Within any human community, human hair is intertwined with all sorts of gendered, racial, class, and religious politics and mean making. To make matters even more complex, at times hair entangles communities that are geographically far from each other in often intimate ways. In this episode Bani talks about the motivations and experiences of African entrepreneurs who travel to Delhi in search of the coveted ‘indian hair’, hoping to clench upward social mobility in the weave business, as well as the values and practices through which the business of hair becomes a multibillion-dollar market.

Dr Bani Gill is a postdoctoral researcher at The Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford. Her research interests include South- South migration, Africa- India connections, race, gender, urbanism, informal transnational economies, and the anthropology of law, bureaucracy, and the state.

Simphiwe is reading for a PhD/DPhil in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. 

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West Africa is currently undergoing a sociolinguistic crossroads. Francophone countries such as the Ivory Coast seem to be embracing English as a more economically viable lingua franca. Meanwhile, anglophone nations like Ghana have initiated more emphasis on French to the point of near officialisation. In the midst of these intersections, local African languages such as Akan and Dioula still have minimal representation in educational and commercial contexts. In this episode, Maciej Nowakowski, master student in linguistics at Oxford, Dr Isaac Mwinlaaru, Lecturer at University of Cape Coast, and Prof Yaw Skyi-Baidoo, from the University of Education in Winneba, will trace age-defining societal transformations within one of our most ineffable traits, language.

Maciej Nowakowski was born in Poland. After having completed his undergraduate studies in Hong Kong, he is currently reading for a Master of Science in Applied Linguistics at Wolfson College, Oxford. His current dissertation work focuses on the sociolinguistic study of understudied postcolonial contexts such as West Africa. This desire to highlight understudied and underappreciated parts of the world has been central to many of Maciej’s extracurricular contributions to Oxford student life, particularly in his articles on culture, food, and sport for the Oxford Student, the Oxford Blue, and the Oxford History Review.

Dr. Isaac Mwinlaaru obtained his Ph.D. from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include systemic functional theory and the metatheory of language in general, functional grammar, language typology, diachronic linguistics. He focuses on English and Niger-Congo languages, particularly Akan (Kwa), Dagaare (North Central Gur) and Kulango (South Central Gur).

Prof Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo is a Professor of English and Dean of Language Studies at the University of Education in Winneba, Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Coast. He is also the founder of the Ghana English Studies Association, and an acclaimed musician and composer.

West Africa is currently undergoing a sociolinguistic crossroads. Francophone countries such as the Ivory Coast seem to be embracing English as a more economically viable lingua franca. Meanwhile, anglophone nations like Ghana have initiated more emphasis on French to the point of near officialisation. In the midst of these intersections, local African languages such as Akan and Dioula still have minimal representation in educational and commercial contexts. In this episode, Maciej Nowakowski, master student in linguistics at Oxford, Dr Isaac Mwinlaaru, Lecturer at University of Cape Coast, and Prof Yaw Skyi-Baidoo, from the University of Education in Winneba, will trace age-defining societal transformations within one of our most ineffable traits, language.

Maciej Nowakowski was born in Poland. After having completed his undergraduate studies in Hong Kong, he is currently reading for a Master of Science in Applied Linguistics at Wolfson College, Oxford. His current dissertation work focuses on the sociolinguistic study of understudied postcolonial contexts such as West Africa. This desire to highlight understudied and underappreciated parts of the world has been central to many of Maciej’s extracurricular contributions to Oxford student life, particularly in his articles on culture, food, and sport for the Oxford Student, the Oxford Blue, and the Oxford History Review.

Dr. Isaac Mwinlaaru obtained his Ph.D. from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include systemic functional theory and the metatheory of language in general, functional grammar, language typology, diachronic linguistics. He focuses on English and Niger-Congo languages, particularly Akan (Kwa), Dagaare (North Central Gur) and Kulango (South Central Gur).

Prof Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo is a Professor of English and Dean of Language Studies at the University of Education in Winneba, Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Coast. He is also the founder of the Ghana English Studies Association, and an acclaimed musician and composer.

Multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation are open to countries from all parts of the world. However, they were formed under the initiative of Western powers, thus countries from the Global South struggle to acquire economic and strategic relevance within those frameworks.

Dr Indrajit Roy tells the story of emerging "Southern Multilateralisms" that are becoming important to the global order. This draws from his academic research on emerging challenges to the Liberal International Order with a focus on the New Development Bank and the India-Brazil-South Africa Fund for international development. The new forms of Southern multilateralism promise to upend the prevailing Northern-led global order.

Dr Indrajit Roy is a senior lecturer at the University of York. He worked in the development sector for seven years prior to undertaking his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford. Since obtaining a doctorate in development studies, he has held the ESRC Future Research Leader Fellowship at the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID) as well as a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. His research and teaching contribute to critical approaches to studying the politics of global development, with a focus on ‘new development futures’ that promise to reframe the discipline.

Humberto was born in Mexico City, grew up in Monterrey, and moved to Houston, Texas when he was 10. Both countries have their own problems regarding race and immigration and from a young age, he was aware of the tensions in the United States, even in a place as diverse as Houston. Returning to Mexico - where others didn't see him as Mexican enough - and living in the US - where he wasn't American enough - has become something he recently accepted as part of his identity. There are many, many Mexicos, Mexicans say; Humberto’s story is emblematic of a new kind. 

Humberto is completing his master's degree in Latin American Studies and is focusing on how the pandemic has affected the informal economy in Mexico City. He has worked as a journalist in local news, Forbes and The Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan's largest newspaper) covering foreign affairs, immigration and politics.

Nicolas grew up in Rio and has always been aware of the African contributions to the formation of Brazil. These origin stories have a mythical, faded, character, contradicted by the stark racial inequality in the Latin American country. Today, despite the cultural links between the two regions, there are very little actual diplomatic or people-to-people exchanges, with some notable exceptions. This contrasts with China-Africa relations, where the absence of cultural links is compensated by vigorous diplomatic, commercial, and migration relations.

In this episode, which follows the conversation from the previous one, Nicolas reflects on the truths and myths of the "Afro-Asian world" and its relevance for thinking about the Global South today.

Nicolas Lippolis is a doctoral candidate in Politics and a researcher at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford. His current research deals with the politics of industrial policy in Ethiopia and Angola.

Nicolas grew up in Rio and has always been aware of the African contributions to the formation of Brazil. These origin stories have a mythical, faded, character, contradicted by the stark racial inequality in the Latin American country. Today, despite the cultural links between the two regions, there are very little actual diplomatic or people-to-people exchanges, with some notable exceptions.

This contrasts with China-Africa relations, where the absence of cultural links is compensated by vigorous diplomatic, commercial, and migration relations.

In the next two episodes, Nicolas will tell us about some political and cultural encounters between Africa and Latin America, followed by a broader reflection on the role of Latin America in the "Afro-Asian world" and its relevance for thinking about the Global South today.

Nicolas Lippolis is a doctoral candidate in Politics and a researcher at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford. His current research deals with the politics of industrial policy in Ethiopia and Angola.

In 1979 Elleke, then a 17 year old woman, travelled from South Africa to Brazil. She only stayed three days in the South American country, but the colours, sounds, and tastes of Rio left a long-lasting impression on her. Elleke, coming from the wrapped political and racial state of Apartheid South Africa, discovered a certain sense of South in Rio. In this episode, Elleke, now a Professor of World Literature in English, reflects on the scarcity of south-south links at the time, and how that has changed.