Columbia University Institute of African Studies

10/20/2026

Beyond Return: Creating New Communities through Restitution

What does it mean for a cultural object to return, and who gets to shape the narrative of its homecoming?

Join Columbia University Seminar 509 on the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas for a talk by Dr. Anna Brus (University of Cologne) examining the politics of restitution through the work of the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League (CATPC) and Renzo Martens at the 2024 Venice Biennale.

Focusing on the contested return of the Balot sculpture, associated with the 1931 Pende revolt against colonial exploitation, Brus explores how narratives of restitution intersect with questions of identity, authenticity, and power.

Thursday, October 22, 2026
6:30 PM
Schermerhorn Hall, Room 934
Columbia University

Registration required by 12 PM on Wednesday, October 21.

Image: Film still from The Return of Balot (2024), CATPC. Photograph by Jurgen Lisse, courtesy of the Mondriaan Fund.

10/19/2026

Join us for the inaugural seminar of the Ifriqiyya Colloquium this academic year!

This Wednesday, October 21, we welcome Professor Zubairu Wai, recently appointed Executive Secretary of CODESRIA, for a discussion of Africanist knowledge, the colonial library, and the challenges of thinking Africa beyond inherited colonial frameworks.

Drawing on his work Thinking the Colonial Library: Mudimbe, Gnosis, and the Predicament of Africanist Knowledge, Professor Wai will explore the enduring influence of colonial knowledge systems on African Studies and contemporary efforts toward epistemic decolonization.

Professor Mahmood Mamdani will serve as discussant.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026
4:10–6:00 PM
Knox Hall, Room 208
Columbia University

Reception to follow at 6:00 PM. Meet CODESRIA’s incoming Executive Secretary and reconnect with colleagues over refreshments.

DecolonizingKnowledge ColumbiaUniversity

10/05/2026

Congratulations to IAS faculty affiliate Amy Zhou (Barnard College) on the publication of her new book, Unequal Worlds of Care: The Politics of Global Health in Malawi.

The book examines how policymakers, healthcare providers, and patients navigate a health system unevenly shaped by foreign aid, with particular attention to HIV/AIDS programs and the broader realities of accessing and delivering care in Malawi.

Amy will discuss the book in conversation with Sanyu Mojola (Princeton) and Nitsan Chorev (Brown) on Monday, October 19, 6–8 PM at Barnard College.

HIV BarnardCollege ColumbiaUniversity NewBook BookTalk

07/05/2026

Calling all current Columbia graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working on Africa and African topics!

The Institute of African Studies is gathering information to better understand and support graduate and postdoctoral work across Columbia.

Please take a few minutes to complete the IAS Graduate Student Survey and share it with Columbia graduate students and postdoctoral fellows whose research, teaching, or interests engage Africa and African topics.

Survey link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeyxZ3hGr22CWB4VgnILVQXKpo4ZncuCC0V4PqeZwfTjghQgQ/viewform?usp=header

Thank you for helping us build a stronger network around African Studies at Columbia.

AfricaAtColumbia IASColumbia

05/19/2026

05/04/2026

Student Conversation with Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi W**e)

Join us for a conversation with Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu musician, activist, and Ugandan political leader also known worldwide as Bobi W**e on youth political participation, civic engagement, and what good governance means for the next generation. Kyagulanyi has spent years mobilizing young people across Uganda and beyond, championing the idea that youth voices belong at the center of political life. Now stateside, he is meeting with communities, students, and advocates to discuss the future of democracy and the responsibility young people carry in shaping it.

Monday, May 4, 5-7pm, 208 Knox Hall.

Come ready to listen, ask questions, and be part of the conversation. Follow link in stories. CUID required.

05/01/2026

It’s Friday!! We’re back at you with Africa House’s Playlist of the Week!

This week’s playlist is a deep dive into Zimbabwe through the eyes of guest curators Roli Nyirenda (CC ’26) , and Linda Anotida (CC ‘26) .anotida.

It tells a collective story of how they were exposed to the depth and beauty of Zimbabwean music from a young age, from the music of struggle and liberation from artists like Thomas Mapfumo—“The Lion of Zimbabwe”—to its evolution into modern mainstream contexts across Afro Jazz, RnB, Dance Hall, Hip Hop, and House. Does this pique your musical mind? Zoom into Zim, and let’s vibe!

Link to the Africa House Spotify in bio.

ChimurengaMusic AfricanMusic AfroJazz AfricanDiaspora Afrobeats RnB Dancehall HipHop HouseMusic MusicDiscovery NowPlaying ColumbiaUniversity StudentVoices

04/26/2026

60 Years of Ethiopian Jazz in New York City

Saturday, May 2 | 3:00 PM – Sunset | Sakura Park

Celebrate with Africa House, the Columbia University Ethiopian and Eritrean Student Association (EESA), and students from across campus and the Northeast as we mark 60 years of Ethiopian jazz in New York City.

For one afternoon, Sakura Park becomes a live, open-air gathering of music, history, and community. Featuring performances by Haile Supreme, Adey, Leeben, Aida, Maraki, and Javier, the event brings together the soundscape of Ethiopian jazz with the cultural traditions that shaped it. A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony and homemade Ethiopian food anchor the afternoon—creating space not just to listen, but to experience.

From 3:00 PM to sunset, join students, faculty, and the wider public for an immersive celebration of one of Africa’s most influential musical traditions—its global reach, its histories, and its ongoing life in New York City.

Free and open to the public.

This event is made possible with support from the Columbia Dean of Humanities, the Institute of African Studies, the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS), the Center for Jazz Studies, the Columbia University Ethiopian and Eritrean Student Association (EESA), and the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS). NYCJazz LiveJazzNYC AfricanDiaspora AfricaHouse ColumbiaUniversity SakuraPark HabeshaMusic