Alcinda Honwana

(Social Science Research Council): Biographical Statement

I am currently a Program Director at the Social Science Research Council in New York, for the Children and Armed Conflict Program and co-directing the Africa Program. Before joining the Council, I was a program officer and coordinator of research in the Office of the Special Representative of the secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. At the United Nations, I was centrally involved in the development of a research agenda on children and armed conflict, which is currently being implemented at the SSRC and brings together a network of researchers, academic institutions, and humanitarian organizations.

Born in Mozambique, I hold a first degree in History and Geography from the University Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique; a Maitrise in Sociology from l'Universite de Paris 8 in France; and an MA and a PhD in Social Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in the UK. I lectured on Anthropology at the University Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, and in South Africa I was a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Cape Town. In 2001 I was a Visiting Professor at Graduate Faculty at the New School University in New York.

My doctoral research focused on spirit possession and traditional healing, political conflict and the politics of culture in Mozambique. I subsequently carried out research on the effects of political violence on young people in Mozambique and Angola. My work has given particular attention to the role of local communities in processes of post-conflict healing, reconciliation, and social reintegration of war-affected children and youths, especially child soldiers and abused girls.

I have published a book on spirit possession and modernity in Mozambique and I am currently completing a manuscript on child soldiers in Africa that will be published next year by University of Pennsylvania Press. I co-edited a volume entitled "Makers and Breakers: Children and Youth in Postcolonial Africa," which is currently in press with James Currey Publishers in Oxford. In 2000 I was the co-editor of a special issue of the French journal Politique Africaine on Children, Youth and Politics in Africa. I have published several journal articles and book chapters on spirit possession, healing, and cultural politics in Mozambique and on children, youth, and conflict in Mozambique and Angola.

I was a member of the board of the Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) from 1998 to 2002. Before joining the SSRC, I was a member of its Advisory Panel for Africa. I am a member of the Editorial Boards of AFRICA, the Journal of the International African Institute, the African Sociological Review, and the Journal for Higher Education in Africa.

Alcinda Honwana: Statement of Candidacy

I am very pleased to stand as a candidate for the ASA Board of Directors. I believe that the ASA, as one of the most important Africanist scholarly organizations in the world, ought to further deepen its links with African scholars. It should continue to facilitate research and analysis on the most pressing challenges before contemporary Africa. In addition to being theoretically stimulating, such research should connect with policymaking and practical interventions so as to contribute to addressing the vast range of problems confronting African societies, such as conflict and political violence; poverty and economic crisis; HIV/AIDS and other health problems; displacement and migration; and environmental degradation.

My contribution to the ASA Board of Directors would focus particularly on strengthening our institutional collaboration with relevant organizations on the continent, especially CODESRIA, the largest and most important association (gathering) of African social scientists. I served as a member of the Board of CODESRIA from 1998 to 2001, and would be happy to work with my fellow directors at ASA to cultivate a closer relationship with scholars based in Africa, on the basis of a mutually enriching intellectual exchange. While working as a research coordinator at the United Nations, I came to realize how important a role can academic research play in shaping both the formulation of global public policy and the implementation of effective practical interventions. My work as a program director at the SSRC, focusing on Africa, children, youth, and armed conflict, has brought my academic research to bear upon larger societal issues and more practical needs. I believe that this experience will be useful as the ASA develops a multifaceted collaboration with African social scientists.

Finally, having studied in Mozambique, France, and the UK and having worked both in Africa and the USA, I have learned several languages and was exposed to a variety of intellectual traditions, which are helpful in understanding the diverse traditions in African academy and in facilitating interactions with colleagues who are working across the continent.

Copyright African Studies Association Apr 2004
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