Deadline: May 1, 2026
Applications for the 7th Summer School in African Studies and Area Studies in Africa 2026 are now open. The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Centre for African Studies in Basel (ZASB) invite applications for their 7th Summer School in African Studies and Area Studies in Africa. This Summer School is supported by the Oumou Dilly Foundation (Switzerland) in collaboration with CODESRIA and aims to strengthen the connections between the CODESRIA’s scholarly community and those from the African Studies community in Switzerland.
The primary aim of the Summer School is to foster and strengthen interdisciplinary approaches to research concerning Africa and other global regions from an African perspective. It emphasises African Studies as a facet of Area Studies and endeavours to identify themes that are theoretically, conceptually, and methodologically pertinent to the intellectual examination of Africa as a subject of knowledge. Furthermore, it seeks to assess Africa’s contribution to general scholarship while exploring the applicability of these findings to African perspectives on other regions.
The goals of the Summer School are as follows:
- Under the guidance of senior scholars, provide current PhD students and early career scholars with the opportunity to engage critically with new theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues relating to African Studies relevant to their work.
- Stimulate participants to reflect on the potential relevance of African epistemology and ontology in enhancing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological tools in their disciplines and interdisciplinary work.
- Foster among summer school beneficiaries a sense of belonging to a community of scholars in pursuit of African-informed scholarship.
- Support emerging scholars to work towards carving a niche for African Studies in the broader field of scholarship, thereby helping African Studies to claim a place at the centre of knowledge production in Africa and globally.
The Summer School provides a venue for young SSH scholars to explore the challenges and opportunities that arise from balancing scholarly standards with social impact in Africa. Laureates of the Summer School will consider how their research can contribute to societal change, enhance their theoretical and methodological abilities in both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, and learn to position themselves within various academic and policy contexts from an African perspective.
Costs
- Travel, accommodation, and meals during the Summer School will be provided for participants from African Institutions.
- The Convenors of the Summer School are also open to receiving a limited number of applicants willing and able to pay the cost of participation.
Eligibility
The 7th CODESRIA/ZASB Summer School is calling for applications from doctoral students eager to engage with the thematic focus within the broader context of engaging with conceptual, epistemological, and methodological frameworks in African Studies, social sciences, and the humanities.
- Open to Ph.D. students and early career scholars at Higher Education institutions on the African continent. Ph.D. students from Swiss universities are also encouraged.
- Applications will be considered from Ph.D. students in the Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. Preference will be given to those in their first or second year of PhD enrolment.
Application
Applications should include the following:
- Motivation or Application letter (max 500 words) with a clear statement demonstrating how your work would benefit from participation;
- Concept paper (max 2500 words) highlighting: (a) what you are working on, (b) how your research resonates with African or Global South conceptual and epistemological framings in general and with Mudimbe’s work in particular, (c) your expectations from the Summer School, and (d) a book relevant to the theme you have read or would like to read for discussion at the Summer School;
- A detailed Curriculum vitae;
- One letter of recommendation from the candidate’s institution of affiliation or their PhD supervisor;
- Passport copy;
- Copy or proof of PhD registration at an African or Swiss University (for PhD students), Copy of doctoral certificate for early career scholars.
For more information, visit CODESRIA/ZASB 7th Summer School.
