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78089-01 - Seminar: Mining, Ruins, and Landscapes in Southern Africa (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Luregn Lenggenhager (luregn.lenggenhager@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Angelinah Maponya (angelinah.maponya@unibas.ch) |
| Content | As Europe’s ‘resource contest’ and ‘development imaginaries’ of and on the African continent increase, who is left to settle ecological debts? This seminar explores how extractive practices have not only shaped economies but entire landscapes, lived environments, and future imaginaries across Southern Africa. It will examine the ecological consequences of Southern African mining zones, focusing on ruptures to communal living, environment, and geopolitical terrains from the 1960s to the present day. Mining leaves behind derelict and toxified landscapes—scarred soils, altered water systems, and abandoned extraction infrastructures—that continue to impact on how people inhabit, adapt to, and negotiate these transformed environments. We examine such derelict landscapes, economic and socio-cultural ruins as results of an established practice of ‘slow violence’, positioning the local communities in states of precarity. The sessions will trace the colonial and postcolonial infrastructures that have formulated a continued procurement of raw materials from resource-rich countries, including but not limited to Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 17.02.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 24.02.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Fasnachtsferien |
| Tuesday 03.03.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 10.03.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 17.03.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 24.03.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 31.03.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 07.04.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 14.04.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 21.04.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 28.04.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 05.05.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 12.05.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 19.05.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 26.05.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Modules |
Modul: Theory and General Anthropology (Master's degree subject: Anthropology) Module: Europeanization and Globalization (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Module: Fields: Environment and Development (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Resources and Sustainability (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) Module: The Urban across Disciplines (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) Specialization Module Global Europe: Environment and Sustainability (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Zentrum für Afrikastudien |