A Spring School in Political Economy and Political Ecology

12-16 September 2022

Background

The Institute for Poverty, Land, and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape is hosting a Spring School on The Agrarian Question and Contested Rural Futures in Africa, in collaboration with the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) at the University of Cologne and Future Rural Africa, a collaborative research center (CRC) funded by the German Research Council (DFG). 

It will take place in person from 12th to 16th September in Cape Town, South Africa. 

The Spring School builds on thematically-organized lectures by eminent scholars in their respective fields. It aims to introduce core concepts, theoretical formulation and debates in political economy and political ecology. The priority is to support young and emerging scholars to deepen critical understandings of agrarian change in Africa, and related fields of land, agricultural production, food security and environmental change.

Objectives

• To strengthen political economy and political ecology research on rural futures
• To build scholarly contributions to navigating contemporary challenges
• To promote critical engagement with the future of rural Africa 
• To provide a platform for knowledge exchange across generations and geography
• To provide young scholars in and of Africa with exposure to leading academics
• To provide young scholars in and of Africa with a platform to build peer support and networks with one another.

Programme

Spring School Lectures

Coordinators

The coordinators for the short course are Cyriaque Hakizimana and Professor Ruth Hall from the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies at the University of the Western Cape and Clemens Greiner from the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) and the CRC Future Rural Africa at the University of Cologne.

Lecturers

Participants

Topics for the Curriculum