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March 2018 Newsletter
Report Docs&Deans Meeting and Follow up
On 28.02.2018 we had our latest Docs&Deans Meeting. The event took place at GSP; S17 and started with quite some delay around 4.30pm and ended after vivid discussions around 7:15pm. Docs and Deans meeting are the platform of exchange between JF and Deans of BIGSAS. –the detailed minutes read as follows:
1. (Naming of) interdisciplinary doctoral degrees
Junior Fellows state the problem that many PhD candidates are working on interdisciplinary projects and suggest that there could be degrees naming more than one discipline. Unfortunately, this is not possible. A Junior Fellow will always be listed under the discipline of the Supervisor. Due to administrative and legal issues this cannot be changed.
2. Funding Situation 2018/2019
As stated before all Junior Fellows can apply for funding (travel funding as well as finalization/transitional funding) within the year 2018. BIGSAS Administration cannot make any further statements above December 2018. Christine Scherer will send another email informing all Junior Fellows about this. 3. BIGSAS PR/ Extra-Curricular Activities Junior Fellows stated that they were several complaints about the BIGSAS PR, especially on Social Media. The concern was that Junior Fellows are portrayed more socially instead of using the opportunities of Social Media to discuss academic issues.
It is crucial that the Junior Fellows come up with ideas for content as well. Propositions for the PR Team:
Posting links to Publications of Junior Fellows Asking Junior Fellows to comment on current issues in African
countries/Politics/developments No photoshop of any kind of pictures Posting photos of people who defended stating their topic and discipline Meeting with PR Team to discuss ideas (short videos/podcasts of research topics for example) proposed
by PR
Team last summer Junior Fellows would like to know if people were asked for their consent prior to their pictures (taken at other occasions) being used for BIGSAS-material. Christine Scherer points out that every Junior Fellow signed a document when he/she got admitted that his/her pictures could be used by BIGSAS. The BIGSAS Team will send out an informative email to remind the Junior Fellows. If anyone would not like to have pictures posted or printed anywhere they can
Dear Junior Fellows, A couple of things have been going on in March. From the Docs&Deans Meeting, its follow up and the Election of the new JF-Reps we offer you insights on a couple of these events that took place. For future events do not miss to have a look at the extended version of your calendar.
Yours Hanna Lena and Sebastian
March 2018 Newsletter
contact the PR Team directly and inform them. Junior Fellows state that it would be understandable if non-academic activities are crucial to achieve further funding or increase the visibility of BIGSAS, but if so, this could be made transparent and incentives (such as certificates of participation) could be given to JFs who participated to acknowledge their investment of time and resources. BIGSAS Team agrees on that. If Junior Fellows would like to receive such certificates, please contact Christine Scherer.
4. Diversity Program
Susanne Mühleisen, the current Gender and Diversity Representative, excused herself on short notice before the beginning of the meeting. The Junior Fellow Representatives will approach her directly regarding the suggestions that were made by Junior Fellows (the attachment was sent prior to the Docs and Deans Meeting).
5. Defences/Involvement in Defences
This topic has not been discussed at the Docs and Deans Meeting due to lack of time. Junior Fellows suggest that the BIGSAS Team could be more involved in the defence process to show appreciation towards the academic achievement of the Junior Fellows. It is suggested to send a student assistant maybe to take pictures or print a BIGSAS Card where the Team congratulates them.
6. City of Augsburg –Opportunity for JF in qualifying ‚Geflüchtetenhelfer’
Christine Scherer informs the Junior Fellows that there have been requests on training German people who are involved with refugees from several (including African countries) parts of the world and do not have any knowledge about these people’s cultural backgrounds. Therefor BIGSAS has been approached whether Junior Fellows could give seminars and “teach” the people involved in such programs. Christine Scherer will send further information about these ideas.
