Interdisciplinary Humanities Africanist Writing Group (IHAWG)

Writing Africa Together: Inside the Interdisciplinary Humanities Africanist Writing Group

Robin P. Chapdelaine

At the Stanford Center for African Studies, graduate research is shaped not only in archives and classrooms, but in shared intellectual spaces. The Interdisciplinary Humanities Africanist Writing Group meets every Wednesday as a dedicated forum for writing, dialogue, and community building. More than a workshop, it provides a consistent space where students develop ideas collectively across disciplines. 

This weekly gathering is essential in countering the isolation of graduate work. Bringing together scholars in history, anthropology, political science, and linguistics, the group fosters critical engagement with how knowledge about Africa is produced. As doctoral candidate Amina Diop reflects, “Too often, Africa is treated as a site of intervention rather than a site of intellectual production.” Within the group, such concerns are actively debated and refined. The collaborative setting is especially valuable for students working with archival sources. Participants are encouraged to interrogate both what is present and what is absent in the record. Daniel Mensah, a PhD student in history, notes, “The archive tells us as much about the anxieties of empire as it does about the people it sought to govern.” Peer feedback helps sharpen these interpretations and situate them within broader debates. Language also plays a central role in the group’s conversations. For many, language study reshapes research itself. Linguistics student Sarah Ndlovu explains, “When you learn a language, you begin to see how concepts that seem universal are actually quite particular.” This insight leads to more precise and contextually grounded scholarship.Ethical reflection is another core component. Students regularly examine the implications of their work within unequal global knowledge systems. Political science student Kwame Osei emphasizes, “We have to ask not just what we are studying, but who benefits from our research and how.” The group creates an ongoing space to revisit these questions as projects evolve. Participants also engage contemporary issues such as technology and development. Interdisciplinary researcher Laila Hassan observes, “There is a tendency to see technology as a kind of solution in itself, but without addressing underlying inequalities, those solutions can reproduce the very problems they claim to solve.” These discussions encourage more nuanced and critical analyses.At the same time, the group fosters expansive thinking about Africa’s futures. Anthropology student Josephine Adeyemi notes, “The future is not singular. It is shaped by a range of actors, interests, and histories that cannot be reduced to a single story.” This emphasis on complexity reflects the group’s broader intellectual ethos.

Ultimately, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Africanist Writing Group exemplifies the kind of collaborative, reflective scholarship supported by the Stanford Center for African Studies. By creating a sustained space for dialogue and critique, it enables graduate students to produce work that is rigorous, ethically grounded, and intellectually generative.