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Sahel seminars


Sahel seminars

The Sahel Research Group organizes regular seminars open to everyone interested in discussing current events and issues in the region. They are intended as informal open conversations and sharing about the region, and not as formal presentations or talks. The seminars take place in the  SRG office, 109 Rolfs Hall  from 11:45 to 12:45. 

Past seminars and guest interviews:

2022 |2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017

2022

– April 11, 2022. Peer Schouten from the Danish Institute for International Studies, presents his new book: Roadblock Politics: The Origins of Violence in Central Africa
– April 22, 2022 at 11:30 AM. Dr. Ibrahim Yahya (Research associate with the SRG), Islam and Political Contestation in the Sahel.
– June 10, 2022. Ousmane Bocoum, religious scholar from the Mopti region in Mali. Security situation in central Mali and how can we imagine a dialogue with Jihadists?
– June 13, 2022. Jean-Hervé Jezequel, visiting scholar at UF, and Sahel Project Director for the International Crisis Group in Dakar.
– August 26, 2022 Kick off Fall semester
– September 9, 2022. Baba Adou will discuss the recent political dynamics in Mauritania and their implications for the region.
– September 16, 2022. Discussion on recent developments in Mali.
– October 14, 2022. Dr. Francois-Xavier Lalèyê will discuss his experience as a veterinarian working with pastoralist groups in Senegal: farmer-herder conflicts in the region.
– October 21, 2022. Dr. Dan Eizenga will discuss current political transitions in Chad and Burkina Faso.
– October 28, 2022. Senegalese politics
– December 2, 2022. Last seminar of the semester

 

 

2021

– March 2,.Tuaregs in Niger, with Dr. Amalia Dragani (University of Florida)
– March 17. Bamba, The Taste of Knowledge, with Dr. Brian Valente Quinn (University of Colorado Boulder) and Macodou Fall (UF)
– April 20. Chad’s political instability, with Dr. Dan Eizenga (Africa Center for Strategic Studies)
– May 20. Conflict Networks in North and West Africa, with Dr. Leonardo A. Villalón, Dr. Olivier Walther (UF), David Russell (Princeton University), Dr. Steve Radil (USAFA), Dr. Alex Thurston (University of Cincinnati), Dr. Marie Trémolières (OECD), 9AM EST.
-September 17. Presentation of the Centre National d’Etudes Stratégiques et de Securité (CNESS) and its role in Niger and the Sahel, with Azizou Garba. This is the first of a series of discussions on topics related to security in the Sahel that will take place in person on Fridays, from 10:40 to 11:30am at UF International Center’s Large Conference Room (in the HUB).
-October 1. International Coordination and Security in the Sahel, with Azizou Garba (CNESS).
-October 15, The Impact of Security Considerations on State Construction in the Sahel, with Azizou Garba (CNESS).
-October 29. Causes, Consequences, and Responses to Violent Extremism in the Sahel, with Azizou Garba (CNESS).
-November 12. Political Violence and Borderlands, with Dr. Olivier Walther (UF)

2020

– January 10, 2020. Update on the Sahel
– January 17, 2020. Discussion on the forthcoming workshop on Fulani and Tuareg communities
– January 24, 2020. Workshop on Media and “Public” Islam in Africa & Elsewhere, cosponsored by UF’s Center for African Studies and the Department of Religion.
-July 24, 2020. Virtual Sahel Seminar. Malian Protests.

2019

– February 22, 2019. Dr Dinah Hanaford (Texas A&M University), Race, Gender, and Development (abstract).
– March 15, 2019. Dr Mathews Paret (University of Florida), Niger and WASCAL visitors Willi Adzawala & Mamane Bello Garba Hima, Climate change economics and social dynamics
– April 19, 2019. Judd Devermont (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
– March 29, 2019. Dr Clionadh Raleigh (University of Sussex), elite networks in Africa (flyer).
– September 13, 2019.  Robyn D’Avignon, New York University
– September 27, 2019. Eric Silla, National War College
– November 1, 2019. Peter Tinti, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and independent journalist
– November 8, 2019.  Cheikh Babou, University of Pennsylvania

2018

– February 16, 2018. Dr Matt Kirwin, Elliott School of International Affairs. Insecurity and Migration in the Sahel.
– March 2, 2018. Dr Fallou Ngom (Boston University), Dr Fiona McLaughlin (University of Florida). Ajami and other writing systems in the Sahel.
– March 30, 2018. Dr Alex Thurston (Georgetown University). Iyad and Alghabass: The Shifting Boundaries of Jihadism in Northern Mali.
– April 20, 2018. Ambassador Alexander M. Laskaris (US Department of State, AFRICOM). AFRICOM’s current activities in the Sahel.
– September 28, 2018. Dr Kelley Sams (University of Florida). Public health initiatives and the circulation of medications in sub-Saharan Africa.
– October 12, 2018. Dr Olivier Walther (University of Florida). Mapping women’s trade networks in West Africa.
– October 26, 2018. Joe Penney, independent journalist and photographer; cofounder of Sahelien.com.
– November 16, 2018. Dr Frédérick Madore (University of Florida). Current dynamics of Islam in Burkina Faso

2017

– September 15, 2017. Dr Olivier Walther (University of Florida). Cities and Borders in West Africa.
– October 13, 2017. Awa Doucouré (Gaston Berger University). Higher Education Reforms in Senegal.
– October 20, 2017. Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim (University of Florida). Pastoralism and Jihadism in the Sahel.
– December 15, 2017. Lt Col Yssouf Traoré (Malian army and US Army War College). Perspectives on the Malian army and the G5 Sahel.

For more information, please contact us.