Memo from Lee Cassanelli to Somali Studies International Association

[Safferz]

In regards to #CadaanStudies critique, and the decision by SSIA conference organizers saying that there is "no space for new roundtables/panels" early on when others raised the possibility of a roundtable on this at the upcoming Somali Studies conference in Helsinki in August. I will be there along with many others. After the organizers said that, they've been getting a lot of emails from people urging them to reconsider (the most recent of which has been Lee Cassanelli, one of SSIA's founders 37 years ago).

 

 

Dear friends and colleagues,

 

I welcome Suzanne’s and Tiina’s comments on the recent controversy. Issues surrounding the production and dissemination of knowledge about Somalis and the Somalilands are absolutely central to the founding vision and ongoing mission of the SSIA. These issues should be on our agenda before, during, and after the Helsinki Congress, and we need to find ways to discuss and debate them in a democratic, professional, and productive manner.

 

We owe the Helsinki Congress organizers a great deal of gratitude for assembling a marvelous program; and we should acknowledge their concerns about time constraints and conference decorum. At the same time, the SSIA convenes only once every three years; it is a rare occasion when established scholars and aspiring ones come together in one place to share ideas; and the conference program has always reflected the most important new trends which are percolating through the international Somali Studies community.

 

I suspect that some individual papers and panels in the upcoming Congress will themselves raise these issues—indirectly if not explicitly—and certainly they will come up in the Q & A which follow from the audience. I suggest that we also make time outside the formal program for a series of early morning or late night roundtables moderated on different occasions by volunteers from among our respected elders (if any are left) and concerned young scholars. We can ask for volunteers ahead of time and announce the ‘topics’ of the roundtables at the opening meeting. I am willing to circulate the idea to the list of conference participants and to moderate one of the roundtables if the organizers agree.

 

Then, all of us should give some thought to ways of keeping the conversation going after Helsinki. For example, I am proposing to the advisory committee of Northeast African Studies that we commission a special forum on “the production of knowledge in Somali Studies” for one of its future issues. We might also consider an ongoing ‘working papers’ series to be hosted on the SSIA website (along the lines of H-Net) where contributors can present new ideas for research and critical commentary on the state of Somali Studies; it will require a committed collective of editors to ensure both balance and civility.

 

My hope is that the SSIA will continue to serve as the preferred forum for Somali Studies scholars and practitioners in the next generation, as it has for two earlier generations since its founding 37 years ago.

 

Lee Cassanelli

Elder, 'old guard,' and one of the founding members of SSIA

 

 

I pitched the idea of a special issue on power, knowledge production and Somali Studies to Northeast African Studies (which Cassanelli edits), but now we're thinking about possibly reviving the much older journal Horn of Africa, which was started by Somali and Ethiopian students in the 1970s, and relaunching it as a postcolonial studies journal. Said Samatar edited Horn of Africa for many years before he died. This is all so exciting

[Holac]

That is great. Thanks for sharing.