Panel 1, Second Session: Historical Traditions of Arabic-Script Manuscripts in Africa

This panel concerns the study of historical Arabic-script manuscript cultures and traditions—both Arabic and non-Arabic language—in North and Sub-Saharan Africa. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, manuscripts and intellectual and social networks; the trade of manuscripts; the history of specific texts or genres in the manuscript medium; paratexts; the materiality and making of manuscripts; and the relationship between manuscript and print culture.

Moderator: Maria Luisa Russo, Field Coordinator, Malian Manuscript Projects, University of Hamburg – Hamburg, Germany

Keynote paper: The East African Islamic (Arabic) Manuscript Tradition by Anne Katrine Bang, Professor of History, Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen – Bergen, Norway
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)

Selected Paper: Many Musical Manuscripts: Art, Craft and Materiality in Early-Modern Morocco by Carl Davila, Associate Professor, Department of History, The College at Brockport, State University of New York – New York, United States
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)

Selected Paper: Reading Marks in Kufic Manuscripts and Modern Printed Qur’ans from North Africa by Mark Muehlhaeusler, Director of the Center of Excellence for the Middle East and Arab Cultures (CEMEAC), American University in Cairo – Cairo, Egypt
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)

Selected Paper: Berber Manuscripts and Arabic Script in Southern Morocco: Identification or Creativity by Wadia Agounine, Researcher at the Learning and Development Centre for Studies, Research and Revival of Sahara Heritage, Muhammadiyah Association of Scholars – Rabat, Morocco
(Presentation Recording – Original)    (Presentation Recording – English Interpretation)