Felwine Sarr (born 11 September 1972) is a Senegalese academic, [1] musician and writer of novels and cultural essays, born in Sine Saloum, Niodior Arrondissement. He studied economics [2] and taught this subject at the Gaston Berger University (Senegal) until his move in 2020 as Anne-Marie Bryan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Romance Studies at Duke University in the United States. [3]
Born on 11 September 1972, Felwine Sarr conducted his primary and secondary education in Senegal, and then went to France where he obtained an agrégation in economics. In 2011, he became dean of the economics and management faculty of the University Gaston Berger of Saint-Louis, Senegal, and head of the new faculty of Civilizations, Religions, Arts and Communication (CRAC) of the same university, for which he also was in charge of the implementation. [4]
His lectures and academic research [5] focus on postcolonial theory, economic policies, development, economy, econometrics, epistemology and the history of religious ideas. [6] Further, he has been vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of OSIWA (Open Society Initiative for West Africa) since 2014 and is also the editor of the Journal of African Transformation. [4]
Apart from being an academic, Sarr is also a writer [7] and was awarded the Grand Prix of Literary Associations in 2016 (Research Category) for his essay entitled Afrotopia (Philippe Rey, 2016). [8] [9] In this essay, he argues for a conceptual decolonization of knowledge and a reappropriation of the metaphors of their own future by Africans. [10] In a presentation of the English translation of this work, Duke University's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences commented as follows: "Sarr elaborates Africa's unique philosophies and notions of communal value and economy deeply rooted in its ancient traditions and landscape". [11] Further, Sarr has published the novels Dahij (2009), 105 Rue Carnot (2011), and Médiations Africaines (2012).
As a musician, he has published three musical compositions: Civilisation ou Barbarie (2000), Les Mots du Récit (2005), and Bassai (2007). With the writers Boubacar Boris Diop and Nafissatou Dia, he cofounded the publishing house Jimsaan. Since 2014, he has been vice-president of the board of directors at OSIWA (Open Society Initiative for West Africa). Felwine Sarr is also editor of the Journal of African Transformation (CODESRIA-UNECA). In October 2016, Sarr and Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe founded Ateliers de la Pensée (Workshops of Thought), which have brought together intellectuals and artists from Africa and its diaspora in Dakar and Saint-Louis to discuss contemporary problems from an African perspective. [12]
In 2018, Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy were asked by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, to investigate the state of African cultural heritage in French state-owned museums. Their Report on the restitution of African cultural heritage (in French: Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain) was presented to Macron in November 2018 and published online in an official French version and an English translation. [13]
Saint Louis or Saint-Louis, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Senegal's capital city Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 258,592 in 2021. Saint-Louis was the capital of the French colony of Senegal from 1673 until 1902 and French West Africa from 1895 until 1902, when the capital was moved to Dakar. From 1920 to 1957, it also served as the capital of the neighboring colony of Mauritania.
Mamadou Dia was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a military coup to overthrow President Léopold Sédar Senghor.
Yambo Ouologuem was a Malian writer. His first novel, Le devoir de violence, won the Prix Renaudot. He later published Lettre à la France nègre (1969), and Les mille et une bibles du sexe (1969) under the pseudonym Utto Rodolph. Le devoir de violence was initially well-received, but critics later charged that Ouologuem had plagiarized passages from Graham Greene and other established authors such as André Schwartz-Bart. Ouologuem turned away from the Western press as a result of the matter, and remained reclusive for the rest of his life.
Lamine Diakhate was an author, poet and literary critic of the négritude school and has served his country as a politician and diplomat.
The Kingdom of Sine was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. The inhabitants are called Siin-Siin or Sine-Sine.
Présence Africaine is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, Présence Africaine expanded to include a publishing house and a bookstore on rue des Écoles in the Latin Quarter of Paris. The journal was highly influential in the Pan-Africanist movement, the decolonisation struggle of former French colonies, and the birth of the Négritude movement.
David Mandessi Diop was a French West African poet known for his contribution to the Négritude literary movement. His work reflects his anti-colonial stance.
