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78230-01 - Seminar: Global Transformations (3 CP)
| Semester | spring semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Elisio Macamo (elisio.macamo@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This research lab offers students the opportunity to conduct an ethnography of a major international conference, jointly organized by the Swiss and German African Studies Associations. Using the conference African Perspectives on Global Transformations as a field site, students will explore how academic communities are formed, how vocabularies of belonging circulate, and how knowledge is performed, contested, and institutionalized. The lab is both methodological and reflexive: students will learn techniques of event ethnography while critically examining their own roles as emerging scholars in African Studies. The course combines preparatory workshops, field research during the conference, and collective reflection afterwards. Key Questions: • How do participants present themselves as “African Studies scholars”? • What vocabularies and keywords organize inclusion, belonging, and authority? • How is the conference collaboratively constructed through rituals, materials, and performances? • What forms of exclusion or limitation (e.g. funding, visas, languages) shape participation? |
| Learning objectives | By the end of the lab, students will: • Gain practical experience in ethnographic methods for short-term, intensive events. • Develop critical awareness of how knowledge is produced, performed, and politicized in African Studies. • Reflect on their own scholarly identities and positionalities within global knowledge production. |
| Comments | Structure (Fortnightly) 1. Conferences as Field Sites – ethnography of academic rituals 2. Methods of Event Ethnography – observation, fieldnotes, ethics 3. Vocabularies and Belonging – keywords and discourses 4. Performing Scholarly Selves – legitimacy, identity, performance 5. Inclusion & Exclusion – infrastructures, barriers, global hierarchies 6. Designing Mini-Projects – individual/group project planning 7. Preparing for the Field – toolkits, strategies, logistics [Conference African Perspectives on Global Transformations 26.-28.08.2026] 8. Debrief & Reflection – sharing findings, mini-conference (post conference) |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-täglich | Tuesday | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 17.02.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 03.03.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 17.03.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 31.03.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 14.04.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 28.04.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 12.05.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Tuesday 26.05.2026 | 14.00-16.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Modules |
Modul: Politik, Entwicklung und soziale Ungleichheit (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology) Modul: Sachthemen der Ethnologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Anthropology) Modul: Ungleichheit, Konflikt, Kultur (Master's degree subject: Sociology) 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: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Interdisciplinary and Applied African Studies (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Migration, Mobility and Transnationalism (Master's degree program: Changing Societies: Migration – Conflicts – Resources) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | • Individual or group mini-ethnographies (5–10 pages) • Collective synthesis (blog, booklet, or poster session) • Reflexive presentations in a student-led “conference about the conference” |
| 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 | Fachbereich Soziologie |