An Ansoms

An Ansoms is professor in development studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium). She coordinates an interdisciplinary research group on rural transformations in Central and Eastern Africa (www.juwaresearch.org). The group’s research themes include natural resource conflicts and forms of resistance, the interaction of local actors with wider rural transformations, and the resilience of African agrarian systems in the face of crises (violence, climate change, global economic crises, health crises). The interdisciplinary team includes African and European researchers who conduct in-depth research in eastern DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi. They adopt innovative and action-oriented methodological approaches, such as applied theater. They are actively engaged in generating scientific knowledge, but also participate in social debates around the decolonization of the production of knowledge, and in reflections around the ethical and emotional issues of research in conflict situations.