Project description
A review of women’s literary silence in colonial Congo
During the colonial period (1885-1960), the presence of women in Arabic literacy in Congo was obscured, hindering the understanding of Islam in Central Africa and women’s roles. This absence has left significant gaps in our understanding of women’s identities. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the WOMLIT project highlights the participation of Muslim women in literacy, crucial for understanding Islam in Central Africa, women’s identity, and related social dynamics. Specifically, the project adopts a transnational, socio-historical, and feminist perspective, using oral testimonies, archival research, and photographs from Congo, Burundi, Oman, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.
Objective
WOMLIT project aims at challenging the invisible presence of women in Arabic literacy in Congo during the colonial period (1885-1960). The core assumption is that the grasp of salient feature of the participation of Muslim women in literacy is key to understanding Islam in Central Africa, women’s identity, social networks, and major inherent gender and class tensions. This project is mainly designed to address the historical gap on the absence of women in Arabic literacy, aiming to bring new female voices. To reach these goals, and given the significant scarcity of documentation in the field, WOMLIT will adopt a transnational, socio-historical and feminist perspective, combining oral testimonies, archival research and photographic material collected in Congo, as well as in other locations (Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, including Zanzibar) and in the Arabian Peninsula (Sultanate of Oman). The project will address the extent to which Muslim women’s practices in other Swahili areas can be transposable to Congo, and vice versa, addressing their participation in Sufi Brotherhoods (Qaradiyya), Umwali (sexual initiation) and magic. WOMLIT will analyse how the question of archives and the voices they reveal is a fundamental issue for feminist theories. This project aims to add new perspectives on the history of the Congo, as well as the history of Oman whose presence in Congo remains silenced compared to its influence in East Africa. WOMLIT is closely related to the research led by the researcher's supervisor Xavier Luffin and his team on Arabic literacy in Eastern Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda during the colonial period, part of a 4-year project funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS, Belgium), that will greatly benefit the fellow.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion religions islam
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1050 BRUXELLES
Belgium
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