African Writing Traditions Within and Adjacent to the Sahara Desert

FAIN: FEL-262387-19

Fiona McLaughlin
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL 32611-0001)

A book-length study about African writing traditions in the trans-Saharan world that focuses on both Arabic and Libyco-Berber script.

This project explores two African writing traditions that are shared by populations within and adjacent to the Sahara desert. By showing these literacies to be robust everyday practices in many societies, and by tracing their transmission and spread through pathways of Islamization, Islamic education, and pastoralist traditions, it makes the case for positing a trans-Saharan world of shared historical, religious, and linguistic influences.