The Boston University Readers in Ajami (RIA) project has developed three African Ajami Readers – of over 600 pages of instructional materials. The Wolof, Mandinka, and Hausa Ajami Readers offer a comprehensive multimedia learning experience in combination with the interactive project website. The initiative aims to revive and promote African literatures written in Ajami, which […]
Professor David Robinson’s book, Chiefs and Clerics: Abdul Bokar Kan and Futa Toro, 1853-1891 in the Senegal Valley, has been translated into French under the title Chefs et Marabouts – Abdoul Bocar Kan et le Fouta Toro. 1853 – 1891. The French edition was published by Éditions Jimsaan, a Senegalese publishing house. The book explores […]
Our Readers in Ajami project has developed important learning resources in African Ajami, featuring a multimedia interactive website and the 200-page Wolof Ajami Reader, the first in a series of three planned Ajami Readers. The project is conducted with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. These resources aim to bring greater visibility to […]
Our staff members attended the Project Directors Meeting of the International Research and Studies Program of the United States Department of Education that took place on April 12, 2024, in Washington, DC. Prof. Fallou Ngom and Dr. Daivi Rodima-Taylor presented on our ongoing project, Project RIA: Readers in Ajami and Companion Multimedia Website. The project […]
The British Library Endangered Archives blog posted our article about our new project, Digital Preservation of Fuuta Jalon Scholars’ Arabic and Ajami Materials in Senegal and Guinea. The project is funded by a grant from the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP1430). It seeks to digitally preserve 50,000 pages of endangered Arabic and Ajami manuscripts (texts written […]
Our new special issue in Islamic Africa examines Ajami literatures and literacies in West Africa and situates African Ajami studies in participatory multimedia and digital archiving approaches. The double special issue of nine articles is titled “Ajami Literacies of Africa: the Wolof, Mandinka, Hausa and Fula Traditions” and is co-edited by Fallou Ngom, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, […]
BU research journal The Brink published a new feature article on our Ajami research on December 21, 2022. Read more here
The Boston University Ajami Studies team received a new research grant from the Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library (EAP 1430), for a project “Digital Preservation of Fuuta Jalon Scholars’ Arabic and Ajami Materials in Senegal and Guinea.” The project that will commence in Spring 2023 will digitally preserve 50,000 pages of endangered Arabic […]
In this series of blog articles, our NEH Ajami project members reflect on their work with the project: Dr. Bala Saho on his work with the NEH Ajami project Mr. Ousmane Cisse on his work with the NEH Ajami project Mr. Elhadji Djibril Diagne on his work with the NEH Ajami project Dr. Mustapha Hashim […]
On July 7-9, 2022, the participants of the NEH-funded Ajami project gathered for a three-day workshop to share experience, best practices and lessons learned, and plans for the future. The three-year project, which started in September 2019, explores the Ajami literatures of four main languages of West Africa, seeking to increase global access to primary […]