Activities in 2025
Farewell to ZMO and New Beginnings at the University of Bayreuth
After five years at ZMO, I am moving to the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth as a data curator.
Career · ZMO · University of Bayreuth · Africa Multiple · +3
VolkswagenStiftung grant: Islam's 'Peripheries': Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia
Awarded a grant under the Volkswagen Foundation's "Open Up" programme for a collaboration with Aksana Ismailbekova on AI-driven comparative history of Islamic archives in West Africa and Central Asia.
Grant · Digital Humanities · AI · West Africa · +6
Building AI Pipelines for African Digital Collections: Lessons from the Islam West Africa Collection
Presentation to the ALMEDA team on AI pipelines for managing large-scale African digital collections.
AI · Digital Humanities · African Studies · IWAC · +4
ZMO Kitchen Talks Podcast Recording
Joined Elisa Nobel-Dilaty on the ZMO "Kitchen Talks" podcast to discuss the Islam in West Africa Collection and potential and pitfalls of AI in African and Islamic studies.
Podcast · AI · African Studies · Islamic Studies · +5
Présentation-discussion de l'ouvrage "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin"
Book discussion hosted by the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur l'Afrique et le Moyen-Orient (CIRAM), Université Laval.
Book Launch · CIRAM · Université Laval · Talk · +4
Call for Chapters: Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies
Call for chapter proposals for an edited volume on Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies, to be published by Bielefeld University Press.
Digital Humanities · AI · African Studies · Call for Papers
Humanités numériques (DH) et IA dans les études africaines - REAF 2026
Call for papers for the panel "Humanités numériques (DH) et IA dans les études africaines" at the 9th Rencontre des Études Africaines en France (REAF) 2026.
REAF · Digital Humanities · AI · Methodology · +4
Anaïs Wion reviews the Islam West Africa Collection in The Digital Orientalist
Anaïs Wion's review of the Islam West Africa Collection published in The Digital Orientalist.
Digital Humanities · IWAC · Review · AI · +2
From Archives to Algorithms: Uncovering Transregional Islamic Connections through the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC)
Paper presented at the Eighth European Congress on World and Global History
Digital Humanities · Global History · Archives · Algorithms · +6
When AI Meets the Archive: Transforming the Islam West Africa Collection with Large Language Models
Invited lecture at the SADiLaR Digital Humanities colloquia exploring how large language models can transform vast archival collections into more navigable resources.
Digital Humanities · AI · IWAC · Large Language Models · +5
VolkswagenStiftung grant for “Charting New Territory: Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies”
With Vincent Hiribarren, I received funding from the VolkswagenStiftung to organise a scoping workshop (18-20 Feb 2026, Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover) on DH and AI in African Studies.
Volkswagen Foundation · Grant · Workshop · Digital Humanities · +2
Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies: Insights from ECAS 2025
Summary report of the ECAS 2025 panel on Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies.
ECAS · Digital Humanities · AI · African Studies · +3
Visit to the École nationale des chartes
Visited École nationale des chartes in Paris on the invitation of Vincent Jolivet.
École nationale des chartes · Talk · Digital Humanities · AI · +4
Lecture Series at EHESS, Paris
A series of four public talks at EHESS, Paris, in May 2025, exploring the histories of Islam and religious pluralism in francophone West Africa using digital humanities methods.
EHESS · Francophone West Africa · Islam · Religious Pluralism · +9
Humanistica Conference 2025 - Dakar
Attending and presenting at the Humanistica 2025 conference in Dakar, focusing on Digital Humanities and AI.
Digital Humanities · AI · IWAC · Conference · +3
Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin: Christian and Muslim Students Navigating Authoritarianism and Laïcité, 1970-2023
New book publication based on research conducted at Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient since 2021.
Publication · Remoboko · Togo · Benin · +4
Établir une faîtière islamique à l'échelle nationale: le cas de 4 pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest francophone
Comparative analysis of national Islamic umbrella organizations in four West African countries.
Workshop · Benin · Burkina Faso · Côte d'Ivoire · +3