Admission requirements
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Description
Contrary to the idea of ‘restricted literacies’ in the African continent, thirst for knowledge has forged the making of libraries in several parts of Africa. This course invites to reflect critically on the notion of what a library is and stores, the intrinsic value and knowledge embedded in it and why this physical space must be studied as an important hub in the making of social and intellectual practice within a given local cultural heritage.
The course focuses on contemporary and older Swahili libraries and archives containing hand-written, printed and/or recorded materials, stored in private or public collections in East Africa, Europe and elsewhere. These physical and virtual (online) collections contain books, music and other audiovisual materials. Investigations into specific local libraries through virtual or in-person tours, digital sources and related literature will frame the course theoretically and empirically. The study on specific case studies will enhance to critically engage with debates and tensions around the call to ‘decolonize the library/curriculum/university’. Students will assist in mapping Swahili libraries, locating them and describing their unique features. They will study the impact technological innovations and AI have on producing knowledge and arts, and the implications for collecting, archiving, and generating metadata. The course also looks at the history of the Swahili language and people, Swahili heritage and identity during rapid societal change, and the ways in which heritage and identity are reflected in libraries
Course objectives
To understand the process of the constitution of Swahili collections as a habit and practice
To acquire skills to access and survey libraries and collections
To familiarize with digital archives and their metadata
To develop a multidisciplinary view on textual cultures and practices
To enhance new research in Swahili modern cultural heritage and conservation programs
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Excursion
Internship is also possible
Assessment method
Take home examination/ assignment 70%
Midterm assignment 20%
Abstract, oral presentation 10%
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following: the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
Resit
There is one opportunity for a resit of the entire course (100%). The resit make-up will be arranged upon agreement between the student and the teacher.
Exam review
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
The syllabus will be provided at the beginning of the course. Literature will be grouped thematically and must be studied before each meeting. See preliminary list below:
Allen, J. (1970). The Swahili and Arabic manuscripts and tapes in the library of the University College Dar-es-Salaam. Brill.
Eisenberg, A. (2022). Andrew Eisenberg's Collection of East African Commercial Sound Recordings at NYU Abu Dhabi http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyuad/ad_mc_035/index.html
Bang, A. (2015). “Localising Islamic knowledge: acquisition and copying of the Riyadha Mosque manuscript collection in Lamu, Kenya.” In Kominko, M. (ed.) From Dust to Digital https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/283/r
Bang, A. (2019). “Preserving pious print - the Maalim Muhammad Idris Collection, Zanzibar.” https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP1114
Baschiera, A. 2005. “The Swahili Manuscripts Project at SOAS, 2000-2004.” African Research and Documentation 99, pp. 37-43.
Baschiera, A. 2020. “Time to address repatriation of SOAS Swahili manuscripts” https://newafricanmagazine.com/24031/
Jeppie, S. (2016). “Calligraphic Africa. Notes toward the Location of Philology in Africa”, Philological Encounters 1, pp. 199-224.
Mutonga, S. and Okune, A. (2022). “Re-membering Kenya: Building Library Infrastructures as Decolonial Practice.” In Crilly, J. and Everitt, R. Narrative Expansions. Interpreting Decolonisation in Academic Libraries. https://doi.org/10.29085/9781783304998
Raia, A. (2022). “Seeking ʿilm on Lamu:Ustadh Mau’s Library and Services for the Benefit of His Community.” In Ustadh Mau, A. Raia and C. Vierke In This Fragile World. Swahili Poetry of Commitment by Ustadh Mahmoud Mau. Brill.
Samsom, R. (2014). “Swahili manuscripts: Looking in East African collections for Swahili manuscripts in Arabic script.” In H. Vögele, U. Reuster-Jahn, R. Kastenholz & L. Diegner (Eds.), From the Tana River to Lake Chad. Research in oratures aliteratures. In memoriam Thomas Geider (pp. 243–284). Köppe.
Samsom, R. (2015). The dissolved collection of Sheikh Aliy Hemed Abdallah al-Buhriy (1889–1957). Islamic Africa, 6(1–2), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1163/21540993-00602014
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Remarks
If you are interested to know more about internships possiblities, read here https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/research-projects/humanities/ustadh-mau-digital-archive-umada.-hifadhi-ya-dijiti-ya-ustadh-mau