| FB-52985-07 | Research Programs: Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars | Lidwien Elisabeth Kapteijns | Somali Popular Culture and the Changing National Imaginary, 1960-2006 | 1/1/2008 - 12/31/2008 | $40,000.00 | Lidwien | Elisabeth | Kapteijns | | | | Wellesley College | Wellesley | MA | 02481-8203 | USA | 2006 | African History | Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars | Research Programs | 40000 | 0 | 40000 | 0 |
This history of Somali popular cultural production will analyze the changing Somali self-understandings, self-expressions, and cultural norms at three moments of history: the nationalist moment during which a national culture was actively fashioned (1960-1991); the sectarian moment of civil strife and clan violence (1991-present), and the moment of diasporic reconstruction, in which Islam and Islamism have gained prominence (1991-present). The source base for this research is extraordinarily rich and consists of the most prolific genres of popular cultural production: Somali popular songs, plays, poetry, novels, short stories, radio programs (especially the BBC Somali Service), sitcoms, and submissions to the flourishing Somali websites. |