Anthropology, Photography and the Field of Memory
Patti Langton, a British anthropologist and documentary film-maker, lived in Sudan 1979-1980 with the Larim (or Boya) people, cattle pastoralists whose homeland lies near South Sudan’s borders with Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. Her remarkable photographic and sound archive has recently been acquired by the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford, where she is a Research Associate. The photographs document […]
This year in Sudan (Part 1)
This blog post was written by Douglas Johnson and Guma Kunda Komey, the Co-Directors of Studies for the Rift Valley Institute’s Sudan and South Sudan Course, which will be taking place in Entebbe, Uganda from 25 June – 1 July 2016. This year’s course will look back into the history of both countries in order to look […]
This year in South Sudan (Part 2)
This blog post was written by Douglas Johnson and Guma Kunda Komey, the Co-Directors of Studies for the Rift Valley Institute’s Sudan and South Sudan Course, which will be taking place in Entebbe, Uganda from 25 June – 1 July 2016. This year’s course will look back into the history of both countries in order to look […]
Can Archivists Save the World’s Newest Nation?
The Lone Archivist Like many of his generation, Becu Thomas fled southern Sudan as a teenager in the 1990s. He grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, then returned home in 2005 and got a job with the Ministry of Culture. Soon he began helping to rescue forgotten historical documents in hopes of one […]
Put away the anger, South Sudan will never know peace without Kenya’s help
The August 2015 peace agreement in South Sudan is in mortal danger. RVI senior researcher Aly Verjee argues in the East African that the collapse of the process will destabilise South Sudan further, with untold consequences for neighbouring states. President Kenyatta’s disappointment and anger at the decision to sack Gen Johnson Ondieki for the failures […]
My Mother Will Not Come to Juba report launch
In South Sudan, delays in the formulation of a new national constitution have led to growing public concern. My Mother Will Not Come to Juba: South Sudanese Debate the Constitution is the record of a series of public lectures and discussions held at the University of Juba in March 2013. The launch of the report, which is […]
Slavery in the Sudans: Human rights and local moral worlds
John Ryle, Executive Director of the Rift Valley Institute, spoke on ‘Slavery in the Sudans: Human Rights and Local Moral Worlds’ at a conference on The Arts of Human Rights sponsored by the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Witwatersrand (WISER) and Bard College, New York. The three-day event featured presentations […]
Why calling for a ceasefire in South Sudan can be a bad idea
This article was written by RVI Fellow Aly Verjee. On 23 March, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, speaking to the United Nations Security Council, declared: “There can be no real dialogue for as long as South Sudan is ravaged by fighting.” “All parties must respect an immediate cessation of hostilities,” he said. “As President, Salva […]
Sudan Studies Society Annual Symposium
The annual general meeting of the Sudan Studies Society of the United Kingdom took place in London at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 13 September. The event was held in association with the Royal African Society. The day-long programme featured a panel on South Sudan with speakers including RVI Fellows Douglas H. Johnson, the historian of South […]
A debate on federalism at Juba University
More than seven hundred people attended a lecture on federalism at Juba University on Saturday 5 July. The lecture was delivered by Rift Valley Institute Fellow Douglas H. Johnson and organised by RVI Fellow Luka Biong Deng, formerly Minister in the Office of the President. Dr Johnson’s talk was introduced by John Akec, Vice-Chancellor of […]