Christian A. Williams is a historical anthropologist based at the University of the Free State in South Africa. His research examines Namibia’s liberation struggle and draws from extensive fieldwork to rethink how we understand nationalism, exile, and decolonisation across Southern Africa. His doctoral thesis (Michigan 2009) and first academic monograph (Cambridge 2015) examined camps administered by the South West Africa People’s Organisation in Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola. He has also published widely on what it meant to be a refugee in Southern Africa from 1960 to 1990 and on the significance of Christian faith in anti-colonial struggles during that period. His most recent book Christian Faith and Namibian Liberation: An Ethnographic Biography of Salatiel Ailonga was published in 2025 in James Currey’s “Religion in Transforming Africa” series.
Writing an Ethnographic Biography: Possibilities and Challenges? Book Discussion with Prof. Dr. Christian Williams
Book Discussion with Prof. Dr. Christian Williams
On September 02, 2026, Prof. Dr. Christian Williams (Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of the Free State, South Africa) will share about his new book, Christian Faith and Namibian Liberation: An Ethnographic Biography of Salatiel Ailonga. The book employs the research approach of ethnographic biography to illuminate how Christian communities shaped the trajectory of Namibia's struggle for independence through the life of a refugee pastor, Salatiel Ailonga. Ethnographic biography combines oral history interviews with personal archives and participant observation of quotidian social events to explore how an individual's lived experiences connect to broader socio-cultural processes. The presentation and discussion session will thus provide an opportunity to reflect on the methodological, theoretical, and practical challenges of this approach to life-writing.
The event is hosted by the Live Writing Working Group at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies and is part of the (IN)DEPENDENT INSIGHTS reading and discussion series.
Event Title: Writing an Ethnographic Biography: Possibilities and Challenges?
Event Host: Life Writing Working Group, Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2 to 4 pm
Format: Hybrid (online and at the BCDSS, Niebuhrstraße 5, Conference Room)
Registration: No registration required for in-person attendance.
Zoom link: To attend online, please contact Cécile Jeblawei for the Zoom link.
Dinner: After the talk, at participants' own expense. Please register with Martina Kuhnert by 31 August!
Cécile Jeblawei
Press and PR Manager
BCDSS