7. Mediation between JF and Admin-Team
As a response to the call for topics for the Docs and Deans meeting, JF-Reps received e-mails which contributed to list of topics in several ways, but especially fed into a vivid discussion on the topic of mediation between JFs and the Admin Team. JF sending the statements expressed their wish to stay anonymous. In the written statements beside others, The feeling was expressed that groups of JF were occasionally preferred over others due to color, origin or treated in an undesirable manner. Deans and the Admin Team made clear that neither BIGSAS-structures nor the people working within BIGSAS do accept nor think in such categories and expressed their absolute disapproval. Present JFs expressed the likelihood of such statements being the opinion of single JF and due to harsh language frustrated individual but not representing the opinion of the majority. Though they urged JF-Reps to point out, who these people were, JF-
Reps made clear that fulfilling their obligations and the trust put into them they will not make the names of JF sending the mail public. Instead of tracing the JF writing the e-mails, JF-reps encouraged the group not to focus on the individuals concerned but rather on the issue at stake. Deans and JF stressed the need for a face -to-face discussion with the JF who expressed this opinion to be able to fully understand the arguments and in search of solutions. Other JFs pointed out that even if single persons are concerned, it still remains a matter to address why some JF n an open and cooperative structure like BIGSAS did not feel comfortable in expressing their discomfort directly. JF-Reps concluded that further exchange is needed and agreed on a follow up initiative like a round-table of JF. JF-Reps encouraged present JFs to send them written input on their standpoint to foster further discussion in order to search for solutions. Admin Team stressed
March 2018 Newsletter
their readiness and welcomed JF to get in touch directly to be able to eradicate misunderstandings as soon as they arise. Reflecting on examples from the discussion of misunderstandings between JFs and Admin Team the fact was stressed, that misunderstandings mostly occurred when Admin Team was trying to avoid giving JF a Headache with the German administration and implementing solutions in the interests of JFs. 8. „Structural dependency of JFs on the good-will of their Supervisors’ Junior Fellows stated that the dependency of them on the good-will of their Supervisor is strong and, in some cases, also difficult. They suggest that mentors could also sign applications. The BIGSAS Team disagrees and states that this could maybe lead to even bigger problems. They point out that the Supervisor in BIGSAS could always be changed.
9. Timing of the Docs&Deans meetings
Junior Fellows state that the date of the Docs and Deans Meeting was unfortunate since many people are on holidays or fieldwork and the information has been sent out on rather short notice. The Junior Fellow Representatives agree and apologize. They agree to set the date in the coming semester during the teaching period and at least 4 weeks in advance.
Participating Junior Fellows (as signed on the participants list): Sebastian Müller, Hanna Lena Reich, Benedict Arko, Fidele Guede, Adeyemi Balogun, Khadija Benthami, Brahima Diallo, Adama Drabo, Taha El Hadari, Aklilu Haile, Rogers Hansine, Musa Ibrahim, Paddy Kynera, Sabrina Maurus, Rami Wadelnour, Narcisse Wandji, Ahmed Saeed
Participating BIGSAS Deans and Members of the Administration Team: Dean Prof. Dr. Dymitr Ibriszimow, Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Martina Drescher, Coordinator Dr. Christine Scherer, Juliane Fender
We thank all people who participated in the meeting and the input given.
Follow up on Docs&Deans Meeting
To follow up on the Docs&Deans Meeting where many Junior Fellows participated we met again to discuss the way forward and come up with solutions for the problems we identified in the discussion. Even though we were a small group of people it was a productive meeting and the JF Reps were very grateful for the input. In the meeting we agreed that it would be a great opportunity to organize a (Social) Media Workshop. We are planning to invite a professional Social Media Manager who can teach us some methods on how to use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Blogs and so on in a professional way to create more visibility for our research projects. The idea is to create a more scientific PR- Approach within BIGSAS and not only cover our social activities. This could be an opportunity to work closely with the BIGSAS PR Team as well.
Furthermore, the JF Reps will set up a meeting with the Administration Team from BIGSAS to discuss the issues raised during the Docs and Deans Meeting (feeling of consistency and equal treatment). We agreed that there might be many misunderstandings in the communication between ourselves and the Admin-Team/BIGSAS Staff. For us JF Reps we would make clear that Projects like BIGSAS@School for example are about informing and providing information and not “Representing”.
