Institute of African Studies

08/04/2026

Through his lens, Ghana was not just seen — it was remembered.

Join us for an exhibition in honour of Gerald Annan-Forson, a photographer whose work captured history, identity, and everyday life with depth and honesty.

This is an opportunity to experience the stories behind the images and reflect on a legacy that continues to shape how we see our past.

📍 Venue : Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana
📅 Date: 9th April, 2026 - 9th May, 2026 | ⏰ Time: 9am - 4pm each day

We look forward to welcoming you.

13/02/2026

The Institute of African Studies proudly celebrates the outstanding and remarkable achievements of our newest PhD graduates. As we say in Akan "Anwenepa Nkasa" which translates quality beads do not rattle. We wish you greater heights ahead.

12/01/2026

Congratulations on this remarkable achievement !!

23/10/2024

PUBLIC LECTURE

23/10/2024

Join us live on youtube now!!

https://youtube.com/live/ohEAVplQpjk?feature=share

FIRST ANNIVERSARY PUBLIC LECTURE IN HONOUR OF THE LATE AKOTO AMPAW (SHEEY SHEEY)

PUBLIC LECTURE

07/10/2024

You are cordially invited to the "8TH KOBINA SEKYI MEMORIAL LECTURE" scheduled as follows:
Date: Friday, 11th October, 2024.
Time: 2.00pm prompt.
Hybrid: In Person, - J.H. Nketia Conference Hall, Kwame Nkrumah Complex Building, Institute of African Studies.

On Zoom link: https://shorturl.at/Gd52E

or scan the QRC in the flyer below to YouTube live: https://youtube.com/live/_BzV0r65_Y4?feature=share

Kindly refer to the flyer (attached and below) for details.

08/12/2023

Join the Institute of African Studies and Ghana Dance Emsemble yearl-long 60th Anniversary Celebrations, starting 14 Dec as we reflect on Dr. Nkrumah's mandate in the African Genius speech.

03/10/2020

Save the Date: October 8, 2020 | 15:00 - 16:30 (GMT)

Annual AngloGold Ashanti Lectures on Business in Africa

Join us
https://bit.ly/IAS-AGA-Lecture

Meeting ID: 941 0806 5436
Passcode: 443681

24/08/2020

DIALOGUE SERIES | SPECTRES OF CRISIS, RAYS OF HOPE | #4

REVISITING THE LAND AND AGRARIAN QUESTIONS IN AFRICA

Agrarian transition in Africa has been stalled for the last six decades. Land-based social reproduction thus remains crucial for many people. Yet the latter is bedevilled by a multiplex of crises reflected in widespread gendered poverty, hunger and food insecurity. The entrenchment of the pe*******on of (foreign) capital in rural areas, with state support, has until now failed to transform the countryside. Not only did the COVID 19 pandemic magnify the protracted agrarian crisis, but it also decimated ‘vulnerable’ formal employment. The re-peasantisation that ensued reinforces the importance of land in social reproduction. It is in this context that in the fourth session of our Dialogue Series we are revisiting the land and agrarian questions with a view of mapping out possibilities for the much-needed re-organisation of the agrarian sector that requires urgent attention.

Dr Walter Chambati is Executive Director of The Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies, Harare, Zimbabwe, and Associate Editor of Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy. He has published extensively on land, labour and agrarian relations in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. He is co-editor of Rethinking the Social Sciences with Sam Moyo (Tulika Books, 2020), as well as of the forthcoming Labour Questions in the Global South (Springer) and Farming and Working under Contract: Peasants and Workers in Global Agricultural Value Systems (Tulika Books).

Key Speaker
Walter Chambati, Executive Director, The Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Discussant
Archana Prasad
Professor, CISLS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Moderator
Masego Madzwamuse
CEO, Southern Africa Trust, South Africa

Book Release
Rethinking the Social Sciences with Sam Moyo
(with co-editors Paris Yeros & Praveen Jha)

http://www.bit.ly/ROHWebinar4

Date and Time
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Mexico City 08-10:00 ∙ São Paulo 10-12:00 ∙ Accra 13-15:00 ∙ Harare 15-17:00 ∙ Dar es Salaam 16-18:00 ∙ New Delhi 18:30-20:30 ∙ Beijing 21-23:00

11/08/2020

DIALOGUE SERIES | SPECTRES OF CRISIS, RAYS OF HOPE | #3

CHINA'S NEW DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES

This third session of our Dialogue Series will examine how China is dealing with the current global crisis. China’s policies to counter the crisis rely on maintaining investment-led growth, however, this has incurred an over-expansion of credits and serious debts, as in the West under financial capitalism. The current challenge is whether China can deploy the strategy of rural vitalization to turn to an ecological civilization.

Key Speakers
Sit Tsui
Associate Professor, Institute of Rural Reconstruction of China, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

Kin Chi Lau
Professor, Global University for Sustainability & Department of Cultural Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China

Discussant
Praveen Jha
Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning & Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Moderator
Joshua Nyoni
Chair of Board of Trustees of The Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies, Zimbabwe

Register in advance
www.bit.ly/rohwebinar3

Date and Time
August 12, 2020 (Wednesday)
Mexico City 08-10:00 ∙ São Paulo 10-12:00 ∙ Accra 13-15:00 ∙ Harare 15-17:00 ∙ Dar es Salaam 16-18:00 ∙ New Delhi 18:30-20:30 ∙ Beijing 21-23:00

23/07/2020

DIALOGUE SERIES | SPECTRES OF CRISIS, RAYS OF HOPE | #2
The Pitfalls of Nationalism

Key Speaker
Issa Shivji
Eminent Marxist scholar and Pan-Africanist

Discussant
Dzodzi Tsikata
Research Professor (development sociology) and Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.

Moderator
Sandeep Chachra
Executive Director, ActionAid Association (India)

Date & Time:
July 29, 2020 (Wednesday)
Mexico City 08-10:00 ∙ São Paulo 10-12:00 ∙ Accra 13-15:00 ∙ Harare 15-17:00 ∙ Dar es Salaam 16-18:00 ∙ New Delhi 18:30-20:30 ∙ Beijing 21-23:00

Issa G. Shivji is Professor Emeritus of Public Law and First Julius Nyerere Professor of Pan-African Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Professor Shivji is an eminent Marxist scholar and Pan-Africanist, and one of Africa's leading experts on law and development issues. He has published widely on the renewal of Pan-Africanism, the problems of democracy in Africa, and the evolution of land and agrarian questions under imperialism. His latest book is the long-awaited political biography of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Development as Rebellion: A Biography of Julius Nyerere, co-authored with Saida Yahya-Othman and Ng’wanza Kamata. In this second session of our Dialogue Series, the authors will launch their book to our global audience and Professor Shivji will then proceed to address the problems and trajectories of nationalism, its relationship to Pan-Africanism and its appropriation today by right-wing and reactionary forces.

Book launch
Development as Rebellion: A Biography of Julius Nyerere
with co-authors: Saida Yahya-Othman, retired professor of English Linguistics, University of Dar es Salaam and Ng'wanza Kamata, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Dar es Salaam

Register in advance:
www.bit.ly/ROHWebinar2
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Core Partners
Agrarian South Network
The Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies, Zimbabwe
ActionAid Association, India

Supporting partners
Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana
Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India
Pós-graduação em Economia Política Mundial, Universidade Federal do ABC, Brazil
Global University for Sustainability, Hong Kong, China
Núcleo Educacional de Tecnologias e Línguas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Brazil