CSMC extends international cooperationsMemorandum of Understanding signed with AHKR

12 August 2021, by Webmaster

Photo: Scott Reese (CSMC)

We are happy to announce that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between CSMC and the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR) at the University of Bergen. Our collaboration on a research project on Islamic manuscripts in East Africa has already started.

CSMC is deepening its collaboration with scholars from the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR) at the University of Bergen. A Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed between the two institutions. On the CSMC side, Scott Reese in particular, as a member of the working group 'Facing New Technologies' (FNT), has advanced the cooperation.

The collaboration will initially focus on the project 'Mprint@EastAfrica. Islamic Manuscript, Print and Practice: Textual adaptations in coastal East Africa, c. 1880-2020'. MPrinT examines the perceived shift in Islamic thought in East Africa through the spread of printing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. According to a prevailing view, 'global' Islam gained influence through the new technology, increasingly marginalising 'local' versions. By setting up an extensive database, MPrinT will foster a more precise understanding of whether the manuscript-to-print transition transformed Islamic thought in East Africa, and how it affected the reception of specific texts.

A more detailed description of the aims of the project is available at the AHKR website.