Dr. Fred Nyongesa Ikanda
Fred Ikanda is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Maseno University, Maseno, Kisumu, Kenya. He is a holder of a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and has published widely on refugee and forced migration issues. His doctoral research focused on how kinship sustains the continued existence of the Dadaab camps in northeastern Kenya.
Interview with Dr. Fred Nyongesa Ikanda
Current affiliation
- Maseno University, Maseno, Kisumu, Kenya
Hosting institute
Contact
- Email: …
Key expertise
- Refugee and forced migration
- Kinship
- Anthropology of Islam
- Gender studies
- Social cohesion in protracted refugee situations
Profile according to FFVT taxonomy
Fields of research
- Migration Research
Scientific topics
- Borders
- Economy Of Forced Migration
- Gender
- Humanitarianism
- Infrastructure Of Flight / Forced Migration
- Integration And Social Participation
- Migration Routes, Refugees’ Journeys
- Refugee Camp
- Transnational Networks
Disciplines
- Anthropology
- Sociology
Academic education / CV
PhD – University of Cambridge
Masters – University of Nairobi
Bachelors – University of Nairobi
Relevant publications
- Ikanda, F. N. . The role of Somali Kinship in Sustaining Bureaucratic Governance around Dagahaley Camp in Kenya. 2020. Ethnos, Journal of Anthropology.
- Ikanda, F. N.. Animating “refugeeness” through vulnerabilities: Worthiness of long-term exile in resettlement claims among Somali refugees in Kenya. 2018. Africa 88(3): 579-596.
- Ikanda, F. N.. Somali refugees in Kenya and social resilience: Resettlement imaginings and the longing for Minnesota. 2018. African Affairs, 117(469): 569-591.
- Ikanda, F. N.. Deteriorating Conditions of Hosting Refugees: A Case Study of the Dadaab Complex in Kenya. 2008. African Study Monographs, 29(1): 29-49.
- Ikanda, F. N.. Somali Kinship and Bureaucratic Governance at a Refugee Camp in Kenya, in Wale Adebanwi (ed). Everyday State and Democracy in Africa: Ethnographic Encounters. 2022. Athens: Ohio University Press.
Interview
Q1. Who are you?
Fred Ikanda is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Maseno University. He is a holder of a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and has published widely on refugee and forced migration issues. His doctoral research focused on how kinship sustains the continued existence of the Dadaab camps in northeastern Kenya. His current research focuses on a number of issues, including forced migration, social cohesion, gender relations, ethnography of bureaucracy, hospitality in refugee settings, vulnerable livelihoods, social resilience, kinship, and contested ideas of Islam.
Q2. What was your motivation for applying for the FFVT fellowship? Why Germany?
My application for the FFVT fellowship was inspired by my research on refugees and forced migration studies that began 20 years ago at the Dadaab refugee camps in north-eastern Kenya. I have continued to undertake ethnographic studies on Somali refugees and locals inside the camps and neighbouring local villages on a range of issues.
Q3. What do you expect from the fellowship?
Through the opportunities offered by this fellowship, I hope to contribute to debates on forced migration and social cohesion and shape practices and policies on these themes. I also look forward to exchanging ideas on shared research interests and to network with scholars at my host institution, access library and other scholarly resources in Germany, participate in public lectures and workshops, as well as strengthen the on-going research collaboration between IDOS and Maseno University.
Q4. What is the focus of your work, and what is innovative about it? / What are your planned outcomes and activities for the fellowship period? And how do they relate to your FFVT hosting institution/ the FFVT cooperation project?
At IDOS I will focus on social cohesion in the protracted displacement context of Dadaab camps in northeastern Kenya. I argue that social cohesion is often applied too broadly – not only weakening its analytical power, but also resulting in generalised policies and practices that are not context-specific. In my work, I hope to provide a nuanced and context understanding of social cohesion that is based on kinship, religion and other social dynamics. I hope to co-author a journal article with Dr. Rose Jaji of IDOS and also produce a policy brief around issues of social cohesion. This is in line with the FFVT objective of networking and knowledge exchange.