LibGuides: 01. Francophone Studies: 2.1 Francophone Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Réseau Francophone Numérique (RFN) (La bibliothèque francophone numérique)
Collaborative project among 'francophone' libraries to digitize books, newspapers, journals, archives, maps and audiovisual documents.
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La bibliothèque du réseau francophone numérique regroupe des collections patrimoniales de onze bibliothèques de Belgique, Suisse, Luxembourg, France, Canada, Maroc, Sénégal, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Haïti pour la découverte, l’étude et l’apprentissage de 300 millions de francophones.
Le RFN fédère 26 institutions documentaires issues de 19 pays, attachées au rayonnement des cultures francophones et de la langue française et engagées dans des programmes de numérisation patrimoniale. Le RFN bénéficie du soutien de l’OIF, L'organisation internationale de la francophonie. Enfin, pour être averti des mises à jour du fonds documentaire concernant une recherche, il est possible de s'abonner à un flux RSS. Des outils de partage sur les réseaux sociaux sont également présents.
Decolonization: The Politics of Independence in former Colonial Territories
Collaborative project among 'francophone' libraries to digitize books, newspapers, journals, archives, maps and audiovisual documents.
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Decolonization: Politics and Independence in Former Colonial and Commonwealth Territories brings together material from within former British colonies and Commonwealth nations, alongside some from former French and Portuguese territories, to provide valuable primary source material created for local audiences by local actors during a period of enormous global change. After the Second World War, decolonization movements around the world gathered pace, and from the small port colony of Aden to the vast Indian sub-continent, new borders were set, and new nations built.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Primary Resources: Caribbean in General.

Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC)
The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. The dLOC partner institutions are the core of dLOC. dLOC partners retain all rights to their materials and provide access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Haití

Haitian Diaspora Oral Histories [Digital Collection]
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"The Haitian Diaspora Oral History Digital Collection includes videos and outlines of oral history interviews conducted with individuals of Haitian ancestry that are well-renowned in the world of culture and the arts, education, community activism, civic leadership, and many professional organizations. In these interviews, musicians, artists, dancers, and writers explore the creative process, often through the lens of the diaspora experience, while showcasing the Haitian influence in the arts. Educators, activists and civic leaders share their experiences and their passion for supporting both their local community and the larger Haitian community.". (from website)
Created and maintained by University of Miami ,/span>/strong>
Caribbean Sea Migration [Digital Collection]
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Organized by Duke University, you can consult here "materials from (or related to) the migration by sea of Cubans, Dominicans, and Haitians, including the refugee camp for Cuban and Haitian rafters that existed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, largely dating from 1991-1996. Collection includes camp newspapers and artwork created by refugees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; materials from the U.S. Coast Guard and other military sources, such as newspapers written in Haitian Creole, photocopies of camp rules and refugee intake procedures, and a transcript from an introductory video shown to refugees arriving at the camps; magazines and media coverage of refugee situations, including some material on Elián González; photographs and slides of refugees, Coast Guard personnel, and conditions in the camps in Cuba. Refugees arriving in Miami are included as are photographs of the work of the Guantanámo Refugee Assistance and Services Program in Miami and in the camps in Guantánamo Bay".

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Martinique (Martinica)

Banque numérique des patrimoines martiniquais [Portal]
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"Initiée par l' ex-Conseil général de la Martinique, la Banque Numérique des Patrimoines Martiniquais ou BNPM, est un portail d'accès aux ressources documentaires sur le patrimoine culturel et historique de la Martinique.
Il permet sur un unique site accessible à tous de regrouper les documents historiques et patrimoniaux utiles au public (généalogie, cartes postales, état civil, cartes...).
Il offre aussi aux écoliers des supports pédagogiques comme des dossiers thématiques et des expositions virtuelles (Le jardin des plantes de Saint-Pierre, Aimé Césaire : poésie et politique, Enfances martiniquaises...).
Particulièrement riche en images et en cartes, il permet une plongée dans l'histoire de la Martinique.
La Banque Numérique des Patrimoines Martiniquais propose des documents issus aussi bien de fonds publics (les archives départementales de la Martinique par exemple) que de collections privées, comme cellle de la photographe Arlette Rosa-Lameynardie, précieux témoignage de la vie dans les années 1960-1970 ou les dons de l'Américain Jeffrey Bodington.
Le site propose aussi une indexation collaborative des documents". BNF

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Primary Resources: Africa in General.

Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent (University of Wisconsin-Madison) [Digital Collection]
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Africa Focus brings together, in digital form, two categories of primary and secondary resources: research and teaching materials collected by University of Wisconsin faculty and staff; and unique or valuable items related to these fields held by the University of Wisconsin Libraries. This collection contains more than 3000 slides, 500 photographs, and 50 hours of sounds from forty-five different countries. It is hoped that the search features of the collection will be a convenient aid to scholarship, study, and teaching of these disciplines. (from the website)
African Studies Collection (University of Wisconsin-Madison) [Portal]
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The African Studies Collection brings together primary and secondary resources; research and teaching materials created by University of Wisconsin faculty and staff; and unique or valuable items related to this field held by the University of Wisconsin Libraries. Selected by librarians, scholars, and other subject specialists along a wide range of criteria, this collection includes published materials as well as archival documents. The items were digitized from a variety of formats including books, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs, maps, and other resources. (from the website)
African Online Digital Library (AODL) [Michigan State University] [Digital Libraryl]
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AODL is an open access digital library of African cultural heritage materials created by Michigan State University in collaboration with museums, archives, scholars, and communities around the world.
European Colonialism in the Early 20th Century: French Colonialism in Africa: -- [UVA community]
From Algeria to Madagascar, 1910-1930.
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As a part of the Gale Primary Sources: Archives Unbound, this collection comprises correspondence, studies and reports, cables, maps, and other kinds of documents related to U.S. consular activities in Africa. Highlights include the beginning of an anti-colonial movement and problems along the Moroccan-Algerian border
The French Colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1945-1963: -- [UVA community]
Records of the U.S. State Department: Internal and Foreign Affairs
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These files are the definitive source of American diplomatic reporting on political, military, social, and economic developments in French Africa, and contain various materials from U.S. diplomats.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mali

Digital Archive of Malian Photography [Digital Collection]
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Archive of Malian Photography provides access to preserved & digitized collections of five important photographers in Mali : Mamadou Cissé, Adama Kouyaté, Abdourahmane Sakaly, Malick Sidibé, and Tijani Sitou--online.
Since 2011, a collaborative team of US and Malian conservators has been cleaning, scanning, cataloging, and rehousing circa 100,000 photographic negatives from the archives of these five photographers. Spanning the 1940s-90s, this collection reveals changes and continuities in political and cultural practices, social trends, and photographic production in Mali during the twentieth century.
Read this article for more information published in the blog Africa is a country
You can also listen how Youssouf Sakaly and Malick Sitou discuss the Archive of Malian Photography. The interview considers ethical questions, family and community memory, conservation and dissemination of endangered materials, and changing media technology.
Episode 114 [ 31:31, on November 2, 2017] in Africa Past and Present -- a podcast about history, culture, and politics in Africa and the diaspora (Michigan State University)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Mauritania

Islam and Modernity:Collaboration, Modernity and Colonial Rule: Sidiyya Baba and Mauritania
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Collaboration, Modernity and Colonial Rule: Sidiyya Baba and Mauritania
By David Robinson

In the late 19th century, France conquered much of West Africa and created a federation of colonies called Afrique Occidentale Française. The "missing" piece was the far western portion of the Sahara and Sahel, what became the territory of Mauritania. Most of its people were nomadic, Muslim and speakers of Arabic. They had strong ties to Morocco, the still independent sultanate, and a strong sense of belonging to the Dar al-Islam. The French would need a charismatic and respected Muslim authority to create a stable colony.

As the French prepared to move into the Sahara, a potential ally emerged. Sidiyya Baba (circa 1862-1924), scion of a small but influential lineage of clerics and traders, found himself surrounded by rivals and enemies in the southwestern zone called Trarza. He saw opportunity in linking with the colonial government and formed a close bond with Xavier Coppolani, a specialist in Muslim societies called in to organize the "pacification" of Mauritania.

In this gallery we tell the story of Baba, his fundamental role in the creation of French Mauritania, and the innovations and "modernizations" which he brought to his corner of the colony. (from the website)
Designed and Hosted by MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences, Michigan State University

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Senegal

Diversity and Tolerance in the Islam of West Africa [Digital Collection]
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"This digital library contains archival and research materials that explore Islamic practices in the West African countries of Senegal and Ghana. Presented in six galleries of audio and video interviews, transcripts, photographs, maps, documents, and multimedia presentations, these resources shed much-needed light on how Muslims in West Africa accept religious difference and create productive interactions among Christians, Muslims, and practitioners of other faiths." (from the website)
Designed and Hosted by MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences, Michigan State University
Islam and Modernity: Alternatives in Contemporary Senegambia & Ghana [Digital Collection]
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"For the last two centuries, the Muslim societies of Africa, Asia and other parts of the world have had to confront Western domination, of one variety or another, and forms of the modernity which the West has practiced and championed as universal. In their adaptations these societies have developed original institutions and "alternative modernities" that enrich our understanding of Islam and of the contemporary world. West Africans have been no exception to this general rule, even though Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be neglected by "orientalists" as well as Muslims from the "heartlands" of the faith. In this portal we show West Africans as resourceful, original and yes, "modern" practitioners of Islam; they are important examples for teachers and students of world history. We emphasize Senegambia, a Muslim majority area set in the Sahel, and Ghana, a Muslim minority country set in the forest region". (From the website)

Related Collections:
• Islam and Modernity: Contemporary Dynamics of the Bou Kounta Qadiri Community . By Maria Grosz-Ngaté. This collection features the vibrant branch of the Qadiriyya founded by Cheikh Bou Kounta in Ndiassane, Senegal. Interviews, photos, videos of public events, and news articles document aspects of the order’s history; continuity and change; the engagement of Qadiri youth; and aspirations for education and development.
• Collaboration, Modernity and Colonial Rule: Sidiyya Baba and Mauritania. By David Robinson. 17 images, 7 documents, and 3 maps and contextualizing essays tell the story of Sidiyya Baba, his fundamental role in the creation of French Mauritania, and the innovations and "modernizations" which he brought to his corner of the colony.

Designed and Hosted by MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences, Michigan State University
Pluralism and Adaptation in the Islamic Practice of Senegal and Ghana [Digital Collection]
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"Pluralism and Adaptation in the Islamic Practice of Senegal and Ghana is a digital library of multi-media resources that demonstrate how innovative Africans have been in the history of Islam and Islamic practice and how they continue to live and experience Islam.
Four digital galleries – two from Senegal and two from Ghana – emphasize pluralism - the coexistence and indeed the mutual respect among people of different religious persuasions - and adaptation – situations where Islam takes root in a particular society and culture that changes over time.
Through maps, images, multi-lingual audio, video, and textual materials, these galleries shed light on ways diverse Muslim communities in West Africa cooperate with one another and with followers of other faith and indigenous traditions.
Related Collections:
• Failed Islamic States in Senegambia. By by David Robinson. In the 18th and 19th centuries, several determined reformers sought to extend the breadth and depth of Islamic practice in Senegambia and neighboring areas by using the 'jihad of the sword.' In each case their military efforts failed in the medium and long term, and sometimes more quickly, and did little to extend the faith. Their failure led Senegambian Muslims to think more of Sufi forms and practices of the faith, in which the political domain was much less important than the religious, social and economic realms, and to accept various forms of accommodation with the new political authorities, in this case the administrators of French West Africa.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ United States

African Activist Archive Project [Digital Collection]
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The African Activist Archive is preserving and making available online the records of activism in the United States to support the struggles of African peoples against colonialism, apartheid, and social injustice from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Designed and Hosted by MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences, Michigan State University.

L’Atlas historique du Québec [Portal]
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collection d’ouvrages de synthèse et de référence sur l’évolution de la société québécoise, soutenus par la cartographie, l’iconographie et la représentation graphique..

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Beirut

French Mandate in the Lebanon: -- [UVA community]
Christian-Muslim Relations, and the US Consulate at Beirut, 1919-1930 --
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As a part of the Gale Primary Sources: Archives Unbound, this collection consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Beirut.
Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Trans-Jordan: -- [UVA community]
Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1836-1944. --
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Part of Gale Primary Sources: Archives Unbound, this collection covers U.S. perspectives on Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Trans-Jordan, from Ottoman rule to the era of British and French mandates following the First World War.

01. Francophone Studies

Primary Sources

FRANCOPHONIA

CARAIBES

AFRICA

CANADA

ASIA

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