HFG African Fellows at the African Studies Association of the UK
September 26, 2024
(NEW YORK) – As the culmination of their terms as HFG African Fellows, The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation recently sponsored sixteen awardees to attend the African Studies Association of the UK (ASAUK) sixtieth-anniversary conference at Oxford Brookes University.
Harry Frank Guggenheim African Fellows are emerging scholars working on research projects relevant to the Foundation’s mission of studying the origins of and remedies to violence.
HFG African Fellows receive fieldwork research grants, mentoring from senior African and Africanist scholars, and the opportunity to participate in an in-person research methodology workshop on the African continent.
Throughout the ASAUK conference and across a range of panel discussions, the fellows, from the Foundation’s 2019–20 and 2023–24 cohorts, presented their HFG-supported research on topics ranging from timely issues of electoral and separatist violence to long-standing challenges, including intimate partner violence and transitional justice in post-conflict settings.
Ahead of the ASAUK conference, HFG Program Officer and lead organizer of the African Fellow Awards, Nyeleti Honwana said, “It’s been a privilege to support the growth of our fellows. The fellows’ knowledge and insights are crucial to shaping the future of African studies.”
HFG Publishing Workshop
The conference featured an HFG first—a day-long publishing workshop connecting fellows with international journal editors to discuss successful approaches to the academic publication process and enhancing the representation of early-career African scholars in leading peer-reviewed journals.
ASAUK President Carli Coetzee and global portfolio director for the humanities and media at Taylor and Francis/Routledge Janet Remmingtonled a discussion of scholars’ experiences submitting their work to peer-reviewed journals. Simbarashe Gukurume, an HFG grantee and program alum, was joined by Surer Mohamed, HFG Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, for a roundtable discussion on the importance of self-care while building an academic career and developing long-term relationships with journals.
HFG is grateful to Coetzee (who is also editor of the Journal of African Cultural Studies) and her fellow editors, Siphokazi Magadla (Journal of Contemporary African Studies), Ambreena Manji (African Affairs), Sandra Manuel (Feminist Africa), and Pamela Scully (Journal of Southern African Studies) for leading small-group discussions with the fellows. These were seen by many participants as a highlight of their time at the ASAUK.
Of his experience at the conference, HFG 2019–20 African Fellow Martin Ihembe said, “Thank you to HFG for gathering fantastic editors of some of the leading journals in Africa and beyond… We hope to keep the relationship with the Foundation and with the editors who have given us the opportunity to grow in our [academic] pursuits.”
HFG ASAUK Reception
At HFG’s African Fellows Reception, Program Officer Nyeleti Honwana led a conversation with HFG Pembroke Fellow Surer Mohamed about the importance of supporting emerging and early-career African scholarship. They discussed what holistic philanthropic support looks like beyond grants, how to support scholars in building sustainable academic careers, and how to cultivate intellectual communities both on and off the African continent. The reception brought together HFG grantees from the African Fellows as well as Distinguished and Emerging Scholars awards.
Applications for the 2025–2026 African Fellow Awards will open on November 1, 2024. Application information is available here.
HFG’s 2023–24 African Scholars are:
- Doyinsola Oluwagbemi Agunbiade (University of Ibadan)
- Benyin Akande (University of Uyo)
- Adventino Banjwa (Makerere University)
- Kigambo Gaaki (University of Cape Town)
- Marie-Grace Kagoyire Gasinzigwa (Universiteit Stellenbosch)
- Yosef Sintayehu Jemberie (Makerere University)
- Awet Halefom Kahsay (Addis Ababa University)
- Learnmore Mvundura (University of the Witwatersrand)
- Kenechukwu Nwachukwu (Makerere University)
- Jacob Tagarirofa (University of the Free State)
HFG’s 2019–20 African Scholars are:
- Jacqueline Adongo (Makerere University)
- Stephen David (Stellenbosch University)
- Florence Ncube (University of the Western Cape)
- Elizabeth Animashaun (University of Ibadan)
- Khanyile Mlotshwa (University of KwaZulu-Natal).
- Charlotte Ofori (University of Ghana)
- Martin Ihembe (University of Ibadan)
- Chenai Matshaka (University of Pretoria)
- Isaac Dery (University of the West Indies)
- Michael Owojuyigbe (University of Ibadan)
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation is a leader in creating and disseminating knowledge on the nature, consequences, and reduction of violence in its many forms, including war, crime, and human aggression.
For more information contact:
Nyeleti Honwana, Program Officer
info@hfg.org | 646.428.0971