The Sharjah-based Africa Institute recently organized a four-part lecture season on the theme “Thinking Archipelago: African Islands in the Indian Ocean”.
Hoor Al Qasimi, President of the Africa Institute, who officially opened the event and welcomed leading scholars specializing in the Indian Ocean region of Africa. “The Institute’s country-focused seasons are an integral part of the year-long work to develop and support scholarship and original programs that broaden the understanding of African studies and the African diaspora among the academic community and the general public.” Al-Qasimi said. “Indian Ocean Rim as its third season adds to the understanding of the complex history of the African world while providing a forum to creatively engage in its present and imagine new futures.”
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Dr. Salah M. Hassan, Director, The Africa Institute Sharjah, in his speech contextualized the founding history of the Africa Institute with its current programs, scholarships and future campuses. Dr. Hassan also welcomed the leading coordinators and academics, opening the first conference of the season titled “Reimagining Mobilities/Immobilities in the Indian Ocean.”
“After two successful seasons focused on Ethiopia and Ghana in 2019 and 2021 respectively, The Africa Institute chose the Indian Ocean region due to its importance in today’s multipolar world. In this season, scholars, activists and others from various disciplines and geographic locations highlight the complex history and rich cultural heritage of the Indian Ocean shoreline, allowing us to focus Africa on studies of global relations for an international audience.” said Professor Hassan.
Round tables on the African islands of the Indian Ocean organized by The Africa Institute. (Supplied)
Jeremy Prestholdt, a professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, in his keynote address said: “Africa has been central to the Indian Ocean connectivity matrix. The historical, cultural, economic and geopolitical importance can hardly be overstated. This season represents a multidisciplinary approach with the goal of raising the profile of the Indian Ocean islands by examining and reimagining circulation, mobility, race and slavery, ecological change, and cultural production through the lens of the islands. from Africa”.
The conveners of the conference: Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf, Professor of Anthropology, Georgetown University, Qatar; and Uday Chandra, Assistant Professor of Government, Georgetown University, Qatar; and Jeremy Prestholdt, Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego. (Supplied)
The symposia featured four panels, 16 presentations and discussions, a performance by scholars specializing in Indian Ocean studies from Mauritius, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Italy, Norway, Germany, India, Pakistan, Qatar, Canada, and the United States. Joined. Arab Emirates.
“When we think about the Indian Ocean, it is important to think about how the two coasts of peninsular India communicate with the western and eastern coasts of the Indian Ocean. This allows us to examine how the western Indian Ocean enabled interregional connections between Africans, Indians and Arabs for centuries,” said Uday Chandra, an assistant professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar.
“Islands have always been integral sites of Indian Ocean exchanges, however what is missing and has recently been corrected by recent scholars is the critical role that Africa and Africans play in forging these interregional connections in the Indian Ocean. This conference aims to share knowledge and foster partnerships between geographies given the different forms of circulation, mobility, cultural production, ecological change and cosmopolitanism,” he said.
The performance titled Hamachi Gaani (‘Songs Have Spoken’) by the Afro-Indian Siddi tribe, showcased ancient stories as part of their cultural heritage through ‘Dhamami’ songs and dances.
Semi-annual magazine ‘Monsoon’
The performance was followed by a moderated panel discussion exploring the nuances of Siddi identity, community and culture.
In addition, to cap off the season and the proceedings of all four conferences, in 2023 Duke University Press and the Africa Institute will publish a biennial interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal titled ‘Monsoon’. Indian Ocean, the journal will provide a platform for research into new ways of understanding the global perspectives, networks and interfaces of the Indian Ocean region.
To resonate and represent the country-focused season, The Africa Institute collaborated with Pakistani artist Naiza Khan to use her imagery to visually represent the monsoonal circularities of the Indian Ocean and what it represents as a motley mix of power, colonial history, and collective memory. .
The second iteration of the season titled “Legacies of Race and Slavery in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans” is tentatively scheduled to take place in Zanzibar in early June 2023. “At our next conference, we hope to stimulate a new scholarly dialogue between specialists. working at key sites in the worlds Atlantic and Indian Oceans and assessing what the idea of racial justice might look like through a comparative lens,” said Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf, a professor of anthropology at Georgetown University in Qatar.
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