Seminars

In this lecture, Marsh will explore the so-called crisis of the humanities—a perceived devaluation of fields such as literature, history, philosophy, and the arts in an age dominated by science and technology. Recent developments, including advances in artificial intelligence and increasing attacks on academic freedom in North America, have made this crisis seem even more acute. Yet, as Marsh demonstrates, the crisis is far from new.

Drawing on the life and work of Shaykh Musa Kamara (1864–1945), a Muslim scholar from colonial Senegal, the lecture shows that the crisis of the humanities has long been rooted in the coloniality of knowledge. Using Kamara’s manuscripts, colonial surveillance archives, and fieldwork, Marsh retraces Kamara’s struggle to publish a monumental history of West Africa amid political, technological, and epistemic transformations, revealing that the future of the humanities remains full of promise.