Important Dates

Image: Anna-Amina Zeidan

Dr. Britta Frede, former substitute Professor at the Chair Islamic Studies at the University of Bayreuth (April 2022 to March 2025) and postdoctoral researcher of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, has been honored by the Cluster of Excellence "Understanding Written Artefacts" at Universität Hamburg for her outstanding academic contributions. The recognition includes a six-month research fellowship and a research award with an accompanying award ceremony featuring a public award lecture on her research on female scribes in the Sahara.

The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 1 July 2025, at 6:15 PM CEST at the CSMC in Hamburg and will feature Dr. Frede’s Award Lecture, entitled: “Why Should We Be Interested in Women’s Contribution to Islamic Scholarly Culture?” In her lecture, Frede will highlight the often-overlooked roles of women as authors, teachers, and scribes in the local Arabic manuscript culture, particularly in the hassaniyyaphone Sahara. The lecture will be held in a hybrid format and is open to the public with prior registration. (Register here)

Abstract: 

Islamic manuscript culture and scholarly culture have a long and ambiguous history. First, the question of what texts are supposed to be written down and second, who shall access the written texts, have been subject to negotiation. However, technological innovations, like script and later print, were accepted for most sorts of texts at different times. Nevertheless, for writing scholarly texts, manuscripts and scholarly culture are domains that have intertwined intricately since then. This lecture will direct the reader's attention to the Western Sahara region, focusing on the contributions of female authors and educators to Islamic knowledge production. The focus is on didactic texts and devotional literature as the primary genres of the scattered sources about women scholars. When measured quantitatively, their contribution is marginal. Nevertheless, the research presented is meant to complement the documentation of male activities and better understand the legacy of patriarchal hegemonies. First and foremost, the scarce traces of texts written, taught, and/or copied by female scholars invite us to reflect on the archive that local scholarly culture and, to a certain extent, academic research have created for documenting Saharan manuscript culture. This intervention's primary focus is on applying feminist theories to research domains within the humanities and cultural studies, which can facilitate a more nuanced comprehension of power dynamics in our research field. If we study manuscripts, we are amid social hegemonies at work, especially as they have to be considered knowledge work. Engaging with texts written by women and with their absence from archives and reference works raises questions about what we create in academic research and which research paradigms and blind spots are perpetuated, often without deliberate intention.

Dr. Britta Frede Guest Lecture: “Why Should We Be Interested in Women’s Contribution to Islamic Scholarly Culture?

• Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025
• Time: 18:15–20:00 CEST
• Venue: Warburgstraße 26, Hamburg & online (CSMC Zoom link)

Register here