About Us
The Association for African Studies in Germany (VAD e.V.) was founded on 16.3.1969 at the University of Marburg, and was initially known as the “Association of African Studies Scholars in Germany”. Modelled on the German Oriental Society, it was originally conceptualized as a regionally defined, scientific and interdisciplinary forum. Its objectives were the promotion and exchange of ideas between scholars of African Studies working within the university setting and beyond, transcending national and disciplinary borders.
The first decade of the VAD was characterized by passionate debates about its focus. In the 1980s, African politics became the subject of much public debate, as Germany’s stand on the Apartheid regimes of South Africa and Namibia came into focus. Other activities during this time period included the formal registration of the Association in 1985. In the 1990s, the Association’s efforts to retain the African Studies Institute of the former DDR paid off. In 2006, the Association’s name was changed to “The Association for African Studies in Germany”
The History of the VAD by Felix Brahm: Download
