By Jane Anyango
Makerere University, Kampala | June 19, 2025
The 2025 College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) Graduate Symposium officially commenced at Makerere University’s Main Hall, marking a significant milestone in the university’s academic calendar. The three day event, running from June 19 to 21 2025, brings together over 80 Graduate students from Uganda and various partner institutions across Africa under the PANGeA Network, to strengthen scholarly writing and research in the humanities and social sciences.
Addressing an audience of mainly PhD students, Prof. Musila, a prominent academic and literary scholar, urged scholars to rethink reading as more than a box-ticking academic chore. “Reading should be more than just eye service to supervisors. It’s the gateway to understanding, critiquing, and eventually shaping the scholarly conversation in your field,” she said.
Musila warned against the instrumental view of doctoral studies as mere qualification-chasing, saying, “If you’re doing this for a piece of paper, you’re missing the point. The doctorate is not just about a title—it’s about contributing to the knowledge production project, both locally and continentally.”
Reading as Conversation
In a practical advice and personal reflection, Musila likened scholarly reading to an ongoing conversation—one where students must actively engage. “If someone walks into a room where a conversation has been going on, they can’t act like nothing has been said. The same is true for research. Reading lets you locate the current state of discourse so you can contribute meaningfully,” she explained.
She emphasized the value of “active reading,” where students critically engage with texts, synthesize debates, and identify gaps in scholarship. “You’re not a passive recipient of ideas. You’re reading to dialogue, to critique, to interrupt—just as you would in a real conversation,” Musila said.
AI Tools: Use with Caution
Musila also weighed in on the contentious role of AI in academia, cautioning students against relying on generative AI tools for summarizing academic texts. “AI looks like a time-saver, but it steals your opportunity to think. The process of reading and summarizing is where much of the intellectual labor happens,” she argued, warning that academic publishers are increasingly rejecting content suspected of being AI-generated.
She acknowledged that some AI tools are now embedded in research workflows—like search and organizational features—but emphasized that critical engagement cannot be automated. “Our concern is not AI per se, but the loss of rigor that comes when students abdicate thinking to a machine.”
Musila also spoke on scholarly integrity, emphasizing careful citation, avoiding plagiarism, and understanding when to paraphrase versus when to quote. She decried the misuse of online summaries and platforms like Wikipedia, likening low-quality sources to “junk food” for the academic mind.
She encouraged students to see themselves as part of a broader continental mission. “We are training people who will be better than us—who will take the project of knowledge further than we have,” she said
Musila introduced a concept she calls “X-ray reading”—a technique for analyzing not just content but also the structural and rhetorical techniques used in academic writing. “Don’t just read what the author is saying—observe how they say it, how they structure their argument. That’s where you learn how to shape your own scholarly voice,” she advised.
She also stressed the importance of note-taking, calling it “the foundation of all good scholarship,” and encouraged students to read with curiosity, make multilingual notes if needed, and always trace the genealogy of ideas in their field.
The Deputy Principal of CHUSS, Assoc. Prof.Eric Awich Ochen, in his welcoming remarks, emphasized the vital role of academic gatherings like the symposium in shaping strong research foundations. He cited real-life examples of students who struggled due to lack of exposure to such scholarly platforms. “Learning never ends, especially for academics. Attending conferences and symposiums is not just about presenting; it’s about building competence and developing your research,” he stated.
Prof. Awich also expressed concern over low local student participation in recent academic events despite strong international interest. “Our recent international social work conference had over 465 delegates from more than 25 countries, yet very few of our own graduate students attended. That is a missed opportunity for learning,” he warned.
This year’s symposium stands out in its structure and thematic focus. It has been specially curated for over 80 fellows from Uganda and affiliated universities in countries including Kenya, Botswana, Cameroon, and Senegal. The sessions will focus on practical aspects of academic writing, such as how to publish, work with data, choose journals, and respond to peer reviews. Participants will also explore the deeper philosophical tensions in African scholarship, including balancing recognition and relevance in global academia.
The conference convener Dr. Zaidi Sekito emphasized the importance of the symposium in nurturing the next generation of African scholars. “The aim of this symposium is to give graduate students a space to develop their academic and professional writing skills. We hope you find this an exciting journey towards writing and publishing your work before you finish your studies,” he said.
Reflecting on the evolution of the symposium since its inception in 2018, Dr. Sekito highlighted its foundational impact. “The success of the 2018 symposium gave birth to a tradition, helping us cultivate a culture of research-led learning in CHUSS,” he noted, also expressing gratitude to funders such as the Lisa Maskell Foundation, Gerda Henkel, and the Mellon Foundation for their sustained financial support. According to Dr. Sekito, more than 70 students have been funded since 2017, with 31 completing their studies to date.
About the 2025 CHUSS Graduate symposium
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), with funding from Lisa Maskell, is hosting its first C scheduled June 19-21, 2025 at Makerere University Main Hall. This is in recognition of the Graduate Schools’ accomplishments in training the next generation of African scholars in Historical Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. The 2025 edition is interested in curating works drawn from research proposals, draft theses, or research articles for presentation from the fellows’ ongoing projects. In addition to presenting their work in progress and gaining the academic and professional skills necessary for 21st century Humanities and Social Sciences academics, this will bring fellows together in an interactive and networking collaboration.
The symposium attracted national and regional instructors covering different aspect of graduate research including reading practice, writing publishable article, working with and writing theory, looking for and writing data and creative synerg with literature and writers voice. Other aspects included methodological and theoretical issues, mechanics of writing, choosing the right journal reviewing and responding to the reviewer.
Day one facilitators included Prof. Grace Musila, Dr. Zaidi Sekito, Dr. Amon Ashaba Mwine, Dr. Peter Wekesa and Dr. Isaac Tibasiima among others.