Projects and cooperations

Over several decades since the second half of the 19th century, European military personnel, scientists and merchants have brought cultural and everyday objects, but also human remains from the colonies of the time to their home countries. This is why skulls attributed to the African continent are kept in Freiburg - in the so-called Alexander Ecker Collection. The collection also contains human remains whose acquisition and use cannot be considered ethically and scientifically justifiable from today's perspective; in the case of others, the acquisition history is difficult to reconstruct. The research project resulted in policy recommendations and a science communication video.

Between 2022 and 2024, Dr Alke Jenss, Dr Alessandra Bonci and Dr Benjamin Schuetze at the ABI will work on the significance and impact of transregional infrastructures for possible democratic governance in the different places they connect. This project asks in which ways do transregional infrastructure projects transform local, national and transnational political agency and what is their effect on democratic and/or authoritarian practices of governance?

This blog series aims to discuss, highlight, and engage with scholarship from the regions of Africa, Latin America, Middle East, and Asia (ALMA) that ABI staff and associates have particularly enjoyed reading. With this blog we aim to start new conversations, explore interesting themes and topics as well as highlight excellent scholarship. The blog language is in English, a new review is published once a month.

With the Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) and the Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT), the ABI has launched two central projects at the University of Freiburg.