In this talk\, Insa Lee Koch pleads for an anthropology of law attun ed to the analytical and political challenges of an increasingly authorita rian climate in liberal constitutional settings. Drawing on her book\, “ Drugs\, Race\, and the Politics of Modern Slavery Law” (to be published with OUP in February 2026)\, she examines a new precedent in the making – namely\, the application of UK ‘slavery laws’ to manage and punish its marginalised working-class and racialised populations. Originally con ceived in the context of debates around international human trafficking\, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 became “domesticated” as police and the co urts\, over the last ten years\, have applied it to those at the bottom ru ng of the street-level drugs economy within the country’s borders. Drawi ng on ethnography with police\, the courts\, and crucially the families af fected\, and situating this within histories of empire and their afterlive s\, the presenter reflects on how a juridical project in the making has be come a political project\, as logics of liberal saviourism and the image o f “slave” and “slave master” have been projected onto the bodies o f Black working class youth. In what ways has juridical victimhood become a site for the remaking of political statecraft in times of liberal and ec onomic crisis? How do attempts to work against the liberal anti-racist gra in become weaponised by unexpected publics\, generating backlash from both far-right and liberal audiences? To what extent are my ethnographic obser vations and their reception indicative of a liberal legal crisis in Europe an metropoles writ large? And what chllenges do they pose for the anthropo logist of law to reconceive of ethnography not just as analytical work but as a form of political labour?
\nInsa Lee Koch is Professor for British Cultures at the HSG St. Gallen. She is an interdisciplinary scholar w ho works ethnographically and collaboratively on questions of intersecting inequalities\, political economy and the state.
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261021T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5300@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154250 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261021T181500 SUMMARY:Lucy Edwards-Jauch: "Making the 'Namibian Journal of Social Justice '" DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
Anthropology students present their ongoing MA theses.
\n\ n DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261028T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5312@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T165239 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261104T161500 SUMMARY:Janne Flora: "Taste as Infrastructure: hunting\, landscape and huma n-animal relations in Greenland" DESCRIPTION:The idea that Inuit hunt primarily for calories and physical su rvival remains one of the most enduring narratives about the Arctic. Anoth er familiar narrative centres on souls and the belief that animals never t ruly die\, but instead reincarnate when treated properly by humans. While neither of these understandings is entirely misplaced\, both tend to frame Inuit hunting through rather utilitarian or essentialist lenses\, making it difficult to account for the complexities of contemporary Anthropocene land- and seascapes.\\r\\nDrawing on long-term ethnographic research condu cted across different regions of Greenland\, this presentation explores ho w taste (the taste of animals\, of places\, and of seasons) can be underst ood as a form of infrastructure through which hunters and their families n avigate\, experience\, and make sense of both landscapes and the animals t hey hunt. Attending to taste in this way opens up new perspectives on how human–animal relations are shaped and continually reconfigured amid chan ging environmental and political conditions\, including thinning sea ice\, declining wildlife stocks\, pollution\, and increasingly regulated huntin g.\\r\\nJanne Flora is associate professor at the department of anthropolo gy at Aarhus University and centre leader at AUNA: Centre for North Atlant ic and Arctic Research. She has carried out research in Greenland for more than two decades\, in recent years on questions relating to human-aninmal relations in hunting communities. X-ALT-DESC:The idea that Inuit hunt primarily for calories and physical survival remains one of the most enduring narratives about the Arctic. Ano ther familiar narrative centres on souls and the belief that animals never truly die\, but instead reincarnate when treated properly by humans. Whil e neither of these understandings is entirely misplaced\, both tend to fra me Inuit hunting through rather utilitarian or essentialist lenses\, makin g it difficult to account for the complexities of contemporary Anthropocen e land- and seascapes.
\nDrawing on long-term ethnographic research conducted across different regions of Greenland\, this presentat ion explores how taste (the taste of animals\, of places\, and of seasons) can be understood as a form of infrastructure through which hunters and t heir families navigate\, experience\, and make sense of both landscapes an d the animals they hunt. Attending to taste in this way opens up new persp ectives on how human–animal relations are shaped and continually reconfi gured amid changing environmental and political conditions\, including thi nning sea ice\, declining wildlife stocks\, pollution\, and increasingly r egulated hunting.
\nJanne Flora is associate professor at the dep artment of anthropology at Aarhus University and centre leader at AUNA: Ce ntre for North Atlantic and Arctic Research. She has carried out research in Greenland for more than two decades\, in recent years on questions rela ting to human-aninmal relations in hunting communities.
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261104T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5301@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154238 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261104T181500 SUMMARY:Dag Henrichsen: "Sexology' s queer colonial archive for Namibia and Angola: The case of Kurt Falk" DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
What happens when the life one is trying to write exceeds the epistemological and narrative forms anthropology makes available for appr ehending it? Drawing from an ongoing book project \;about the life an d death of the presenter's childhood friend Margaret “Missy” Allen\, t his talk considers the limits of anthropology for writing Black life beyon d the forms of violence\, injury\, and \;spectacular death through wh ich Black subjects so often become ethnographically legible. Aimee Meredit h Cox turns to Black feminist thought not simply as a critique or suppleme nt to anthropology\, but as a more \;capacious intellectual\, ethical \, and methodological practice – one capable of locating theory in the o rdinary\, the intimate\, the embodied\, and the unfinished. In doing so\, she asks what becomes possible when ethnographic writing is oriented not p rimarily toward explaining Black death\, but toward apprehending the densi ty\, thought\, relation\, and aliveness of Black life.
