An event in partnership with the University of Cape Town (UCT) Department of Historical Studies.

Printed books did not reach West Africa until the early twentieth century. And yet, between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries, literate and curious readers throughout the region found books to read – books that were written and copied by hand. In Writing Timbuktu, Shamil Jeppie offers a history of the book as a handwritten, handmade object in West Africa. Centring his account in the historic city of Timbuktu, Jeppie explores the culture of the “manuscript-book” – unbound pages, often held together by carefully crafted leather covers. He describes the most important and most prolific scholars and their works, the subjects they covered, and the ways these books were circulated, collected, and preserved.

A book panel with the author, Assoc. Prof. Shamil Jeppie, UCT, in conversation with Assoc. Prof. Bodhisattva Kar (Moderator), UCT Dept. of Historical Studies, Dr Natasha Shivji, UCT and Dr Wisani Mushwana, UCT.

  See the book: Writing Timbuktu: The Book in West African History. Princeton University Press, 2026.

Panellists

Assoc. Prof. Shamil Jeppie, UCT (Author) | See bio

Assoc. Prof. Bodhisattva Kar, UCT Dept. of Historical Studies (Moderator) | See bio

Dr Natasha Shivji, UCT | See bio

Dr Wisani Mushwana, UCT | See bio