Beyond the Grants: Africa, The United States and Geoeconomics of the Seas, Continuing Prof Maxi Schoeman's Legacy
The Student Representative Chamber (SRC) at the University of Pretoria’s Hatfield Campus became a hub of global dialogue as scholars, diplomats, naval officers, and students gathered for the conference Africa, the United States, and Geoeconomics of the
Seas. Hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS-UP) and the Ocean Regions Programme in the Department of Political Sciences and proudly supported by the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) and the South African BRICS Think Tank, the event explored how oceans, power, and politics intersect in a rapidly changing world.
For the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS), this project carries a particular emotional weight. The oceans workstream was conceptualised and championed by the late Prof Maxi Schoeman, whose intellectual curiosity and institutional commitment shaped ACSUS-UP and inspired a generation of students. Several presenters spoke movingly of how, shortly before
her passing, Prof Schoeman handed over her research files with a characteristic instruction to “go and do something with it.” This conference was, in many ways, that “something”: a living tribute in which her students and collaborators extended the questions she cared about into new waters.