The Saltigue, are Serer high priests and priestesses who preside over the religious ceremonies and affairs of the Serer people, such as the Xooy ceremony, the biggest event in the Serer religious calendar. They usually come from ancient Serer paternal families, and the title is inherited by birthright. In Serer country, Saltigue are always diviners.
Father Henry Gravrand was a French Catholic missionary to Africa and an anthropologist who has written extensively on Serer religion and culture. He was one of the leading pioneers of interfaith dialog and believed that African religion was the "'first covenant between God and man". His works about the Serer people are cited by other historians and scholars writing on Serer history, religion and culture, for instance Martin A. Klein, Charles Becker, Alioune Sarr, Marguerite Dupire, Issa Laye Thiaw, etc. Papa Massène Sene argues that his approach lacks scientific rigor and include fundamental linguistic and historical errors. Alioune Sarr noted that Gravrand reported an oral tradition describing what he called the "Battle of Troubang", a dynastic war between the two maternal royal houses of Ñaanco and the Guelowar, an off-shot and relatives of the Ñaanco maternal dynasty of Kaabu, in modern-day Guinea Bissau. According to Charles Becker, Gravrand is confusing a description of the 1867 Battle of Kansala.
Cameroonian literature includes literature in French, English and indigenous languages.
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr is a Senegalese writer. Raised in Diourbel, Senegal and later studying in France, Sarr is the author of four novels as well as a number of award-winning short stories. He won the 2021 Prix Goncourt for his novel La plus secrète mémoire des hommes, becoming the first Sub-Saharan African to do so.
The Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA) were launched in 2013 in Cameroon, in partnership with Brasseries du Cameroun and sponsorship by Castel Beer.
The Museum of Black Civilisations is a national museum in Dakar, Senegal, that opened on 6 December 2018.
The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics is a report written by Senegalese academic and writer Felwine Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy, first published online in November 2018 in a French original version and an authorised English translation.
Joséphine Bacon, is an Innu poet from Pessamit in Quebec. She publishes in French and Innu-aimun. She has also worked as a translator, community researcher, documentary filmmaker, curator and as a songwriter for Chloé Sainte-Marie and Alexandre Belliard. She has also curated an exhibit at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal, Quebec and teaches at Kiuna Institution in Odanak.
Babacar Sedikh Diouf or Babacar Sédikh Diouf is a Senegalese historian, author, researcher, campaigner against "Wolofization", a Pan-Africanist, and former teacher. He has written extensively about the history and culture of Senegal, Africa, and that of the Serer ethnic group to which he belongs. He usually writes by the pen name Babacar Sedikh Diouf.
The Xooy is a Serer divination ceremony held once a year in Fatick, Senegal. The Xooy is one of the most important and well known ceremonies in the Serer religious calendar, and is a national event in Senegal's cultural calendar which attracts government officials and dignitaries. The ceremony is held yearly at the Centre MALANGO in Sine, Senegal and attracts a large crowd from Senegal, and Serers from neighbouring Gambia and the diaspora. It is somewhat of a yearly pilgrimage. The Lebou also attend the ceremony in homage to their Serer ancestors. The Lebou genies are actual the Serer pangool. The Xooy takes place around late May early June before the rainy season where the Serer high priests and priestesses—the Saltigue dressed in their traditional gowns and hats takes centre stage to divine the future. There is a master of ceremonies, and as the public are seated in a circle, each Saltigue enters the circle in turn and give their divination on matters relating to the weather, politics, economics, health, etc. The ceremony goes on for two days —and throughout the night—accompanied by the rhythm of drums. The Serer people have traditionally been farmers, cattle herders, boat builders and fisher people. The Xooy therefore serves both a religious and agricultural function.
Bénédicte Savoy is a French art historian, specialising in the critical enquiry of the provenance of works of art, including looted art and other forms of illegally acquired cultural objects.
The Most Secret Memory of Men is a 2021 novel by Senegalese writer Mohamed Mbougar Sarr. It was co-published on 19 August 2021 by the French independent publisher Éditions Philippe Rey (Paris) with the Senegalese publishing house Éditions Jimsaan (Dakar).
Brotherhood is a political novel written by Senegalese writer Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and translated by Alexia Trigo. It was published by Europa Editions in 2021. Originally published as Terre Ceinte in 2014 by Présence Africaine.
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