Africa Regional Interest Group
Durham has a highly valued and historical association with many countries in Africa. Links to the training of teachers and missionaries in Sierra Leone stretch back to the 1820's. The university also hosts the 'Sudan Archive' - an important collection of Sudanese artefacts collected predominantly from 1898 to 1955. Since 1964 The Ruth First Educational Trust has been raising funds to support students from Southern Africa to undertake postgraduate Masters degrees at the University. Nowadays there are dozens of projects across all faculties in many different countries -both ongoing and planned. Areas of interest vary enormously to reflect the breadth and depth of Durham's interests, with established academics supervising post-doctoral fellows and PhD students. This website is designed to introduce you to the members of the Africa Regional Interest Group and to facilitate exchange of information between members and anyone who is interested in the work that Durham undertakes with partners in Africa.
Alongside the Africa Regional Interest Group, the postgraduate student-led African Studies Student Network coordinates interdisciplinary student research exchanges and seminars, postgraduate workshops and events.
Research Centres and Institutes
- Centre for Social Justice and Community Action
- Wolfson Research Institute
- Institute for Hazard Risk and Resilience Research
- Durham Energy Institute
- International Boundaries Research Unit
- Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM)
- International Landslide Centre
- Ruth First Educational Trust
Projects
- EU project- 'Healthy Futures'
- Art Project with ACANE
- EWB Durham Kirima Project, Uganda
- Hominin Palaeoecology: Comparing Fossil Evidence
- Improving children's mobility and access in Sub-Saharan Africa
- ↘Improving Children's Mobility Project Online
- Improving market institutes and urban food supplies for the urban poor: a comparative study of Nigeria and Zambia: scoping phase
- Nigerian Food Marketing Network
- Rural-urban dynamics in a globalising world: changing livelihoods and settlement patterns in frontier regions of Africa and Asia
- The politics of Chinese engagement with African development: Case studies of Angola and Ghana
Library Collections
- Sudan Archive - a huge collection of private, semi-official and official papers, photographs, printed material, cinefilms, maps and artefacts from c.1880 onwards
- ↘The Sudan Archive online exhibition - highlighting the work of the Wood Bequest Project
- Earl Grey Family Papers, a major source for 19th and 20th century political, colonial, and diplomatic history. Of particular relevance are the papers of of Albert Henry George, 4th Earl Grey (1851-1917) and the papers of Sir Evelyn Baring (Baron Howick) (1903-1973), colonial administrator
- Papers of Abbas Hilmi II (1874-1944), last Khedive of Egypt
- Papers of E.T. Richmond (1874-1955)
- Papers of Malcolm MacDonald (1901-1981), diplomat
- Papers of Sir Donald Hawley (1921-2008), diplomat
Student and Alumni Societies and Associations
- African and Caribbean Society
- Development Abroad Society
- Egyptian Society
- People and Planet Society
- World Cinema Society
- Alumni International Associations
- College Alumni Associations
Members of Durham University who have a link to Africa and wish to become a member of the Africa Regional Interest Group are encouraged to either complete the survey of regional interest form available at the below link, or contact Libby Wood for more details.
Dr Mark Booth
Having conducted extensive research in sub-Saharan Africa, Dr. Booth, Associate Director of the Wolfson Research Institute, convenes the sub-saharan Africa Regional Interest Group.