Veranstaltungen

Our era is defined by a deep sense of urgency, and a collective sense of despair, even hopelessness, among many young people. Africans and people of African descent have highly developed skills to cope with turbulence, pain and trauma – slavery, colonialism, the effects of our neo-liberal and capitalist world. The “elders” often look back wistfully on a supposed glorious past; and indeed, the practice of reminiscing can move beyond sentimentality to activating future healing projects. However, articulating visions of a hopeful and more just future is not work they can simply hand over to the next generation; it is work they must do in solidarity with them. Many young academics are uncertain whether to reform, break and rebuild, or discard the academy completely. The philosophical and ethical ideals of African cosmologies of human interconnectedness, nurtured in community, but respecting individual humanness, have long sustained us. How can erstwhile and modern philosophies cooperate to advance vision and purpose, including in the academy? In this lecture, Akosua Adomako Ampofo seeks to bring older and contemporary philosophers (especially from popular culture) into conversation to suggest some answers to these questions. 

Akosua Adomako Ampofo is a Professor of African and gender studies and currently the 2025 Claude Ake Chair at the Nordic Africa Institute, and the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University. Her research examines the politics of knowledge (production); gender relations; masculinities; and recently she is examining healing narratives.