El Hadji Samba Amadou Diallo

My research explores the ways religious institutions reproduce themselves and how adherents accept as natural, the interpretation of those institutions by their leaders. I use a variety of international archives in France and Senegal as well as ethnographic research. My first book was entitled La Tijāniyya sénégalaise: Les métamorphoses des modèles de succession (Paris: Publisud, 2010). In addition to the book, I have published several articles on the expansion of the Tijāniyya brotherhood in French Colonial History, Africa Zamani, Incursions, and Social Compass (see CV). My most recent publications have examined the dissemination of Sufism and Islam as well as democratization processes in Africa.

My current research project explores musical influences between Africa and its diaspora. Inspired by his popular freshman seminar, Youth in Africa, the research looks to newer diasporic connections taking place via dance and the movement of Hip-Hop. The connections include a variety of music such as Zouk, Cabo Love, and Kizomba, stretching from Cape Verde, Angola, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal to Brazil and the Antilles.