BECHS-AFRICA FELLOWS | Andrew W. Mellon Foundation I Programmes at UG

Dr. Andre Fischer, from the Washington University in St. Louis had his fellowship at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana from September 2022 to February 2023. His focus during the residency was the ethnographic work of Hubert Fichte on West African religious culture and its aesthetics.
Dr. Samuel Amponsah, from University of Ghana took up his residency at the American University in Cairo (AUC). His work was largely based on his project titled “A framework for promoting inclusive, equal and equitable online learning for visually impaired students in Ghanaian Higher Education Institutions”.
Dr. Adu Sarkodie focused on how to enhance the capability of persons living with disability to access healthcare services in Ghana, within the theoretical framework of Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach. He is based at the University of Ghana and had his fellowship at the American University in Cairo
Dr. Austin Ablo during his fellowship term at the Washington University in St Louis worked on his project titled; “Enclaving: Patterns of Global Futures in African Cities”. He is Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana.
Dr. Gerda Heck from the American University in Cairo had her fellowship at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. During her fellowship, she conducted ethnographic field research on Congolese migrants living in Accra for her book manuscript on “Religion as an Infrastructure: The Globally Derived Diasporic Network of Congolese Migrants” (working title) and revised the analytical frameworks on Congolese Christians in Berlin, Istanbul, Guangzhou, and Rio de Janeiro. She further developed her theoretical approach to the idea of “Religion as infrastructure.”
Dr Zameka Sijadu during her fellowship term at the Washington University in St Louis worked on her project titled; “Code Switching and Translanguaging as Effective Communicative Strategy during the Pandemic in South African Political Government.” She is based at Stellenbosch University.
Dr Mariama Zaami, from the University of Ghana, was in the Washington University in St Louis for her residency. During her stay she worked on two projects namely: “You don’t sound Black; you don’t speak like a Black person”: African Immigrant Youth Experiences of Discrimination in the Labour Market in Calgary and “Challenges of integration in the educational system: experiences of Sudanese youth immigrants in Calgary”.
Dr Akua Campbell, from the University of Ghana spent her fellowship at Stellenbosch University. She focused on the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of a novel use of the perfect marker in Ga, a language spoken in Ghana.
Dr Martin Moraw from American University in Cairo spent his fellowship at Stellenbosch University. His work was focused on completing the last chapter of his book project titled “Drama of Forms: Genre and Politics in the time of Shakespeare”.
Dr. Dorothy Agyepong, from the University of Ghana was in Washington University in St Louis for her fellowship. She focused on finishing two journal articles titled: ‘When BREAK means CUT: The Semantics and Combinatorics of bú “to break” and pàè “to split” in Asante-Twi’ and ‘He tore/ripped my heart apart: expressing Tearing in Asante-Twi, for publication,’.
Dr Richmond Kwesi, from the University of Ghana also had his fellowship at the American University in Cairo. His research focused on traditional Akan conceptions of consensual democracy.
Dr Joan Salifu Yendork, from the University of Ghana also spent her fellowship at the Stellenbosch University. During her residency, she worked on the influence of intrinsic psychological resources on vulnerable children’s wellbeing.
Dr Mustafa Toprak from the American University in Cairo (AUC) looked at restrictions of effective principal leadership at schools during his residency at the Washington University in St Louis.
Dr. Uhuru Phalafala from Stellenbosch University was at the American University in Cairo for her residency. During her fellowship, she investigated the cultural imaginaries of extractive violence and registers of repair.
Dr Kingsley Mintah, University of Ghana, will be in the American University in Cairo during the fall 2023. He proposes to work on two projects titled: “Linguistic classification of state and private newspapers: a systemic functional approach” and “Paper bans: unveiling the language of defiance in Ghanaian news media”.
Dr Adam Talib, from American University in Cairo (AUC), examined manuscripts of Arabic poetry in Ghana and also worked on his book project during his stay at the University of Ghana.
Dr De-Graft Johnson Dei, from the University of Ghana focused on the management and preservation of indigenous knowledge during his stay in American University in Cairo.
Dr Lauren van der Rede from Stellenbosch University will spend her residency at the University of Ghana. She will conduct immersive research necessary for developing her monograph.
Dr Susan Langmagne, from the University of Ghana will be at Stellenbosch University for her fellowship. She will focus on two projects: “Health seeking behaviour of Homosexuals and Lesbians living with HIV in Ghana” and “Sexual life of older adults living with HIV in the Eastern Region of Ghana”.
Dr Thembani Dube, from Stellenbosch University will have her fellowship at the American University in Cairo. During her stay, she will work the project titled: “Belonging, identity and history: a social history of the Kalanga communities of Zimbabwe c. 1850-2022.
Dr Elias Kossi Kaiza, from the University of Ghana, during his stay will analyze practices of learning French among masters’ students of the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) at the University of Ghana. He will be at Stellenbosch University for his fellowship.
Dr Robyn Berghoff from Stellenbosch University will spend her fellowship at the Washington University in St Louis. During her stay, she plans to concentrate on using spelling cues to learn morphological agreement.
Dr Esther Viola Kurtz, who will be at the University of Ghana for her residency, will look at the racial politics of Capoeira Angola in Backland Bahia and video Media. She is based at the Washington University in St Louis.