130th KUASS: KYOTO UNIVERSITY AFRICAN STUDIES SEMINAR

Palaces, Power, and Urban Transformation in Addis Ababa

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Event Info

Presenter
  • Dr. Eloi Ficquet
    [Associate Professor, School for advanced studies in social sciences (EHESS)]
Date & Venue
  • 4 April 2025（Friday）
  • 16:00-17:30 (JST)
  • Hybrid Meeting On Site + Zoom (Online): Small-sized Conference Room 1, 3F, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall, Kyoto University
Language
  • English (no interpreter)
Contact
  • The Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University
  • caaskyoto[at]gmail.com (please replace [at] with @)

Summary

Over the past five years, Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, has undergone massive urban transformation investments, including the creation of large avenues designated as development corridors, the demolition of old neighborhoods deemed unsanitary, the establishment of new parks, and the opening of former imperial palaces to the public—now restored and integrated into a tourism and leisure economy.

While the city continues to expand and erect increasingly ambitious buildings, these now-accessible royal palaces offer key insights into the historical dynamics of Addis Ababa’s foundation and evolution as a city of power. Their recent renovation and museification also invite reflection on how the current government stages its relationship with history. My talk will examine these palaces both in their original design and through the transformations they have recently undergone.

instructor

Dr. Eloi Ficquet
[Associate Professor, School for advanced studies in social sciences (EHESS)]

Date & Venue

4 April 2025（Friday）
16:00-17:30 (JST)
Hybrid Meeting On Site + Zoom (Online): Small-sized Conference Room 1, 3F, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall, Kyoto University

Language

English (no interpreter)

Eligibility

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Registration

For attendance online, please register from below prior to the meeting.
Registration form

Profile

Eloi Ficquet, PhD, is associate professor at the School for advanced studies in social sciences (EHESS), Marseille and Paris, France. He is an anthropologist and historian, working on religion, ethnicity and power in modern and contemporary societies of Ethiopia. He was the director of the French center for Ethiopian Studies (CFEE) in Addis Ababa (2009-2012) and the chairman of the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (Dire Dawa, 2012). He co-edited with Wolbert Smidt The Life and Times of Lïj Iyasu of Ethiopia (LIT, 2014) and with Gérard Prunier Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia (Hurst, 2015). Since 2016, he has been involved as scientific expert in the Ethio-French cooperation programme for the restoration and public opening of the National Palace (former Jubilee Palace) in Addis Ababa.

Contact

The Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University
caaskyoto[at]gmail.com (please replace [at] with @)

Notes

There are no parking lots available. Please use public transport.