La West African Research Association et le Centre de Recherche Ouest Africain (WARA/WARC), en collaboration avec le Mouvement Citoyen et dans le cadre du Trans-Saharan Elections Pro gram (TSEP) mis en œuvre par l’Université de Floride (Gainesville) sur financement du département d’Etat américain, vous convient à un séminaire qui s’ouvre le Mardi 19 à 9 heures précises au WARC.

The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany, and the Center for Public History at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, will jointly convene a workshop entitled Energy Resources: Europe and Its Former Colonies at the Deutsches Museum in Munich from October 4-6, 2012.

Dans un but comparatif visant à cerner des éléments communs mais aussi de sensibles différences liées à des organisations politiques autres, ce séminaire sera consacré à l’analyse des transformations actuellement en œuvre (sur une dizaine d’années) dans l’espace saharo-sahélien (Mauritanie, Mali, Niger, Libye et Tchad) à travers notamment l’intervention des groupes djihadistes AQMI (Al Qaïda au Maghreb islamique), ses pratiques criminelles (attentats suicides, prises d’otages, rançons, etc.) en relation avec, d’une part d’autres activités criminelles (trafic de drogues illicites telles que la cocaïne et le cannabis, et d’armes légères) et d’autre part les « guerres » de positionnement (notamment dans le septentrion malien) à propos des industries extractives (pétrole et uranium). La problématique développée sera celle de la recomposition des zones d’influence à travers des compétitions entre Etats-Unis, France, Chine et Algérie pour le contrôle et l’accès aux ressources minières. Ces trois aspects : AQMI, trafics de drogues illicites et compétition sur les ressources minières, sont indissociables pour analyser et comprendre les transformations et les enjeux actuels dans un contexte de mondialisation ; ils contribuent à définir des processus de sanctuarisation, de « territorialisation » à caractère ethnique (Maures Berabich et Berbères Touareg) dans un contexte de déshérence étatique, de carences administratives notoires et de militarisation du Sahara (Etats-Unis, France et Algérie).

The symposium proposes to examine the interconnections and convergence of cultures under conditions of slavery. While slavery tended to impose the culture of the master society on enslaved people of foreign or alien origin, whenever the enslaved population was of sufficient size, we are more accurate in considering the clash of cultures, as when Muslims were enslaved in Christian lands, or people of Yoruba culture were enslaved in Brazil or Cuba. In these situations, we can talk of enslaved populations being in diaspora, with sufficient cultural memory to link with a homeland. We want to examine slavery through a paradigm that explores the convergence of diasporas. The symposium assembles specialists of slavery under different historical regimes, whether in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic world, or the Indian Ocean.

À 14h, Mercredi 9 mars 2011. CRASC, Technopôle de l’USTO, Bir El Djir, Oran. Dr. Ghislaine Lydon, Département d’Histoire, University of California at Los Angeles.

As part of the preparations for the conference “Camel Cultures: Historical traditions, present threats and future prospects” there will be a half-day mini-conference at SOAS next month, on the afternoon of Wednesday 26 May. This will give a general introduction to camel cultures worldwide. It will also focus on specific areas of problems – for instance the survival of Wild Bactrians in Mongolia. And it will present a summary of the Country Situation Reports which our colleagues in camel research have kindly sent to us.

The transformation of US/African relations since 9/11, with particular attention to West Africa, will be the subject of study for this conference to be held at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at OSU on October 30-31, 2009. See the project description [PDF] for more information about this event.

On 25-27 September the Middle East Centre at St. Antony’s College, Oxford, will host an international conference entitled “Libya: Legacy of the Past, Prospects for the Future.” The conference will provide a forum to reflect upon Libya’s recent history and current politics. It will bring together leading academics, as well as analysts and diplomats, in order to discuss some central issues that the limited literature on Libya has so far ignored.

In 2009, the Conference will specifically address the issue of access to manuscripts. Improving access to manuscripts through digitisation and electronic ordering and delivery systems whilst ensuring their proper long-term preservation is fundamental to the successful future study of the Islamic heritage. Presently, technologies are available that have the potential to transform the way manuscripts are studied; however, the access these technologies can allow is counterbalanced by collection holders’ concerns regarding their legal rights and the financial sustainability of their organisations. During the Fifth Islamic Manuscript Conference these vital issues will be discussed by our invited speakers and selected paper presenters.

The Islamic Manuscript Association is pleased to announce that the Fifth Islamic Manuscript Conference will be held at Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, UK from 24-26 July 2009. It will be hosted by the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.

The Association invites submissions of papers for its annual conference on topics related to the care, management, and study of Islamic manuscripts. In 2009, the Conference will specifically address the issue of access to manuscripts. Improving access to manuscripts through digitisation and electronic ordering and delivery systems whilst ensuring their proper long-term preservation is fundamental to the successful future study of the Islamic heritage. Presently, technologies are available that have the potential to transform the way manuscripts are studied; however, the access these technologies can allow is counterbalanced by collection holders’ concerns regarding their legal rights and the financial sustainability of their organisations. During the Fifth Islamic Manuscript Conference these vital issues will be discussed by our invited speakers and selected paper presenters.