8-10 APRIL 2027 - BINTUMANI HOTEL, ABERDEEN, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE.
International Conference Commemorating the Bicentenary of Fourah Bay College
Established in 1827 as Africa’s first Western-style institution of higher learning, Fourah Bay College, now a constituent college of the University of Sierra Leone, is commemorating the 200th anniversary of its founding with an international conference that seeks to go beyond mere celebration.
This gathering brings together scholars to ask critical questions about the current state and future of higher education in Sierra Leone and across Africa. While Fourah Bay College once trained leaders from across West Africa and earned distinction as a center of academic excellence, higher education in the region has experienced significant decline.
This conference creates space for serious, generative conversation about the histories and legacies of the institution, the role of universities in knowledge production, mentorship across generations, and the broader implications of colonial modernities and historical injustices—ultimately examining what higher education must become to serve Africa's future.
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CONFERENCE DATES
8-10 April, 2027
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ABSTRACT DEADLINE
Friday, 31 July 2026
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NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE
31 August 2026
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FORMAT
In-person event
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Bintumani Hotel - Aberdeen, Freetown, Sierra Leone - More information
Conference Themes
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Histories and legacies of Fourah Bay College and universities in Africa
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Universities, knowledge, and power
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Disciplines in crisis and possibilities of renewal
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Digital futures and emerging fields
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Pedagogy, mentorship, and generations
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Reparations, colonial modernity, and historical injustices
Bicentenary Conference Committee and Contacts
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![A smiling man wearing a black beret, glasses, a dark sweater, and a cream-colored scarf in a cozy indoor setting.]()
Ibrahim Abdullah
UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE
Ibrahim Abdullah, a professor of History and African Studies at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone serves as chair of the Fourah Bay College Bicentenary Anniversary conference committee. Abdullah studied at the Ahmadu Bello University; the University of Ibadan; and the University of Toronto. His area of speciality is labour/social history; nineteenth and twentieth century West African history history; and African historiography.
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![A smiling Black woman with curly hair styled in an updo, wearing earrings and a dark blazer against a neutral background.]()
Josephine Beoku-Betts
FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
Josephine Beoku-Betts is Professor Emerita of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Sociology at Florida Atlantic University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.She has published on the Gullah of South Carolina and Georgia, African women academic scientists, and Women's political activism in Sierra Leone since the 1990s. She is co-editor with Prof. Fredline M'Cormack- Hale of War, women, and Post- Conflict Empowerment: Lessons from Sierra Leone (Zed Books, 2022). She is a past President of Sociologists for Women in Society, Fulbright Scholar to Sierra Leone (2011-2012, 2018-2019), and recipient of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women Florida Achievement Award.
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![Close-up portrait of an older African American man with glasses, wearing a suit jacket and in front of a window with curtains.]()
Ismail Rashid
VASSAR COLLEGE, NEW YORK
Ismail Rashid is Professor and Chair of History on the Marion Musser Lloyd '32 Chair at Vassar College, New York. He received his BA Hons in Classics and History from the University of Ghana, MA in Race Relations from Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada and PhD in African History from McGill University. His primary teaching interests are pre-colonial and modern African history, African diaspora and Pan-Africanism, and international relations. His research interests include subaltern resistance against colonialism, public health, and conflicts and security in contemporary Africa. https://www.vassar.edu/faculty/israshid -
![Close-up of a man with a beard wearing a gray flat cap and a navy blazer outdoors near a tree.]()
Zubairu Wai
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Zubairu Wai is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Development Studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where he also serves as the Program Supervisor for African Studies. His research centers on the intersections of power and coloniality in relation to the political economy of knowledge, violence, and state formation in Africa and the Global South. For more details, visit utsc.utoronto.ca.
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Mohamed Gibril Sesay
UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE
Mohamed Gibril Sesay teaches Sociology at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, where he is also an alumnus. His work focuses on political sociology, governance, and state–society relations, with particular attention to transitional justice, social discourses, and youth. He has served as a very senior diplomat for Sierra Leone and is also a published poet and short story writer.escription goes here
Organising Institutions
