cold Drinks Matter: Relieving Heat in South Africa – By Eileen Jahn
Imagine the moment you open the oven door to check on some freshly baked cookies. The whiff of warm, sweetly saturated air swiftly envelops you, leaving behind a lingering heat and a gradually fading smell throughout the room you are in.…
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“Made in Bangladesh”. Film screening and discussion on 8 May at 7 p.m. CINEPLEX BAYREUTH
Dr. Nasima Selim, a member of the Working Group Anthropology of Global Inequalities will participate in the post-screening discussion about the film “Made in Bangladesh” (Rubaiyat Hossain, 2019, 95 Min.) to talk about the wider context of the film in relation…
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Saving sheep – On extinction narratives in Namibian Swakara farming – by Eleanor Schaumann
The Namibian Swakara industry, a type of sheep farming focused on the production of lamb pelts for the fashion industry, currently faces a crisis situation. Formerly one of the most important export products from Namibia, a combination of drought, falling pelt…
Keep readingBREATHING HEARTS: Sufism, Healing, and Anti-Muslim Racism in Germany – By Nasima Selim
Sufism is known as the mystical dimension of Islam. Breathing Hearts explores this definition to find out what it means to ‘breathe well’ along the Sufi path in the context of anti-Muslim racism. It is the first book-length ethnographic account of Sufi practices…
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‘Citizenship as incorporated beyond’ – Challenging national citizen–migrant categorisations with transnational (post)colonial relations of incorporating agrifood
21. Feb 2024, by Sabine Netz: Migrant activists in Bremen, Germany, challenge classifications of people as national citizens or migrants by highlighting the (post)colonial and capitalist relations that have contributed and continue to contribute to this citizen–migrant divide. Based on ethnographic…
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Anthroplogy Lecture Series: Antiracist Genomics (ANTIGEN): from ethnographic insights to speculative design
Speaker: Dr Ernesto Schwartz-Marin Lecturer in Sociology at University of Exeter Date and location: February 7, 6pm, in room S5 (in buildung GW II) Abstract: In 2003 the Human Genome Project claimed that race has no biological basis, since humanity shares 99.9% of its…
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Anthropology Lecture Series #6: Sustainable Suburbanism in the American West – An Unlikely Site for the Production of Environmental Subjects
21.11.2023 Rachel Heiman | The New School New York This talk draws on five summers of fieldwork in an unlikely site for the production of environmental subjects and expertise: a massive master-planned community in Utah spearheaded by one the largest mining…
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Anthropology Lecture Series #5: Exceptional Intimacy and the Ordinary Life of Crime in Burkina Faso
14.11.23 Melina C Kalfelis | University of Bayreuth This talk examines vigilante practices of restructuring of crime and violence in urban Burkina Faso. Focusing on the way koglweogo self-defense groups run prisons and mediate conflicts surrounding crime, I analyze vigilantes attempts…
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Anthropology Lecture Series #4: Making Sense with Rats: Transgressing Species in East Africa
07.11.2023 Jia Hui Lee | University of Bayreuth In English, the phrase ‘to make sense’ has several meanings. When something makes sense, it is considered intelligible or comprehensible; it can also refer to something that is wise or reasonable, “the right…
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ANTHROPOLOGY OF GLOBAL INEQUALITIES 