Monthly Archives: November 2022

Two recent studies on Libyan Tuareg

Leave a reply

Adam, Salah A. 2022. Multiple attitudes and shifting language ideologies: a case of language shift among Libyan Tuaregs. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 278, 229–258. [paywall]

Abstract: This paper examines the pivotal role of ideologies in a case of language shift from Targia to Libyan Arabic among Libyan Tuaregs in the south–western region of Libya. I argue that foundational ideologies, the opposed and hierarchical linguistic relationship between Arabic and Targia, a southern Amazigh variety, and ideological elision, the process of shifting the meanings associated with Classical and Modern Standard Arabic (CA, MSA) to Libyan Arabic (LA) (e.g., religious piety), eventually have driven the changes in the linguistic behavior of the Tuareg people towards the attachment to Libyan Arabic and at the expense of Targia. The data is drawn from a fieldwork conducted on two Libyan Tuareg communities, Ghat and Barkat. The former is a multi-ethnic town while the latter is a village composed of only Tuaregs. The sample is comprised of 221 participants (114 from Brakat and 107 from Ghat), balanced by gender and divided into three age groups. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed for data collection and analysis. The statistical analysis showed that age group has the most significant effect on the reported use of Targia, followed by type of community and the interactive effect of both variables.

de Lange, Yentl. 2022. Understanding drivers of migration: a preliminary case study of Libyan Tuareg. The Journal of North African Studies. Online [paywall].

Abstract: In this preliminary case study, the aspirations capabilities model is applied to interviews conducted with Libyan Tuareg to confirm and develop ongoing theories on migration drivers. This article examines both migration theory, as well as the social, economic, and legal situation of Tuareg in Libya. Within the context of problems to achieve citizenship among some Libyan Tuareg, the notion of statelessness is assessed as an aspiration and capability that influences migration outcomes. This study confirmed that the general life ambitions of an individual are at the basis of aspirations to migrate and that migration functions as a vehicle to fulfil personal ambitions. The article stresses that the connection to the homeland is a factor that influences migration decision-making, which should be understood outside of citizenship. Moreover, this study observed the awareness of the aspirations and capabilities of acquaintances as a factor that influences migration aspirations.

*If anyone would like a copy of these articles, please feel free to contact me.*

Lectures and Publications on Medieval Libya

Leave a reply

The LibMed Project (Medieval Libya / La Libye médiévale) has an open lecture series for 2022-2023 entitled Revisiting the History of Medieval Libya (7th-16th centuries CE) / نظرة جديدة في تاريخ ليبيا خلال العصر الوسيط (ق 7- 16م) which will include monthly lectures by a variety of Libyan and European scholars. The lecture schedule is available in English and Arabic.

Despite being well-known for the Greek and Roman era, Libya remains rather unknown for the tenth centuries of the Islamic era, that began with the Islamic conquest of the 1st/7th century and ended with the progressive establishment of the Ottoman rule in the 10th/16th century. Thus, this webinar aims at reactivating the academic interest toward this space, that can be conceptualized as a crossroad within the global Islamic world, connecting the Maghrib with the Mashriq, the Mediterranean Sea and Saharan Africa. Following the first conference cycle (2021-2022), in 2022-2023 we will continue to explore the sources available to the historians to write, reshape and reconsider the history of medieval Libya. A special emphasis will be put on new corpuses, especially material documentation.

The organizers of the LibMed project have also announced a new book series called Libya Islamica:

Libya Islamica is a peer reviewed book series that focuses on the different historical, geographical and cultural aspects within the borders of present-day Libya, from the Islamic conquest (1st/7th century) until the establishment of the Ottoman rule (10th/16th century). The series covers a range of topics, such as the study of autonomous powers, networks and prosopography, local and regional histories, popular memories, intellectual productions, documents and deposits, linguistic variety, archaeology and epigraphy, material cultures and heritage, etc.

In fact, the first volume of the Libya Islamica series has already been announced, an Arabic work by Hafed Abdouli to appear in 2023 entitled من تريبوليتانيا إلى أطرابلس: المشهد التعميري خلال العصر الوسيط المتقدّم بين التواصل والتحوّلات [From Tripolitania to Tripoli: The Settlement Landscape during the Early Medieval Period between Continuity and Change].