Volume 1 (2014)

From the Editors

Nubian studies needs a platform in which the old meets the new, in which archaeological, papyrological, and philological research into Meroitic, Old Nubian, Coptic, Greek, and Arabic sources confront current investigations in modern anthropology and ethnography, Nilo-Saharan linguistics, and critical and theoretical approaches present in post-colonial and African studies.

The journal Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies brings these disparate fields together within the same fold, opening a cross-cultural and diachronic field where divergent approaches meet on common soil. Dotawo gives a common home to the past, present, and future of one of the richest areas of research in African studies. It offers a crossroads where papyrus can meet internet, scribes meet critical thinkers, and the promises of growing nations meet the accomplishments of old kingdoms.

We embrace a powerful alternative to the dominant paradigms of academic publishing. We believe in free access to information. Accordingly, we are proud to collaborate with DigitalCommons@Fairfield, an institutional repository of Fairfield University in Connecticut, USA, and with open-access publishing house punctum books. Thanks to these collaborations, every volume of Dotawo will be available both as a free online pdf and in online bookstores.

This first volume of Dotawo is the outcome of a Nubian panel within the Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium held at the University of Cologne, May 22–4, 2013. Organized by Angelika Jakobi, the Nubian panel was attended both by specialists of the modern Nubian languages and scholars working on medieval Nubia and its languages, particularly Old Nubian. We are indebted to the Fritz Thyssen Foundation at Cologne for generously sponsoring the organization of the Nubian panel and the invitation of the participants.

Since many invited participants from Sudan were unable to get visas due to the shutdown of the German Embassy in Khartoum at that time, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation also funded the organization >of a second venue of specialists on modern Nubian languages. This so-called “Nubian Panel 2” was hosted by the Institute of African & Asian Studies at the University of Khartoum on September 18–19, 2013. The proceedings of that venue will be published in the second volume of Dotawo.

We look forward to planning future volumes with scholars from all fields of Nubian studies. To that end, we invite submissions on all topics and we welcome suggestions for future themed volumes. We currently plan two such themed volumes, for which the calls for papers may be found on the "About this Journal" page.