\nAimee Mered ith Cox is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the New York Universi ty. She is a critical ethnographer\, writer\, and movement artist. Cox has performed and toured internationally with Ailey II and the Dance Theatre of Harlem and has choreographed performances as interventions in public an d private space in Newark\, Philadelphia\, and Brooklyn.
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261111T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5302@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154329 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261111T181500 SUMMARY:Hugo ka Canham: "Sandy Accretions" DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
Isabel Käser is an SNSF-Ambizione Fellow and Senior Research er at the Institute of Social Anthropology. Her work centres on gender\, w ar\, de/militarization\, and migration\, as well as feminist mobilisations with a focus on the Middle East\, particularly different parts of Kurdist an and its diasporas.
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261118T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5303@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154422 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261118T181500 SUMMARY:Speaker from University of Mauritius (TBD): Title TBD DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
The freedom of science is a cornerstone of academic inquiry\, public discourse and democratic society\, yet it is often debated solely in political terms. This course offers a unique opportunity for doctoral s tudents to:
\nWho may partici pate? PhD students from all Swiss Universities are welcome to att end and earn credit points. To register\, they need to submit a completed and signed registration sheet to the Student Administration. Masters stude nts may also be considered for participation.
\nHow to Apply : Please register via the University of Basel Online Serv ices portal by 22 September 2026. PhD students from o ther Swiss universities follow the instructions to register under the Swissmobi lity program. If you have missed the registration please send an email to alexandra.hofmaenner@u nibas.ch.
\nDates and location:
Thursday\,
19 Nov. (09:15 – 11:15)\, online Zoom meeting
Friday\, 27. Nov. (0
9:15 – 16:00)\, Department of Social Sciences\, University of Basel\,&nb
sp\;Rheinsprung 21\, seminar room 00.004
Course organisers
Alexandra Hofmänner (University of Basel)
Pascal Schm
id (University of Basel)
Aline Stehrenberger (University of St. Galle
n)
Monika Plozza (University of Bern)
TBD
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261125T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5304@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154527 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261125T181500 SUMMARY:Martha Ndakalako: "Namibian Women’s Literature since Independence " DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
The freedom of science is a cornerstone of academic inquiry\, public discourse and democratic society\, yet it is often debated solely in political terms. This course offers a unique opportunity for doctoral s tudents to:
\nWho may partici pate? PhD students from all Swiss Universities are welcome to att end and earn credit points. To register\, they need to submit a completed and signed registration sheet to the Student Administration. Masters stude nts may also be considered for participation.
\nHow to Apply : Please register via the University of Basel Online Serv ices portal by 22 September 2026. PhD students from o ther Swiss universities follow the instructions to register und er the Swissmobility program. If you have missed the registration plea se send an email to alexandra.hofmaenner@unibas.ch< /a>.
\nDates and location:
Thursday\, 19 Nov.
(09:15 – 11:15)\, online Zoom meeting
Friday\, 27. Nov. (09:15 –
16:00)\, Department of Social Sciences\, University of Basel\, \;Rhein
sprung 21\, seminar room 00.004
Course organisers
Alexandra Hofmänner (University of Basel)
Pascal Schmid (Unive
rsity of Basel)
Aline Stehrenberger (University of St. Gallen)
M
onika Plozza (University of Bern)
The Film Screening is part of the Frauenstark Filmfestival an d 16-days-against-GBV.
\nFollowed by a discussion with Yv Nay\, Kaue Crima Bellini and Serena Dankwa.
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261202T210000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5305@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154649 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261202T181500 SUMMARY:Francisco Miguel: "'Exogeny' and 'Silence' in Current Queer African Studies: Some Contributions from Lusophone Africa" DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
Students from the fieldwork course “Athmospheres: Ethnograp hic Explorations”\, coordinated by Michelle Engeler\, will present their research proposals. \;
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261209T180000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news5306@zasb.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260909T154947 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20261209T181500 SUMMARY:Ilan Pappe: Title TBD DESCRIPTION:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and internat ional scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates i n Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studies . Guests are welcome.\\r\\nJointly organized by the University of Namibia\ , the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.\\r\\nConta ct for registration and zoom link: Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch [mailto:Bernard .Moore@unibas.ch] and makawa@unam.na [mailto:makawa@unam.na] \\r\\nFull p rogram as seen on the PDF file below.\\r\\nNote: Until the end of October\ , the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian time. From November\ , it will be at 18:15 in Baseland 19:15 in Namibia. Drinks and/or an apér o at the BAB will follow each presentation. X-ALT-DESC:The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.
The Research Colloquium provides a forum for local and intern ational scholars to engage in crossdisciplinary and methodological debates in Southern African Studies\, with particular reference to Namibian Studi es. Guests are welcome.
\nJointly organized by the University of Nam ibia\, the University of Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
\nContact for registration and zoom link:Bernard.Moore@unibas.ch and makawa@unam.na \;
\nFull program as seen on the PDF file below.
\nNote: Until
the end of October\, the event is at 18:15 Basel time and 18:15 Namibian
time. From November\, it will be at 18:15 in Basel
and 19:15 in Namib
ia. Drinks and/or an apéro at the BAB will follow each presentation.