Among the approximately 30 university collections at JGU Mainz, three archives or collections are affiliated with the ifeas: the African Music Archives (AMA), the Jahn Library for African Literatures and the Ethnographic Collection.

In addition, ifeas houses several smaller archives: the Leo Stappers Archive, which includes the research library of the former Professor of African Philology Leo Stappers (*June 6, 1919 – †April 18, 1977); an Image Archive on African independence celebrations, and an archive on West African settlement history.

Ernst Wilhelm Müller Foundation

Sulzmann Foundation

Founded by Dr. Erika Sulzmann, Irma Sulzmann, and Roselore Sulzmann, the Sulzmann Foundation promotes field research by young scientists in Africa; it assists in the analysis of the results of field research and supports training in the aforementioned areas. In addition, it presents awards for outstanding theses in relevant fields of research.

The ifeas is cooperating internationally on many different levels, not only in research: alongside its research projects, the institute regularly hosts international visiting scholars, colloquia, conferences, and other events (See current events) at the institute and its collections.

News // Events

African Music Archives (AMA) Party

AMA end-of-semester party with presentations and DJ performances by students in the seminar ‘Introduction to the Anthropology of Music’, artist in residence Tsanta Randri (Madagascar), and DJs Hauke Dorsch (AMA) / Janeck (Oriental Tropical)

Field experiences

Presentations on field experiences by students in the Master’s program ‘Anthropology of the Global’ (JGU Mainz, AMA Lounge, July 8, 2025)

New Relational Aesthetics. Anthropology in-between Physicality, Sensory Experience, and Discourse

Workshop of the Anthropology of Music Working Group at ifeas // Georg Forster Forum (JGU Mainz, 26.-28.06.2025)

Filming the Black Atlantic

Guest lecture by Didi Cheeka (Lagos, Nigeria)

Lecture as part of the seminar “Cultural Anthropology of African America” (JGU Mainz, June 24, 2025)

Islands of Memory: Landscape, Heritage and Environmental Change in Small Insular Territories in African Indian Ocean

Pedro Pombo (L’Università ta’Malta)

Lecture and workshop as part of the series “Indian Ocean Confluences” // Georg Forster Forum (JGU Mainz, 10.01.2025)

African Traders’ Agency on Global Cloth Market. A Collaborative Research Workshop

Honouring Apl. Prof. Dr. Ute Röschenthaler

Lomé (Togo), December 4-5, 2024.

For more information please contact Dr. Jeannett Martin(jemartin@uni-mainz.de).

CO-CONSTRUCTING OMAN: Global Knowledge Production and the Making of National Identity

International Summer School (JGU Mainz, 29.9.-05.10.2024)

Astrophysics, Horizons, and Strategic Continentalism in Madagascar

Hanna Nieber (MPI for Cultural Anthropology, Halle/Saale)

Lecture as part of the series “Indian Ocean Confluences” // Georg Forster Forum (JGU Mainz, 18.06.2024)

Dealing with Heritage: On Things, Relationships, and Memory

Conference on the handling of objects in ethnological collections and museums (JGU Mainz, 16.2.2024).

Reconfiguring Language Preservation and Protecting Language-Related Social Practices and Spaces

Second International Workshop of the Research Group “Anthropological Linguistics / Linguistic Anthropology” (ZIS/JGU Mainz, 01.12.2023)

Afrobeats: Digital Encounters and the Global Mainstreaming of African Popular Music

International Conference held at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, September 12-14, 2023; convened by Matthias Krings, Patrick Oloko, Ute Röschenthaler, Tom Simmert, and Artemis Saleh.

Ethnofictions. The cinema of Jean Rouch

Film series, November 3, 2022 – February 9, 2023

Tug of War. Vuta N’kuvute

Film Screening (AMA, JGU Mainz, 01.12.2022)

Orality and Cinema in Kenya. The practise of film DJs and audiences

Workshop, Lake Naivasha Resort, Naivasha, Kenya Sept 5-7, 2022

Politics of Good Parenting. Normativities, Distinctions, Interventions.

International Workshop (JGU Mainz, 19.-20.05.2022)

Tafsfiri. Politics of Translation and Decolonisation in Swahili Studies.

International Workshop (JGU Mainz, 19.-20.09.2021)

Different shades of white: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the albinotic body

International Conference, September6th – 8th, 2018, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz

Annual reports

Since 1997, the Department of Anthropology and African Studies has published annual reports, since 2008 also in English.

The reports provide information about the institute and its individual employees, the various institutions, degree programmes, funded research projects, doctorates and habilitations, events and conferences, publications and lectures, cooperations, scholarship students and international guests, courses, completed B.A., M.A. and Magister theses as well as current student numbers.

Managing editors: Bianca Baumann and Christine Weil (2024); Nico Nassenstein, Franziska Reiffen and Christine Weil (2023); Franziska Reiffen (2022); Hauke Dorsch (2021); Nico Nassenstein, Friederike Vigeland and Christine Weil (2020); Tom Simmert and Christine Weil (2019); Karla Dümmler and Eva Riedke (2018); Franziska Reiffen (2017); Afra Schmitz (2016); Konstanze N’Guessan (2014-2015); Anja Oed (2002-2013)