My research is centred on the intellectual history of Formative Islam, focusing on the concept of knowledge (ilm) as it emerged in the Arabic written tradition. It seeks to understand premodern to trans-modern monotheistic epistemologies, examining the interplay between textual, oral and intermedial modes of knowledge transmission and technology.
Since 2022, I have assembled and collected the Sound-Text Archive of Muslim Women in West Africa (STAMWWA). As the principal researcher and investigator, the STAMWWA serves as a repository of voices, conveying the auditory narratives of Muslim women across West Africa and its diaspora. Originating from a teaching module, a conference and a questionnaire sent through WhatsApp, this archive amalgamates audible accounts addressing contemporary issues surrounding faith and practice, while simultaneously promoting the use of African languages in responses. The STAMWWA is a multilingual, intermedial platform including audio and textual elements.
Facts:
The women who participated and responded to the questionnaire have given their consent to incorporate audio and text. However, the STAMMWA shows audio excerpts and edited annotations.
The STAMWWA audio files are stored on a personal drive. Complete audios can be listened to upon request by contacting: essamba@ucm.es
Results and Data of the STAMWWA:
27 participants
24 audio recordings
3 handwritten texts
2 WhatsApp screenshots
5 countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, France, Spain (Gambia and Senegal still in progress)
5 languages: Fula, Krio, English, French, Spanish (Soninké and Wolof still in progress)