The Research Programme aims to deepen the knowledge of Early Career Scholars in their respective disciplines
In 2018, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), Makerere University received financial support from The Andrew W Mellon Foundation in New York to fund cohorts of early career scholars to pursue cutting-edge and innovative research in the Arts, Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. The overall goal of the Early Career Scholars 
Programme is to nurture a new generation and community of scholars that can provide intellectual
leadership needed for future development and sustainability of the Arts, Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences in the country and the East African region. Under the programme, the early career scholars are supported to pursue cutting-edge research in their respective disciplines. They are also supported to publish their work in two special issues of Mawazo (the Journal for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in the region).
With guidance from senior academics, the 15 early career scholars currently supported by the project are researching on a broad range of issues intended to deepen their knowledge in their respective disciplines. The scholars include Dr Peace Musiimenta, Dr Amon A. Mwiine, Dr Ruth Nsibirano and Dr Florence Ebila from School of Women and Gender Studies; Dr Pamela Khanakwa and Dr Edgar C. Taylor from the Department of History, Archaeology and Heritage Studies; Dr Naiga Resty from the Department of Development Studies; Dr Evelyn Nabulya from the Department of Literature; Dr Innocent Masengo and Dr Allen Asiimwe from the Department of African Languages; Dr Gerald Walulya from the Department of Journalism and Communication, as well as Dr Medard Ssentanda and Dr Deo Kawalya from the Department of Linguistics, English Language Studies and Communication Skills.
On 11th December 2020, the College held a blended (physical and virtual) workshop at which the scholars presented their research projects to the University community and other members of the public. Research papers presented included; On Concealed Vulnerability: Interrogating costs of fractured masculinities in Western Uganda by Dr Peace Musiimenta, Feminist activism encounters masculinities: Lessons on the critical engagement with men in Gender Equality – Dr Amon A. Mwiine, Re-reading Feminist Historiography in Maxine Ankrah’s Autobiography – Dr Florence Ebila, Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Entrepreneurship: A Gender Perspective on Experiences from Self-employed Micro Entrepreneurs in Kampala, Uganda – Dr Ruth Nsibirano, When Customary Owners Became Imposters: Landslides and Land Conflicts in Eastern Uganda – Dr Pamela Khanakwa, Determinants of User Satisfaction and the Implications on Collective-action in Demand-driven Water Governance in Rural Uganda – Dr Naiga 
Resty, Archive and Explusion – Dr Edgar C. Taylor, Sociolinguistic and Structural Aspects of Ugandan Kiswahili – Dr Innocent Masengo, A Historical Examination of the use of English and Local Languages in Schools and Public Space in Uganda – Dr Medard Ssentanda, A Linguist Analysis of Rukiga Personal Names – Dr Allen Asiimwe, How Amin Used Photography as a Tool for Political Propaganda – Dr Gerald Walulya and A Corpus-based Analysis of the Runyankore-Rukiga Modal Auxiliary Báas –Dr Deo Kawalya.
Addressing participants, the Acting Deputy Principal, Dr Julius Kikooma expressed gratitude to the Andrew Mellon W. Foundation for supporting research capacity building programmes in the College. He implored the scholars to make their research relevant by translating it into policy briefs that can guide efforts to address local development challenges.
The research dissemination event featured an intellectual discourse in which Dr Danson Kahyana from the Department of Literature engaged renowned law scholar and human rights advocate, Prof. Sylvia Tamale on several issues regarding decolonization and afro-feminism. Prof. Sylvia Tamale’s newly published book “Decolonization and Afro-Feminism” speaks to the dismantling of the several layers of entrenched colonial structures, ideologies, narratives, identities and practices that pervade every aspect of life in the African society. During the discussion, Prof. Tamale expressed concern over the widespread colonial tendencies that continue to derail development in many African countries despite having acquired independence many years ago. Highlighting the challenges posed by colonialism, Prof. Tamale called for a total overhaul of Uganda’s education system to align it with the local development needs. Commenting on COVID-19 and its effects on the economy, Prof. Tamale noted that the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent search for a vaccine had exposed the imbalances in the power structure in the global health system, calling on Africans to strategize for a post-capitalist future. The discussion was moderated by Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo from the Department of Philosophy, Makerere University.
The event was coordinated by Dr Edgar Fred Nabutanyi, Coordinator of the Andrew W. Mellon
projects at Makerere.
Zoom recording of the proceedings - https://zoom.us/rec/share/fx5jZ6pGvVfJngW_sG9R69H8DKlpsg7JfOiZDGvloYCADa... Passcode: QpYH13@.
For details on the research, see abstracts of the scholars in the attachments below.