We would like to remind all of you that the Junior Fellows are a TEAM and that we should be able to help each other whenever needed. This also includes being friendly and sensitive towards our colleagues as well as the Staff at BIGSAS. The JF Reps can always be contacted if there are any issues which need to be discussed, if you have ideas you want to present or if you need help. Don’t hesitate to contact us personally (we usually both sit in the library), via Email or Phone.
March 2018 Newsletter
JF-Reps elections - Our Election committee 2018
Each semester JF-Reps are elected and for each election at least three JFs are need as volunteers
for the election committee. They are responsible for compiling the list of candidates and liaise
with the University of Bayreuth Graduate School to setup the electronic voting system.
For this spring term the following three JFs volunteered as election committee, from right to left:
Alžběta Šváblová is doing her
PhD in Development Sociology
on Actor interaction and
institution-building in post-war
Liberia
Maike Voigt is doing her PhD in
Social Anthropology on: Soziale
Mobilität von Unternehmern
der Mittelschicht in Kisumu,
Kenia
Diana Carolina Mignano is
doing her PhD in Social
Anthropology on: Liebe,
Verliebtheit und Sexualität im
Kontext der Prostitution in
Diego Suarez (Madagaskar)
Thank you all for your time and efforts in volunteering
to prepare and conduct the elections!
JF-Reps elections – Notice on the election process
In the process of nominating candidates there were there candidates at the beginning of March. Yet one candidate decided to withdraw his candidacy. In an effort to keep the process as democratic as possible, the call for candidates was re-opened for another week after the deadline of nominating candidates had passed. No new nominations were received. The election committee therefore proposed that current JF Reps Hanna Lena Reich and Sebastian Müller (the remaining two candidate) should remain in office as long as no objections were raised from the side of JFs. No alternative suggestions to the current situation were expressed by the JF. Therefore on 30.03.2018, the election committee announced Hanna Lena Reich and Sebastian Müller to remain the JF Representatives for the next six months.
March 2018 Newsletter
To give them a face once more: Your old and new JF-Reps
My name is Hanna Lena Reich and I am doing a PhD in
Anthropology. My project title is „Perceptions of the night in
Nairobi, Kenya“. I am a BIGSAS JF-Fellow since April 2015. I
have served as your Representative together with Sebastian
since October 2017.
My name is Sebastian MÜLLER. I am doing my PhD in Development
Sociology working on Islamic charity and Faith-based
Organisations (FBOs) in Tanzania. I am a BIGSAS JF-Fellow since
April 2015 and have served as JF-Rep since October 2017.
Relocation of BIGSAS offices and clearance of storage facilities
in workstations
BIGSAS offices will be relocated from the 2nd floor of GSP to the Musiktrakt in late April/early
May. Some of the rooms will have other functions after the relocation. This is the case for the
workstations in Musiktrakt in room 367 and the workstations in the rooms 356 and 356.1 as
well as the workstation on the second floor (room 426.2). The cupboards, shelves and
moveable storage containers which are currently containing your personal belongings must
be cleared by latest 3 April 2018. Please make sure to take everything that is important to you.
Otherwise, it will be disposed. Please leave the keys to all cupboards and moveable storage
containers in the respective locks.
Extract from the notice circultated by Juliane Fender
March 2018 Newsletter
MAINAUENLAUF- We need Runners!!
The annual Bayreuth Mainauenlauf will take place on Sunday the 17th of June. BIGSAS was
represented in the past couple of years by a running team and we wanted to ask if some of you are
interested in joining again this year!
It is possible to run either 5 kilometres or 10, that is your decision to make. Please let us know if
you want to run in a BIGSAS Team. T-Shirts would be provided and your fellow colleagues will
come to cheer for you!
