Projects Overview

The AC Jordan Chair in the field of African Studies was established at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1993 and is named after Archibald Campbell Mzolisa Jordan who was a pioneer in the field of African Studies under Apartheid.

According to Professor Lungisile Ntsebeza, the holder of the Chair and Director of the Centre for African Studies, Africans (in particular South Africans) do not know enough about their own continent and have yet to prioritise a meaningful study of African issues. The AC Jordan Chair aims to address this challenge by championing the integration of African Studies into teaching and learning at undergraduate and postgraduate level within the various Faculties at UCT.

LURLAP is a collaborative research project involving researchers and scholars working on land and related fields in Africa. The main aim of this project is to understand land reform dynamics in various countries in Africa. Within this broad objective, the project seeks to:

The Trilateral Reconnection Project (TRP) is an agreement between the University of The West Indies, the University of Cape Town and Brown University, which calls for student and faculty exchanges and joint research projects between the three universities. The project was initiated by the Center for Caribbean Thought at the University of the West Indies, Africana Studies department at Brown University and the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town.

The Centre for African Studies (CAS) at the University of Cape Town hosted a colloquium on African studies from October 1-2, 2012. This colloquium was a result of extensive discussions among directors of various centres/institutes of African studies on the African continent, as well as other scholars in the field who expressed the need to come together and share experiences on the status of and challenges facing African studies on the continent.A total of 40 odd individuals from institutions that are based on the African continent participated in these discussions, and were invited to the colloquium.

The Land Reform and Democracy in SA: State and Civil Society Dynamics Research Chair puts the spotlight on the land question and seeks to deepen debate around democracy, equity and agency. The Research Chair is located within the Centre for Africa Studies at the University of Cape Town and is funded by the South African Research Chairs Initiative and National Research Foundation (NRF).In South Africa, issues of land and governance, although currently marginalised, are at the heart of the political and development debate, and need urgent attention. The Land Reform and Democracy in SA: State and Civil Society Dynamics Research Chair puts the spotlight on the land question and seeks to deepen debate around democracy, equity and agency.

Through the arts and the academy, this project commemorates the sinking of the SS Mendi that occurred on 21 February 1917, during the First World War. It seeks to pay tribute to the South African Native Labour Contingent, and the men on the Mendi who died en route to fight for their dignity and human rights through service to the war effort. The project will converse with Mendi centenary events organised for 2017 by the South African Department of Defence, and with the Mendi centenary parade hosted by the University of Cape Town in 2017.