Entangled Ecologies: Memory, Place, and Anthropological Futures in (Southern) Africa
ASnA 2025 Post-Event Report
Introduction
The Anthropology Southern Africa (ASnA) 2025 Conference was held at Rhodes University in Makhanda from 20 to 22 August 2025. The university was invited to host the gathering after a successful bid at the 2024 conference, marking the event’s return to Makhanda a full decade after it was last convened here in 2015. The Department of Anthropology assumed primary responsibility for organising the conference, coordinating the academic programme as well as the broader logistical and community engagement elements.
The event was formally opened by the following:
• Dr Gabriel Darong, ASnA President
• Dr Pascall Taruvinga, Head of the Department of Anthropology
• Professor Enocent Msindo, Dean of Humanities
• Dr Khwezi Mzilikazi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Strategic
Partnerships
The theme, Entangled Ecologies: Memory, Place, and Anthropological Futures in (Southern) Africa, framed more than 100 papers presented across diverse sessions. These ranged from water and healing, heritage and memory, and waste ecologies, to policing, masculinities, neurodivergence and digital imaginaries.
Two keynote addresses anchored the intellectual programme. Prof Francis Nyamnjoh (UCT) reflected on incompleteness and conviviality as foundations for ecological imagination, while Distinguished Prof Lenore Manderson (Wits) emphasised inequality as a lethal ecological reality and urged anthropology to embrace fracture and repair as generative opportunities for change. Together, these lectures framed the conference as a space for re-imagining futures from Southern Africa outward.
Significance of the conference for the Eastern Cape
One of the central aims of ASnA 2025 was to highlight the Eastern Cape’s contribution to the discipline of anthropology. This was demonstrated by the representation of all four universities within the province (Rhodes University, the University of Fort Hare, Walter Sisulu University and Nelson Mandela University), thus affirming significance within national and regional scholarly landscape. Provincial commitment to the conference was further, illustrated by the attendance of the Head of Department from Walter Sisulu University and senior staff from Fort Hare and Nelson Mandela University.
Moreover, numerous papers drew directly on research grounded in the Eastern Cape. This includes studies of healing cosmologies in rural areas, explorations of urban livelihoods, and analyses of the social and ecological challenges facing towns such as Gqeberha and East London. By foregrounding these contexts, the conference underscored the Eastern Cape not only as a site of inquiry, but also as a key contributor to wider debates shaping the discipline. Importantly, hosting ASnA 2025 in Makhanda demonstrated the value of moving beyond South Africa’s traditional metropolitan centres.
Conference participation
The conference drew an extraordinarily diverse body of participants. Scholars and students came from across South Africa and further afield. The breadth of this participation testifies to ASnA’s reach as a scholarly home and its growing importance as a forum for critical, engaged, and globally connected anthropology. The conference drew 126 delegates, of these five represented international institutions and 121 represented South African institutions, across diverse sub-fields within anthropology and across other disciplines. Below, is a breakdown of these aspects.
International representation:
• United Kingdom, 2 delegates: University of Oxford; University of Bristol
• United States, 1 delegate: Harvard University
• Japan, 1 delegate: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Uganda, 1 delegate: Makerere University
In addition to the above, 16 South African universities and 3 national research institutes were
represented (across eight provinces):
• Eastern Cape, 73 delegates: Rhodes University (many of whom are based in other
provinces, but only came for the conference), Nelson Mandela University, University of
Fort Hare, Walter Sisulu University
• Western Cape, 23 delegates: University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, University
of the Western Cape
• Gauteng, 17 delegates: University of the Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg,
University of Pretoria, HSRC, CSIR, Ditsong Museums of South Africa
• KwaZulu-Natal, 3 delegates: University of Zululand, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• North West, 2 delegates: North-West University
• Free State, 1 delegate: University of the Free State
• Mpumalanga, 1 delegate: University of Mpumalanga
• Northern Cape, 1 delegate: Sol Plaatje University
The Rhodes University Events Office provided invaluable support in coordinating logistics and ensuring the smooth running of the conference. Their collaboration with the Department of Anthropology was instrumental in delivering a professional and seamless event.