*Invitation to new members * - BIGSAS Works Group Governance in Africa
The BIGSAS Work Group on Governance in Africa hopes to bring together academics interested in undertaking research to provide fact-based knowledge on governance in Africa. The group aims to understand, contribute to and promote knowledge of Governance as it pertains to key thematic areas including energy, democracy and decentralisation and local responsive governance. Through regular meetings, members will deliberate and analyse the concept of Governance and current debates using comparative cases from the global north and Africa. It will offer a platform to reflect on global best practices and how it can be contextualised and or translated to the needs of African institutions and vice versa. The workgroup will organize public lectures, seminars and joint publications to stimulate discussions on new paradigms for Governance in Africa.
Members of BIGSAS interested in joining should contact the team: [email protected].
Visit to Bayreuth mosque - Wed. 18.4.18, 7pm
In conversations with fellow JFs, we realized that most of us have had little chance to get in touch with religious communities other than the ones we happened to grow up in. Now here is your opportunity to change this: On Wednesday, 18.4.18 at 7 p.m., we are invited to Bayreuth Taqwa Mosque, Gabelsbergerstr. 11, to meet with the Imam, get an introduction and have a Q&A session where, as he emphasized, 'any question is welcome'. If you are interested, let me know (Email [email protected] or Whatsapp +49 176 61928743) to receive updates shortly before the visit. I am hoping to turn this into a series of visits including the Bayreuth synagogue/Jewish community and an (orthodox?) church. Further suggestions are welcome!”
March 2018 Newsletter
BIGSAS-Workshop on demand: MANAGING PROJECTS –
PREPARATION-CONDUCT- EVALUATION Tools and skills for
the management of (scientific) projects (22nd-23rd March,
2018). Project-Management
The BIGSAS Work Group African Union required the necessity to get trained on project management skills (Planning, implementation, and evaluation) and got the approval of the Management Board. This gave the chance to 12 Junior Fellows to learn and share their experiences with regard to how to efficiently manage projects both in academia and on the private economic market (private firms etc.). During the two days (22nd-23rd of March) the participants enhanced and expanded their knowledge on the core subject through individual and group works and discussions. The active participation of Junior Fellows was not only theoretical but included also their practical involvements in form of an exercise in which a situation of a project to be managed has been simulated. The Junior Fellows were privileged to close the workshop with an interesting interaction with the guest lecturer Prof. Dr. Sardar M. Kohistani spontaneously invited by the lecturer in accordance with the participants. Prof. Dr. Sardar M. Kohistani – a Geographer who studied in Gießen- conducted diverse academic projects together with German and Afghan colleagues and partners. Exchanging with him about his experiences was an add value the workshop closed with.
Hanza Diman
March 2018 Newsletter
PhD/Postdoc writing colloquium ‘Energy & Society in Africa’
Uli Beisel is starting a PhD/Postdocs writing colloquium on the topic of Energy & Society in Africa. The purpose of the meetings is to present writing in progress (e.g. draft PhD chapters, draft journal articles etc) to the group in writing and get feedback on it in the sessions. If there is demand, related academic articles can be read and discussed. Everyone working on and/or interested in the topic Energy & Society in Africa is warmly invited to join. The first dates for the colloquium are as follows:
Tuesdays from 2-4pm on the following dates: 20th March, 10th April, 1st May, 15th May, 29th May, 12th June,26th June, 10th July
HOW TO get additional training?
BIGSAS offers so-called courses on demand. So, if you feel you could use some training in e.g. ‘interview research’, ‘critical discourse analysis’, ‘Presenting in English’,...draft an email and have BIGSAS admins or JF Reps ([email protected]) circulate it through the mailing list. If four or more people come together, you can write an application and then suggest a program including a trainer (with at least three different offers due to new funding regulations of the UBT) to BIGSAS. If your application is approved you will get the specialized training you want. Make sure that everyone interested has a fair chance to participate! Consider that BIGSAS is the final year of its current funding scheme. Applications therefore have to be submitted latest in October 2018 to be considered.
