Call for suggestions for the 2007 Mary Kingsley Zochonis lecturer
The Mary Kingsley Zochonis Lecture, sponsored by the John Zochonis Trust, was established in 1993 to encourage and support young African scholars.
ASAUK members are invited to suggest a young African colleague as next year’s Mary Kingsley Zochonis Lecturer, to speak at an academic conference anywhere in the UK where there will be an opportunity for ‘exposure’ outside Africa. If you have a colleague who would be a good candidate for the lecture, please arrange for her/his CV and a short statement on the topic of her/his lecture to be sent to:
Prof. Tunde Zack Williams, President, The Royal African Society, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H OXG, Telephone 020 7898 4390, Fax 020 7898 4389, Email: abzw(AT)blueyonder.co.uk.
The deadline for receipt of application material is the 15th March 2008.
Selection criteria:
- the purpose is to encourage and support young African scholars;
- the lecture is to be delivered by an African scholar normally employed at an African University or centre;
- the candidate should be at the beginning of her/his career, and ideally not over 40 years of age; and
- the content of the lecture should be non-scientific, not-technical and on an African subject.
As the Lecture is designed to give maximum publicity to a person brought from Africa, it was agreed that the lecturer would have better exposure at an academic gathering in the UK, irrespective of whether it were held in London (although we would ask the speaker to give a lecture to a smaller audience in London while over, if not held in London).
The Lecture would not have to be held in the evening, it could be a plenary before lunch for instance, but it would have to be called The Mary Kingsley Zochonis Lecture, and members of the public would need to be admitted to that Lecture free of charge.
There is only one Mary Kingsley Zochonis Lecture; any other events held while the lecturer is in the UK would simply be ordinary talks or papers at conferences/symposia etc.
The allowances are fixed and include an ECONOMY return air fare to London, a prize of £500, accommodation/food etc expenses up to £500 and and additionally - requiring receipts/proof of purchase, we give up to £250 for travel expenses to allow the lecturer to travel to other centres of African studies in the UK while he/she is over.
Previous speakers have included:
- 2006 - Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, (Center for Hausa Cultural Studies, Kano, Nigeria) "Transglobal media flows and African popular culture: revolution and reaction in Muslim Hausa popular culture" - more...
- 2005 - Dr Joyce Nyairo (Moi University, Kenya): "Modify: Jua Kali as a metaphor for Africa's urban ethnicities and cultures”
- 2004 – Dr Charles Ukeje (University of Ile-Ife, Nigeria): “Caught between the Rock and a Hard Place: African Youths in the 21st Century”
- 2002 - Dr Ennie Chipembere (University of Zimbabwe): "Housing Policy in Zimbabwe - a historical perspective"
- 2001 - Dr Thokozani Xaba (University of Natal, Durban): "Left Holding the Gun: the marginalisation of the former comrades & exiles in the new South Africa, 1993-2000"
- 2000 - Dr George Abungu (National Museums of Kenya): "Protecting the African Cultural Heritage: a race against time"
- 1998 - Wangari Maathai (Greenbelt Movement, Nairobi): "Protecting the African Environment"
