Doing Fieldwork in Africa
“Doing Fieldwork in Africa” will help researchers and practitioners visiting Africa to better comprehend the research, ethical and practical issues involved in making field trips to the continent, arming them with the critical tools for successful field trips, and putting them in better positions to make informed decisions.
(c) Victor Ehikhamenor
This two day institute will provide participants with skills and insights in topics such as research and project ethics, engaging with stakeholders, gender dynamics, and more. The Institute is geared towards both those who are preparing for their first field trips to Africa and those who have more experience. Through a combination of hands-on exercises and seminar presentations, participants will enhance their preparedness for their upcoming trip to Africa.
Organized by Carleton University’s Institute of African Studies, the “Doing Fieldwork in Africa” Summer Institute is led by Professor Tim Shaw and Professor Jane Parpart, both of whom have decades of research experience in Africa. They will be complemented by professors from Africa and from the Institute of African Studies who will help facilitate the learning.
Program
Day One: “‘Big ideas ’and Laying the Groundwork”
Morning: Tim Shaw discusses Africa beyond 2015: more or less agency?
Africa in the 21st century has been growing economically which opens up innovative policy possibilities for sustainable governance. But it also faces a daunting range of ’emerging’ issues such as global warming, the water-energy-food nexus, regional conflicts, alienated youthful populations, migrations/remittances, drugs & guns, range of fundamentalisms, narcostates, capital flight etc. Post-2015, will there be more ‘developmental’ or ‘fragile’ states on the continent?
45 minute talk followed by directed discussion
Afternoon: Break-Out Sessions followed by report-back and discussion.
Session 1
- a) Why Understanding Culture Matters (Nduka Otiono as lead facilitator)
- b) Ethics and the researcher/project worker (Blair Rutherford as lead facilitator)
Session 2
- a) Why Understanding Culture Matters (Nduka Otiono as lead facilitator)
- b) Ethics and the researcher/project worker (Blair Rutherford as lead facilitator)
Day Two: “‘Big Ideas’ around security, conflict, gender and ethics”
Morning: Jane Parpart discusses Imagined Peace, Gender Relations and Post-Conflict Transformation: anti-colonial and post-Cold War conflicts
African security issues need to be understood as gendered and complicated terrains. Gendered experiences and understandings of conflicts and their impact on narratives of an imagined peace also influence post-conflict transformations. There are both hegemonic and alternative narratives and practices. These alternative gender practices often inspired dreams of a more gender equal post-conflict world, hopes fueled by official narratives promising just that. Yet, these promises have rarely been fulfilled.
45 minute talk followed by break-out sessions on security issues and navigating spaces for productive research and engagement
Afternoon: Break-Out Sessions followed by report-back and discussion.
- Session 1
- a) Security, Gender and Emotions (Jane Parpart as lead facilitator)
- b) Why Understanding Culture & Gender Matters (Sarah Kinyanjui as lead facilitator)
Session 2
- a) Natural resource governance (Tim Shaw as lead facilitator)
- b) Why Understanding Culture & Gender Matters (Sarah Kinyanjui as lead facilitator)
The full agenda can be found here.
Speakers will include:
- Tim Shaw (University of Massachusetts [Boston])
- Jane Parpart (University of Massachusetts [Boston])
- Sarah Kinyanjui (University of Nairobi)
- Nduka Otiono
- Blair Rutherford
- Doris Buss
Date and time: 9:00am-5:00pm | Saturday, June 6 – Sunday, June 7, 2015
Location: 2017 Dunton Tower, Carleton University
Enrolment Fee: The registration fee for the seminar is $400.00 plus HST per person or $200.00 plus HST for current students. The registration fee includes two days of instruction, coffee breaks and lunches. EARLY BIRD DEALS: Register before May 15th for only $300 plus HST per person or $150 plus HST for current students.
Workshop leaders: Tim Shaw and Jane Parpart
To register for this workshop, click the link below. Please have credit or debit information ready.