Mission Statement
About Us
Brief History
Contribution Guidelines
Editors and Editorial Assistants
Editorial Team
_______________________________
The Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa (CIHA) Blog seeks to transform the phenomenon of aid to Africa into egalitarian and respectful relationships that challenge unequal power relations, paternalism and victimization. Our research and commentaries highlight critical and religious voices to explore connections among issues of faith, governance, gender, and race in colonial and post-colonial contexts. Through analysis and dialogue, we strive for equality, justice and, ultimately, respect for others’ desires, beliefs and practices.
Énoncé de mission:
Le Blog CIHA/ICHA (Critical Investigations Into Humanitarianism in Africa/Investigations Critiques sur l’Humanitarisme en Afrique) se donne pour objectif de transformer le phénomène de l’aide à l’Afrique en lieu d’échanges égalitaires et de relations mutuellement respectueuses. Nous avons à cœur de remettre en cause la distribution asymétrique des relations de pouvoir, marquées de paternalisme et de victimisation. Notre démarche met l’accent sur les voies religieuses et critiques comme point de départ d’exploration des connections dans les domaines de la foi, de la gouvernance, du genre (gender) et de la race dans les contextes colonial et postcolonial. À partir d’une méthodologie basée sur l’analyse et le dialogue, nous visons l’égalité et la justice dans le but ultime du respect des désirs des autres, de leurs croyances et pratiques.
_______________________________
Three features make The CIHA Blog unique.
First, we are trans-continental, currently based at four research institutions: the University of Ghana, Legon, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Africa, and the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Rochester in the United States. African scholarship and leadership are critical for understanding the pros and cons of humanitarian and development aid on the continent, yet aid debates still too often take place as though they do not exist. We are committed to the kind of inclusive and egalitarian partnerships that we believe should characterize humanitarian, academic, and policy relationships of all kinds.
Second, we strive to include religious as well as secular actors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), along with academics, students, and other observers, as we highlight religious contributions and problems in the practice of humanitarianism. Religion is of critical importance on the continent, as much if not more so than elsewhere in the world. From the impact of missionary histories to the multiple forms of religious beliefs and practices in humanitarianism today, there is a fundamental need to engage in critical yet productive discussion about the uncomfortable associations of religious humanitarianism with colonialism, slavery, neo-colonial exploitation, and neo-liberal forms of paternalism, as well as more positive associations with commitments to education, healthcare, and the affirmation of human dignity in humanitarian interventions, especially including the dignity of aid recipients. Religious actors and organizations have been involved in harmful practices as well as engaged in resistance to them; many have also been the primary initiators of emancipatory strategies of thought and action. Their histories and commitments, therefore, need to be analyzed and brought into an inclusive yet critical dialogue.
Third, we strive to include the ever-increasing number of university and graduate students in Africa, the West, and beyond, who are eager to engage with humanitarian and development projects. The next generation of African scholars, religious leaders, NGO representatives, and policymakers are the future leaders of the continent, and they should be able to determine its future needs. Moreover, both they and their non-African peers should be provided with opportunities for critically-informed thinking regarding the problematic legacies as well as the possibilities for more egalitarian collaboration in humanitarian endeavors in Africa as well as other parts of the world. The student editorial assistants working on the Blog specialize in areas of religion, gender, and development, forming what we hope will be an ever-expanding, inter-generational collective at the forefront of carrying out the Blog’s commitment to equality, justice and respect.
_______________________________
The Blog developed out of a conference of the same name organized by one of the editors at the University of California, Irvine, in January 2009. A grant from the Henry Luce Foundation in 2012 enabled us to solidify relationships among institutions in Africa and North America. A subsequent conference held in December 2012, “UCI and Africa: Expanding Engagements, Ongoing Dialogues,” further expanded the Blog’s network, formalizing the relationship by adding new co-editors and editorial assistants, as well as highlighting a number of ongoing questions about humanitarianism, aid, and religion that the Blog will continue to address.
_______________________________
We invite comments on blog entries as well as your own contributions (usually between 500 and 1200 words) on any aspect of humanitarianism on the content, or comparisons between humanitarianism in Africa with other regions of the world. We especially encourage those submissions that incorporate analyses of religion, faith-based humanitarianism, or the ethics of mercy and charity. Submissions can be theoretical or conceptual, policy related, artistically inspired, commentaries on current events, or a combination of any of the above. We also welcome suggestions for additional participants; relevant news articles from around the continent, updates from NGOs, etc.
We recognize that the worlds of scholarship, faith-based institutions, NGOs, foundations, donors, international organizations, and policy-makers each have their own vocabularies and terminologies, some of which have become well-known to members internal to the group, some of which are shared among groups, and some of which can be difficult to decipher to those outside a given group. These terms and vocabularies have social and ethical as well as practical implications. We cannot always avoid the use of particular terms, but we can strive to make them understood across discourses whenever possible. Therefore, we encourage contributions that explain if they cannot avoid organizational terminology and that provide the necessary context for the issues addressed.
The CIHA Blog aims to continue to expand a network that includes faculty and graduate students across the African continent, at the University of California, Irvine, and at other institutions in North America, Africa and elsewhere. We also seek to establish ongoing relationships with religious groups, NGOs, and international organizations. If you or your institution would like to be part of this network, please contact one of the co-editors.
You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
_______________________________
Akosua Adomako Ampofo
Director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon
Mame Penda-BA
Associate Professor, Political Science, Université Gaston Berger
Co-Founder, Interdisciplinary Research Group on Inequalities and Vulnerabilities (GRIV)
Cilas Kemedjio
Director, Frederick Douglass Institute for African American Studies, University of Rochester
R. Simangaliso Kumalo
Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies, School of Religion and Philosophy, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Cecelia Lynch
Director of International Studies, University of California, Irvine
Editorial Assistants:
Edwin Asa Adjei
MPhil student, University of Ghana-Legon
edwinadjei14
Bangirana Albert Billy
PhD student, University of KwaZulu-Natal
bangimessage@gmail.com
Awa Cheikh Seck
Université Gaston Berger
saraounia
Abena Kyere
PhD student, University of Ghana-Legon
chirehabi
Jolene McCall
PhD student, Sociology, University of California, Irvine
jolenem@uci.edu
Carrie Reiling
PhD student, Political Science, University of California, Irvine
creiling@uci.edu
Tanya B. Schwarz
PhD candidate, Political Science, University of California, Irvine
tschwarz@uci.edu
General Inquiries:
cihablog@uci.edu
_______________________________
Benjamin Lawrance
Barber B. Conable, Jr. Endowed Chair in International Studies, Rochester Institute of Technology
Liisa Malkki
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University
Deborah Mindry
Program in Global Health, University of California, Los Angeles
Laura J. Mitchell
Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of California, Irvine
Oladele Ogunseitan
Professor and Chair, Department of Population, Health & Disease Prevention, Program in Public Health; Professor of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine
Kristin Peterson
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
Tekle Woldemikael
Chair and Professor, Department of Sociology, Chapman University