BIGSAS @School report – Africa Day at MWG Bayreuth
On 27th of February, a group of five Junior Fellows (Allen, Hanza, Wandji, Yemi and Lena) plus
one Alumna (Jennifer) participated in a project called Africa Day at a school (MWG Bayreuth) to
organize workshops taking on topics regarding our PhD Projects or other current debates
regarding the African continent. The Africa Day was planned by geography teachers from the
school in collaboration with the Bigsas@School Project which has been going on for many years.
From Migration to African movies, Digitalization to Postcolonialism, schooling in Africa to
conflicts and wars. Each Junior Fellow prepared a 90min workshop which we repeated with a
different group. To give the students the possibility to hear about the workshops they could not
attend personally we had a plenary where they could inform each other about the things they have
learned and were able to ask us questions they had after reflecting on the information they
gathered during the workshops. Overall it was an interesting experience for both sides, revealing
though that there are many stereotypes regarding the African continent (“I did not know that
there are cities in Africa” or “I learned today that people in Africa also live in houses”) which could
be diminished with projects like Bigsas@School. Knowing that “Africa” is not discussed widely in
the curricula in Germany, whether in Geography, History or any other subject, it was a great
opportunity for us to give the students some insight information, working in and on issues
regarding many African countries. On 15th of May there will be another Bigsas@School taking place in Nürnberg. Please contact Mirjam Straßer if you would like to participate!
Hanna Lena
March 2018 Newsletter
PASSED EVENTS AND SAVE THE DATES!
28.02.2018 Defense Umar Ahmed, K5, GW I, 02:00pm
01.03.2018 Deadline Call for Panels International Conference: Vienna Anthropology Days,
http://vanda.univie.ac.at/home/, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
02.03.2018 Defense Blaise Muhire, Land, Power and Identity: The politics of scale and violent
conflict in Masisi, “D.R.Congo”, Campus GWI, S120, 09:00am
08.03.2018 Deadline for Applications Exploratory Workshops “Mobility –Knowledge –
Society”, Forum Transregionale Studien e.V., Berlin, www.forum-transregionale-studien.de
12.03.2018 Workshop of Work group African Union - Conference and public Events chairing
10.03.2018 Deadline - Call for papers Workshop“Revisiting Dams in Africa”, Point Sud
Centre, Maputo, Mozambique, for details contact [email protected]
19-20.03.2018 Workshop of the working group African Union: How to manage a Project from
the proposal to the evaluation
26.03.2018 Application Deadline - BIGSAS colloquium
27.03.2018 Lecture "Re-making class, race and nation: black middle class and new elites in
Brazil and South Africa", 6.30pm, Iwalewahaus
02.-03.05.2018 International Conference: Didactics of Languages: Challenges of Innovation,
Morocco, Marrakech
31.03.2018: Application Deadline Summer Seminar on Nationalism, Religion and Violence
2018, www.nrvsschool.fsv.cuni.cz, Prague
31.03.2018 Applications Deadline Summer School “Good Work in Academia: Perspectives
from Academics, Politics and Society”, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung,
Berlin www.wzb.eu/gute-arbeit
9-13.04.2018 Conference UAS Spring Campus Moving Beyond the Ivory Tower: How do
Science and Universities Contribute to the Sustainability Transformation?, Freie Universität
Berlin
10.04.2018 Workshop Education in Africa, University of Bayreuth, maike.voigt@uni-
bayreuth.de and [email protected]
18.04.2018 Visit to Bayreuth Mosque, 19h, contact: [email protected] or Whatsapp +49 176 61928743
12-14.04.2018 Workshop Those Who Stay: how out-migration affects West African societies,
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, www.eth.mpg.d
23.04.2018 Public lecture - Climate Change and Gender Justice in Ethiopia, 6 pm, Iwalewahaus
March 2018 Newsletter
2- PASSED EVENTS AND SAVE THE DATES
