Recalibrating Afrikanistik

Afrikanistik – the study of African languages and literatures – has a long history in German academia, but it has – up to this point – been primarily concerned with the structure of languages. Researchers in the field now recognize the need to move away from a strictly structural approach, look into how knowledge is constructed within languages including African literatures and media, and invite more African voices into the conversation. With that in mind and with funding from the Volkswagen Foundation, the project Recalibrating Afrikanistik seeks to foster the mobility and inclusion of young researchers in African linguistics, literatures, media, and culture in both German and African universities. The project brings together six partner universities in Leipzig, Cologne, Bayreuth, Wukari (Nigeria), Stellenbosch (South Africa), and Eldoret (Kenya) with fellowships, mentoring, winter schools, summer schools, and a mutual desire to shift the question from “What is language?” to “What does language mean to people?”

For more information on the project: See https://recaf.de