Book description
The Sahara has long been portrayed as a barrier that divides the
Mediterranean world from Africa proper and isolates the countries of
the Maghrib from their southern and eastern neighbors. Rather than
viewing the desert as an isolating barrier, this volume takes up
historian Fernand Braudel's description of the Sahara as "the
second face of the Mediterranean." The essays recast the history
of the region with the Sahara at its center, uncovering a story of
densely interdependent networks that span the desert's vast expanse.
They explore the relationship between the desert's "islands"
and "shores" and the connections and commonalities that
unite the region. Contributors draw on extensive ethnographic and
historical research to address topics such as trade and migration;
local notions of place, territoriality, and movement; Saharan cities;
and the links among ecological, regional, and world-historical
approaches to understanding the Sahara.
James McDougall is Fellow and Tutor in modern history and
University Lecturer in twentieth century history at Trinity College,
Oxford. He is editor of Nation, Society and Culture in North Africa
and author of History and the Culture of Nationalism in Algeria.
Judith Scheele, a social anthropologist, is a Research Fellow at All
Souls' College, Oxford. She is author of Village Matters: Knowledge,
Politics and Community in Kabylia.
