African Studies Seminar: Cultural resistance and struggle in colonial and post-colonial Africa

Most of the sociolinguistic research on language standardisation and adult literacy in Cameroon points out the beginnings of local writing systems to the colonial arrivals and the Christian missionary enterprises. Yet it is known that ‘Africa is not only the ‘Cradle of Mankind’, it is the ‘Cradle of Writing’. […] and that ‘…in modern times Africa has contributed much to the advance of the art and science of writing. A combination of cultural contacts, men of genius, and rich traditions of plastic and graphic symbolism have led to the development of many new and ingenious systems of writing’ (Tuchscherer, 1999: 55-56).

Today there is increasing recognition of the importance of endogenous writing systems in Africa. The existence of local scripts in Cameroon has been documented as early as 1917, as exemplified with the Bagam script, a hieroglyphic system of writing developed in Western Cameroon. Starting with a brief overview of multilingualism in Cameroon, Dr Kamdem’s talk will look at endogenous writing systems and at the General Alphabet of Cameroonian Languages. While discussing the development of writing systems in Cameroon, he will address the key question of what readings and meanings can be drawn from these systems, in terms of social importance and impact.

Bio

Seraphin Kamdem holds a PhD from SOAS. Before studying at SOAS, he studied at the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon; the University of East Anglia, U.K.; and the University of North Dakota, USA. His doctoral thesis focused on African languages and multilingual education, investigating adult literacy in a rural area of Cameroon. His research interests are in: Sociolinguistics, African languages and cultures, Ghɔmálá’ language (Grassfields-Bantu), Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Adult literacy, Production of didactic materials, Culture in Africa, Education in Africa, Global Englishes, Media and political change in Africa.

Download the Summer 2019 programme here. 

All welcome.

This seminar series is convened by the African Studies Research Centre/IAS:

• Dr. Hélène Neveu Kringelbach (h.neveu@ucl.ac.uk)
• Prof. Megan Vaughan (megan.vaughan@ucl.ac.uk)
• Dr. Keren Weitzberg (k.weitzberg@ucl.ac.uk)