26-27.04.2018 Conference of the Developmental Sociology/ Social Anthropology Section
(ESSA) of the German Sociological Association (DGS) „ Resistance and Utopia – alternative
visions of development and the future “ University of Bayreuth
30.04.2018 Application Deadline Summer Seminar on Nationalism, Religion and Violence,
Prague, nrvsschool.fsv.cuni.cz
9-13.05.2018 International Ethnographic Film Festival (GIEFF), Florinsmarkt in Koblenz,
www.gieff.de
06.05.2018 Application deadline: Interdisciplinary Conference: Nation and Society;
Copernicus Graduate School; University in Toruń; Poland, www.cgs.umk.pl
12.05.2018 BIGSAS exchange forum ‘Young scholars of African literatures’. Iwalewahaus,
further Info [email protected]/[email protected]
18-22.05.2018 Conference Model African Union 2018, www.modelafricanunion.de
28.05-01.06.2018 Summer School “Good Work in Academia: Perspectives from Academics,
Politics and Society”, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Berlin
www.wzb.eu/gute-arbeit
17-19.06.2018 Workshop “Revisiting Dams in Africa”, Point Sud Centre Maputo, Mozambique,
for details contact [email protected]
18-29.06.2018 Summer Seminar on Nationalism, Religion and Violence, Prague,
nrvsschool.fsv.cuni.cz
22.06.2018 Application deadline Prague Summer School of Journalism (1 September ‒ 15
September 2018), [email protected]
27-30.06.2018 Music Master Class “Valuing Music” Department of Anthropology and African
Studies, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/3432.php
29–30.06.2018 Interdisciplinary Conference: Nation and Society; Copernicus Graduate
School; University in Toruń; Poland, www.cgs.umk.pl
16-20.07.2018 Congress IUAES 18th World Congress, Florianopolis, Brazil,
www.iuaes2018.org
01.09.-15.09.2018 Prague Summer School of Journalism: CROSS-PLATFORM FOREIGN
CORRESPONDENCE, [email protected]
11-13.09.2018 Conference Lagos Studies Association Stream - ASAUK, African Studies
Association (UK), https://lagosstudies.wcu.edu
19-22.09.2018 Conference: Vienna Anthropology Days, vanda.univie.ac.at, University of
Vienna, Vienna, Austria
March 2018 Newsletter
3- PASSED EVENTS AND SAVE THE DATES
26.-27.09.2018 Conference “Digitalisation in Africa: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
Technology, Development, and Justice”, Tübingen, Germany, www.da-ethics2018.de
01.09.-15.09.2018 Prague Summer School of Journalism: CROSS-PLATFORM FOREIGN
CORRESPONDENCE, [email protected]
19-22.09.2018 Conference: Vienna Anthropology Days, vanda.univie.ac.at, University of
Vienna, Vienna, Austria
11-13.09.2018 Conference Lagos Studies Association Stream - ASAUK, African Studies
Association (UK), https://lagosstudies.wcu.edu
26-27.09.2018 Conference “Digitalisation in Africa: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
Technology, Development, and Justice”, Tübingen, Germany, www.da-ethics2018.de
15.03.2018. Deadline- Call for papers - Conference “Digitalisation in Africa: Interdisciplinary
Perspectives on Technology, Development, and Justice”, Tübingen, Germany, www.da-
ethics2018.de
18-29.06.2018 Summer Seminar on Nationalism, Religion and Violence 2018,
nrvsschool.fsv.cuni.cz, Prague
26-28.09.2018 4th Vienna Ethnography Lab “Infrastructures: Imagination, Materiality,
Process” University of Vienna, Austria,
https://ksa.univie.ac.at/institut/veranstaltungen/vienna-ethnography-laboratories
5-06.10.2018– Annual Meeting Medical Anthropology Young Scholar (MAYS) Network,
“Creative Methods and Participatory Arts Research in Medical Anthropolog, FU Berlin,
https://mayseasa.org
14-17.11.2018 Conference Cultural Sustainability, Performance and the Sustainable
Development Goals in Time of Crisis, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, further info:
March 2018 Newsletter
HOW TO contact the JF reps? Email: [email protected] Phone: Hanna Lena : 0157-75811107 Sebastian: 0175 763 81 17
If you have suggestions or information to
add or if you would like to report about a
certain activity, feel free to email us at
Yours Hanna Lena & Sebastian