Tag: Senegal
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Philosophizing in Wolof: Beyond Translation (Monika Rohmer)
This article examines academic endeavors that philosophize in Wolof, tracing a rich intellectual lineage from Cheikh Anta Diop to Souleymane Bachir Diagne. Through contextual analysis of key texts, Dr. Rohmer explores how questions of translation and multilingualism are fundamentally linked to the definition of philosophy itself.Rohmer discusses Wolof notions proposed for core philosophical concepts including…
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Wutum xam-xam: The Quest for Knowledge Through Writing Wolof (Monika Rohmer)
This talk explores the relation of wutum xam-xam (the quest for knowledge) and the practice of writing Wolof. Wolof is the contemporary lingua franca of Senegal, which is officially a Francophone country. The presentation introduces and discusses instances of the use of Wolof as a language of scholarship, within the Western university and in Islamic…
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Teaching Philosophy in Senegal: An Experience of Decolonizing the Minds (Bado Ndoye)
In this lecture, Prof. Bado Ndoye offers a critical reflection on the historical, political, and epistemic dimensions of philosophy teaching in postcolonial Senegal. Tracing the persistence of French curricular models and the dominance of Marxist universalism in Senegalese academic philosophy, Ndoye highlights recent efforts to re-center African intellectual traditions, including the rediscovery of figures such…
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Wrestling with Knowledge: Perspectives from the Wolof Tradition (with Monika Rohmer)
In her recent lecture titled “Wrestling with Philosophy: Mbër as a Point of Departure for Analyzing Philosophical Texts in Wolof,” Monika Rohmer explored how the concepts of mbër and bëre (Wolof for “wrestler” and “wrestling”) can inform our understanding of philosophy. By taking the figure of the wrestler as a starting point, Rohmer’s presentation raised fundamental questions about the definition of…
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Penser en wolof et au-delà : La tradition philosophique de Dakar (with Bado Ndoye)
Dans cet entretien, le professeur Bado Ndyoe propose une réflexion sur la philosophie africaine, son évolution, ses contextes institutionnels et ses perspectives d’avenir. La discussion commence par une clarification conceptuelle de la “philosophie africaine”, que Ndoye aborde sous deux angles complémentaires. Tout d’abord, la philosophie africaine peut être comprise comme un mode de philosopher culturellement…
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Sub-Saharan Islamic Archives and African Philosophy (with Ousmane Kane)
In a recent lecture, Professor Ousmane Kane presented his ongoing research on “The Islamic Archive and Intellectual History in Sub-Saharan Africa.” As a follow-up to this event, we held a research talk at our Center for Advanced Studies to discuss the topic together with experts from diverse fields. The conversation underscored key intellectual tensions in…