Seminar | The African Community of Letters. Mapping Correspondence Practices in Premodern Islamic Africa

Sala Conferenze, Palazzo Liviano - Piazza Capitaniato, 7, Padova

15.04.2026

15 April 2026, 10.30-13.00

Over the past four decades, scholarly interest in the history of ordinary writing practices and the interplay of religion, power, and techniques in the production of private, commercial, legal, administrative, and diplomatic documents has grown considerably. However, the history of correspondence as an economic and political practice remains overlooked for premodern Africa.

This workshop aims to fill this gap by focusing on Arabic, Ajami, and Ottoman correspondence practices in premodern Islamic Africa. Inspired by projects such as Mapping the Republic of Letters, this seminar seeks to pave the way for mapping correspondence practices within the African Islamicate world—a region encompassing North Africa, the Sahara, the Sahel, Northeast Africa, and the Sahelian networks.

The seminar will examine the practices and materiality of writing within diplomatic, trade, and administrative networks extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kongo River basin. To this end, specialists from diverse areas and historical periods of African history will offer an overview of the current state of research in this emerging field. This workshop operates within the framework of Rémi Dewière's Borsa Rita Levi Montalcini project, Amministrazioni statali in Africa premoderna.

Speakers:
ISIKSEL Gunes (Medeniyet University)
DEWIERE Rémi (Padua University)
DUYMUS Kerem (Leipzig University)
BARANSKI Tomasz (University of Warsaw)
MUKAMBU NGANDU Ambroise (Université libre de Bruxelles)
BRION Christophe (EHESS)

Presentations will be delivered in English and French (with PowerPoint slides in English), and discussions will be conducted in English.