FORAGENCY
@foragency.bsky.social
ERC Starting Grant FORAGENCY. Foraging, Colonialism and More-than-Human Agency in Central Africa
Social History of Capitalism Research Group (SHOC) @shoc-vub.bsky.social
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
For more info, check our website: www.ercforagency.eu
Social History of Capitalism Research Group (SHOC) @shoc-vub.bsky.social
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
For more info, check our website: www.ercforagency.eu
The Foragers #2: Preview Screening 'Summer Grass, Winter Worm', of Matjaz Pinter, BoZar, Brussels, 12 Nov. 7 PM.
Details and registration here: tinyurl.com/3ntntw5b
Details and registration here: tinyurl.com/3ntntw5b
October 29, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The Foragers #2: Preview Screening 'Summer Grass, Winter Worm', of Matjaz Pinter, BoZar, Brussels, 12 Nov. 7 PM.
Details and registration here: tinyurl.com/3ntntw5b
Details and registration here: tinyurl.com/3ntntw5b
A view from Poklujka in Slovenia, where Alice Vittoria has attended the 'Foraging Futures' symposium organised by the 'Foraging at the edges of capitalism' team. More info on thisgreat project here: foraging.work
October 8, 2025 at 7:59 AM
A view from Poklujka in Slovenia, where Alice Vittoria has attended the 'Foraging Futures' symposium organised by the 'Foraging at the edges of capitalism' team. More info on thisgreat project here: foraging.work
The Foragers #1: Film screening, Up on the Mountain (dir. O. Mathon & M. Reis, 2022). Cinema RITCS, Brussels 21 Sept, 7 PM. followed by a discussion with O. Mathon and FORAGENCY members B. Henriet & A. Vittoria. Synopsis of the doc 👇
September 22, 2025 at 1:55 PM
The Foragers #1: Film screening, Up on the Mountain (dir. O. Mathon & M. Reis, 2022). Cinema RITCS, Brussels 21 Sept, 7 PM. followed by a discussion with O. Mathon and FORAGENCY members B. Henriet & A. Vittoria. Synopsis of the doc 👇
We are thrilled to officially launch "The Foragers: Engagements Beyond the Human", an arts-sciences crossover which will run from October 25 until late 27
tinyurl.com/3xkbcvmb
tinyurl.com/3xkbcvmb
September 22, 2025 at 7:49 AM
We are thrilled to officially launch "The Foragers: Engagements Beyond the Human", an arts-sciences crossover which will run from October 25 until late 27
tinyurl.com/3xkbcvmb
tinyurl.com/3xkbcvmb
This is the next-to-last chapter of the edited volume "Textures of Power. Central Africa in the Long 20th Century", a groundbreaking, multidisciplinary and longue durée overview of current research across African studies. Also available in print and OA: tinyurl.com/236xydsj 🤓
June 17, 2025 at 5:35 AM
This is the next-to-last chapter of the edited volume "Textures of Power. Central Africa in the Long 20th Century", a groundbreaking, multidisciplinary and longue durée overview of current research across African studies. Also available in print and OA: tinyurl.com/236xydsj 🤓
The garden of the National Archives of the R. of Congo 🌱 The FORAGENCY historians now plough through the records of the Gouvernement Général of French Equatorial Africa. So far, stories arose on food shortages, intoxication along the railway and tensions in the logging industry, more soon!
May 27, 2025 at 6:21 AM
The garden of the National Archives of the R. of Congo 🌱 The FORAGENCY historians now plough through the records of the Gouvernement Général of French Equatorial Africa. So far, stories arose on food shortages, intoxication along the railway and tensions in the logging industry, more soon!
Alice Vittoria, FORAGENCY's postdoc anthropologist working on plants/humans relations in care and healing, has just started a 2 1/2 months fieldwork in the North of the Republic of Congo. Looking forward to sharing her insights and findings in the coming months!
April 22, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Alice Vittoria, FORAGENCY's postdoc anthropologist working on plants/humans relations in care and healing, has just started a 2 1/2 months fieldwork in the North of the Republic of Congo. Looking forward to sharing her insights and findings in the coming months!
Basel on a sunny-ish, early Spring morning - thank you so much to the colleagues of Universität Basel for the invitation to take part to the African History seminar, very grateful for their thought provoking questions and comments!
March 24, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Basel on a sunny-ish, early Spring morning - thank you so much to the colleagues of Universität Basel for the invitation to take part to the African History seminar, very grateful for their thought provoking questions and comments!
Today, we go to Ruyigi to research beekeeping, foraging, healing and human/plants relations 🌱
October 21, 2024 at 6:45 AM
Today, we go to Ruyigi to research beekeeping, foraging, healing and human/plants relations 🌱
We furthered our close collaboration with Profs. Nseyingumva, Nudwayo and Nduwayezu of the University of Burundi. We plan to publish a series of joint articles based on our collective fieldwork
October 21, 2024 at 6:41 AM
We furthered our close collaboration with Profs. Nseyingumva, Nudwayo and Nduwayezu of the University of Burundi. We plan to publish a series of joint articles based on our collective fieldwork
We also had the chance to take part to a forest visit with one of Rumonge's prominent healer, as well as to a demonstration of lamp fishing on the Lake
October 21, 2024 at 6:38 AM
We also had the chance to take part to a forest visit with one of Rumonge's prominent healer, as well as to a demonstration of lamp fishing on the Lake
We interviewed fishermen, healers and elderly residents in Rumonge, on the shores of the Tanganyika Lake
October 21, 2024 at 6:36 AM
We interviewed fishermen, healers and elderly residents in Rumonge, on the shores of the Tanganyika Lake
We went further in the consultation of the very rich colonial records in the National Archives, where we found a lot of reports and despatches regarding the colony's daily management
October 21, 2024 at 6:34 AM
We went further in the consultation of the very rich colonial records in the National Archives, where we found a lot of reports and despatches regarding the colony's daily management
The FORAGENCY team is back in the field - 4 weeks of data collection in Burundi. Updates coming soon!
