To the Nation, Belong the Archives
The Search for Manuscripts and Archival Documents in Postcolonial Morocco
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8967153 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sumayya Ahmed (0000-0003-3655-3689, Simmons University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 421-443 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal Middle East Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7438 • E-ISSN: 1471-6380 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0020743823000880 |
| OpenAlex | W4385425349 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 18 |
The trajectory of the Hassan II Prize for Manuscripts, a government initiative begun in the late 1960s to locate rare manuscripts in private collections, is a potent example of the role Arabic-script manuscript culture played in post-colonial nation-building in Morocco. This article presents the history of the Hassan II Prize for Manuscripts, demonstrating how Moroccan bureaucrats used the recovery of archival documents and especially historic manuscripts in Arabic-script, as part of a multi-faceted nation-building project after European colonization. Their project included connecting historic manuscripts to Moroccan identity and territorial sovereignty. It contends that the ramifications of linking these policies with documentary heritage would affect what came to be discovered, valorized, and preserved in the “national collection” and subsequently, what histories could be written
Arabic · Archaeology · Art · Colonialism · Genealogy · Government (linguistics · Identity (music · Linguistics · National archives · Political science · Politics · Sovereignty · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Digital and Traditional Archives Management · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law
The rise of colleges
The Material Culture Reader
Tashelhiyt berber manuscripts in Arabic characters
Western Sahara
Records and their imaginaries
Ambiguities of Sovereignty
Interview - the life and times of Abdallah Laroui, a Moroccan intellectual
Forgotten saints
Objects of Love and Decay
Cultural production and cultural patronage in Morocco
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |