We are pleased to announce a call for papers (in French, English, and Portuguese) for a special issue on the theme: “Sound recordings,” coordinated by Charlotte Grabli (CNRS, Centre d’histoire sociale des mondes contemporains) and Aïssatou Mbodj-Pouye (CNRS, Institut des mondes africains), to be published in the journal Sources. Materials & Fieldwork in African Studies
This issue of Sources ambitions to bring together multiple disciplinary perspectives on one or more sound sources produced in Africa. Whether issued from old collections or produced today, audio materials are attracting growing interest in African studies, particularly thanks to the promotion by institutions, researchers, activists and artists of forgotten or difficult-to-access sound and audiovisual collections. Recorded since the late 19th century, these sound objects are extremely diverse: linguistic material, songs and music, field recordings, radio archives, commercial records, film soundtracks, recordings of trials, political speeches, sermons, cassette letters, digital voicemails, etc. Their circulation has increased with the possibilities for duplication offered by cassette technology, and even more so with the digital revolution. Audio recording is also often one of the tools available to social science researchers, and sound objects have become part of the range of objects collected during fieldwork. However, the specificities of the sonic nature of these materials are rarely questioned. Particularly in the case of African and diasporic contexts, it is important to develop methods of listening and analysing that can grasp the multidimensional nature of recordings, the power relations and forms of agency that mark the processes of production, circulation and archiving.
The call is available in English: https://journals.openedition.org/sources/4217
In French: https://journals.openedition.org/sources/4206
In Portuguese: http://journals.openedition.org/sources/4229
Proposals should be sent before February 10, 2026 to the following addresses: charlotte.grabli@cnrs.fr, mbodj@cnrs.fr, sources@services.cnrs.fr
Please feel free to share this call for papers in your newsletters, on your websites, and on social media.
Contact Information
Charlotte Grabli, CNRS, Centre d’histoire sociale des mondes contemporains
charlotte.grabli@cnrs.fr
Aïssatou Mbodj-Pouye, CNRS, Institut des mondes africains
mbodj@cnrs.fr
Contact Email
sources@services.cnrs.fr
URL
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