October 6, 2024 at 6:28 PM
The FORAGENCY team is back in the field - 4 weeks of data collection in Burundi. Updates coming soon!
It was a true honour to present FORAGENCY to economic history students from Gakushuin university in Tokyo, and a great opportunity to discuss research methods and approaches with prof. Shinobu Majima
July 11, 2024 at 11:47 PM
It was a true honour to present FORAGENCY to economic history students from Gakushuin university in Tokyo, and a great opportunity to discuss research methods and approaches with prof. Shinobu Majima
Very lucky to have hosted the wonderful Nancy Rose Hunt for a masterclass with PhD students in Central African history. We discussed epistemic challenges, inspirations, archives and fieldwork - such informal discussions are a fantastic source of inspiration!
June 21, 2024 at 3:40 PM
Very lucky to have hosted the wonderful Nancy Rose Hunt for a masterclass with PhD students in Central African history. We discussed epistemic challenges, inspirations, archives and fieldwork - such informal discussions are a fantastic source of inspiration!
4/4 None of this would have been possible without the support and help of our colleagues from the U. of Burundi, Profs. Nduwayezu. Nseyingumva and Nduwayo. We are ever so grateful for our collaboration!
May 25, 2024 at 4:36 PM
4/4 None of this would have been possible without the support and help of our colleagues from the U. of Burundi, Profs. Nduwayezu. Nseyingumva and Nduwayo. We are ever so grateful for our collaboration!
3/4 We have performed our first, very rich interviews with foragers and beekeepers in Bugarama and Ruyigy
May 25, 2024 at 4:32 PM
3/4 We have performed our first, very rich interviews with foragers and beekeepers in Bugarama and Ruyigy
2/4 Successive generations of Burundian scholars have done an extensive collection of oral histories, 300+ of them recorded in the 70's and 80's are archived at the Ministry of culture, a real treasure trove!
May 25, 2024 at 4:30 PM
2/4 Successive generations of Burundian scholars have done an extensive collection of oral histories, 300+ of them recorded in the 70's and 80's are archived at the Ministry of culture, a real treasure trove!
The FORAGENCY team is currently in Burundi for two weeks of preparatory fieldwork. Here is a quick recap of our early findings 1/4 👇
May 25, 2024 at 4:26 PM
The FORAGENCY team is currently in Burundi for two weeks of preparatory fieldwork. Here is a quick recap of our early findings 1/4 👇
Our second reading group was dedicated to @maxliboiron.bsky.social's Pollution is Colonialism. We discussed Liboiron's definition of settler colonialism, their thought-provoking methodological suggestions & what we could infer from them when researching extractive colonies in Central Africa
April 17, 2024 at 7:54 AM
Our second reading group was dedicated to @maxliboiron.bsky.social's Pollution is Colonialism. We discussed Liboiron's definition of settler colonialism, their thought-provoking methodological suggestions & what we could infer from them when researching extractive colonies in Central Africa
Today at 2 PM Dublin time, we will be presenting FORAGENCY at the seminar of the Environmental Humanities research group of Trinity College. It will also be an opportunity to present our first preliminary findings on Human/Acridian temporalities in colonial Burundi. You can DM us for the Zoom link!
March 27, 2024 at 10:33 AM
Today at 2 PM Dublin time, we will be presenting FORAGENCY at the seminar of the Environmental Humanities research group of Trinity College. It will also be an opportunity to present our first preliminary findings on Human/Acridian temporalities in colonial Burundi. You can DM us for the Zoom link!
Throughout the project, we will publish research notes by team members and guest scholars. These short pieces offer reflections on the practice of environmental humanities. Research note #1, by Prof. Rosa Vieira, focuses on palm wine in the Mayombe forest (DR Congo) tinyurl.com/5n7bhk6c
March 1, 2024 at 7:09 AM
Throughout the project, we will publish research notes by team members and guest scholars. These short pieces offer reflections on the practice of environmental humanities. Research note #1, by Prof. Rosa Vieira, focuses on palm wine in the Mayombe forest (DR Congo) tinyurl.com/5n7bhk6c
We are very grateful for the large turnout and thought-provoking questions we received during our inaugural event. 🙏 FORAGENCY will soon enter another stage, with new team members, research methods and questions. Stay tuned!
February 28, 2024 at 8:29 AM
We are very grateful for the large turnout and thought-provoking questions we received during our inaugural event. 🙏 FORAGENCY will soon enter another stage, with new team members, research methods and questions. Stay tuned!
Samples of locust wings collected in the mandate territory of Urundi in September 1939. Source: State Archives of Belgium, African Archives, BUR (294)
January 29, 2024 at 10:14 AM
Samples of locust wings collected in the mandate territory of Urundi in September 1939. Source: State Archives of Belgium, African Archives, BUR (294)