Impact of the conference
ASnA 2025 was marked by the prominence of emerging voices. A significant portion of the programme was dedicated to postgraduate students presenting their work. Their contributions stood alongside those of senior academics, reflecting the ethos of ASnA as a developmental space. This investment in emerging scholarship was also evident in the active role of postgraduate students as session chairs, discussants and co-presenters, further affirming the conference’s role in capacity building. Beyond its academic contributions, ASnA 2025 also generated tangible impacts locally. Over 120 delegates spent three days in Makhanda, supporting local businesses through accommodation, transport and catering. Based on registration data, at least 60 delegates required accommodation locally, with approximately 30 staying in Rhodes University residences and the remainder in hotels and guesthouses across Makhanda. In addition, more than 20 delegates booked airport shuttles from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport,
while others indicated they would hire cars. Together, this mobility and accommodation footprint demonstrate a measurable contribution to the hospitality and transport sectors in the Eastern Cape. As the organisers, we also sought to ensure that the conference left a meaningful imprint on the broader Makhanda community. Through a partnership with Food4Futures, a local non-profit organisation that addresses food insecurity in Makhanda, each delegate received a voucher booklet to the value of R50. The value of the vouchers was R6000. Delegates were encouraged to distribute these vouchers during the three days of the conference to local households and individuals experiencing economic hardship as they explored the city. In this way, the conference created a dignified channel of support between academic visitors and the broader community, extending the benefits of the event beyond the university.
The programme also integrated local craftspeople and artists, who were provided space to display and sell their work. This affirmed the conference’s commitment not only to intellectual exchange, but also to community engagement and regional development, strengthening connections between visiting scholars and the cultural and creative life of the Eastern Cape.
Highlights
ASnA 2025 confirmed the importance of the annual conference as both an intellectual forum and a vehicle for academic tourism. It demonstrated Rhodes University’s capacity to host an international scholarly gathering, foregrounded the intellectual contributions of the Eastern Cape, and extended meaningful benefits to the local community. Institutional support received from the Dean’s Office was central to the success of this event (R40000). The Faculty’s sponsorship enabled the conference to achieve its objectives at the highest level, ensuring strong intellectual programming, smooth logistics, and meaningful community engagement. This support amplified Rhodes University’s reputation, highlighted the Faculty of Humanities’ commitment to engaged scholarship, and confirmed the Eastern Cape as a key hub for anthropology.
Alongside the Faculty’s sponsorship, funding from the South African National Convention Bureau (R260000) further strengthened the conference, allowing us to deliver a programme of high quality and meaningful community benefit. Post-conference evaluations from delegates strongly affirmed the success of ASnA 2025. Participants praised the warm hospitality, the efficiency of the organisation, and the professionalism of student volunteers, describing the conference as “brilliant”, “heart- warming” and “fabulous”. The intellectual quality of the programme was consistentlyhighlighted, with keynote lectures described as “outstanding, offering rich insights and thought-provoking discussions that elevated the entire experience”. Networking opportunities and collegial exchange were considered invaluable: “The fact that the conference was in-person was invaluable. Hybrid and online conferences take away all that is valuable about such meetings”. The intergenerational spirit of the event was especially celebrated: “It was amazing seeing young people own the discipline, and watching what they are doing with their training is inspirational”.
As one participant concluded: “I think this was a truly wonderful conference... Thank you again
for a generous and generative time, and congratulations to Rhodes University for hosting this
fabulous conference.” Anonymous.
Prof Fiona Ross (UCT) added: “What a life-giving conference! Thank you! I left filled with energy and excitement about our collective work and its directions. Thank you! Thanks also for excellent organisation and a really smooth programme. It was, quite simply, the most energising and enlivening Anthro conference I’ve yet attended.”
Conclusion
Based on the participation and feedback, the ASnA 2025 Conference was a successful and meaningful event. It has elevated Rhodes University’s national and international reputation and consolidated the scholarly networks of the Eastern Cape. Central to these achievements was the institutional support and sponsorship of the Dean of Humanities, whose support enabled Rhodes University to stage a conference that combined academic excellence, community engagement and regional impact. The Department of Anthropology and the ASnA Executive Council extend their deep gratitude to the Dean’s Office, whose contribution has left a lasting imprint on the success of the event and on the standing of Rhodes University, the Eastern Cape, and anthropology in Southern Africa.
On behalf of the Department of Anthropology and ASnA
Dr Melusi Dlamini
Chair: ASnA 2025 Organising Committee
Hosted by Rhodes University, South Africa