Created in 1962, ISH coordinates advanced research in archeology, history, sociology, social anthropology, human geography, local language, and oral literature. It has its roots in the colonial-era Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (IFAN) and curates a sizable legacy of audiovisual records, print documents and inventories of material culture. ISH comprises three research departments: archeology and history, linguistics and oral literature, and social anthropology. (Website: www.ish-mali.ml)

The institute supports students in training and advanced scholars conducting research in its domains of competence. It also contributes to the protection of national cultural heritage in collaboration with national institutions: University of Bamako, National Direction of Cultural Heritage, National Museum, and National Archives. Through the HaB program, ISH carries out specific joint activities with the Institute of Social Sciences in Burkina Faso and Kyoto Seika University in Japan.

ISH’s projects focus on language practices as starting points for different forms of pedagogical experiments. In this regard, it explores the expressive power of textiles (weaving and dyeing) with partner institutes in Burkina Faso and Taiwan. Similar plans concern rice as medium and idiom with partners in Japan, India and Thailand. In the next phase, we will concentrate on co-designing syllabi based on collaborative activities.

Contact persons:

Dr. Baba Coulibaly, Director, Institute of Humanities
Dr. Mohomodou Houssouba, Principal Investigator, Basel