Konrad Tuchscherer
Encyclopedia
Konrad Tuchscherer is an educator, scholar, writer, and public intellectual. Tuchscherer currently serves as the Co-Director of the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
in Cameroon
and is Associate Professor of History and Director of Africana Studies at St. John's University (New York City)
.
. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies
at the University of London
, where he was a Marshall Scholar and Fulbright Scholar, and wrote a thesis on West African scripts. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Tuchscherer is currently the Co-Director of the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
at the Archives du Palais des Rois Bamoun, Foumban. He has traveled the Bamum Kingdom collecting and photographing threatened documents, created a modern archives for the storage of documents, and helped to create a functional computer font for the Bamum script. He continues to translate and inventory documents with a team of translators and has commenced an initiative to spread literacy among Bamum youth in schools. In 2006 the King of the Bamum, El Hadj Sultan Ibrahim Mbombo Njoya, recognized him for his efforts by awarding him the Bamum title “Nji” (“Master”). His work on Bamum began as a Fulbright Scholar in 2004. In 2006, Tuchscherer lived and conducted research in Foumban
for the year.
Tuchscherer's interests include nineteenth and twentieth century West Africa
, colonialism in Africa
, and Gullah
history in South Carolina and Georgia. His important research on the origin, development and spread of writing in Africa has appeared in several leading journals: the Bagam script of Cameroon in African Affairshttp://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/, the Vai script
of Liberia
in History in Africahttp://www.jstor.org/journals/03615413.html, the Mende script of Sierra Leone
in African Languages and Cultureshttp://www.jstor.org/journals/0954416X.html and Journal of African Cultural Studieshttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/13696815.html, and Egyptian hieroglyphs
in Africana Bulletin. Tuchscherer is currently writing a book entitled Black Scribes that explores the history of the written word in Africa from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs to modern West African alphabets.
Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
Bamum Scripts and Archives Project at the Bamum Palace is engaged in a variety of initiatives concerning the Bamum script, including collecting and photographing threatened documents, translating and in some cases hand-copying documents, creating a fully usable Bamum computer font for the inventory...
in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
and is Associate Professor of History and Director of Africana Studies at St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
.
Education and career
Konrad Tuchscherer is Associate Professor of History and Director of Africana Studies at St. John's University (New York City)St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, where he was a Marshall Scholar and Fulbright Scholar, and wrote a thesis on West African scripts. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Tuchscherer is currently the Co-Director of the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
Bamum Scripts and Archives Project at the Bamum Palace is engaged in a variety of initiatives concerning the Bamum script, including collecting and photographing threatened documents, translating and in some cases hand-copying documents, creating a fully usable Bamum computer font for the inventory...
at the Archives du Palais des Rois Bamoun, Foumban. He has traveled the Bamum Kingdom collecting and photographing threatened documents, created a modern archives for the storage of documents, and helped to create a functional computer font for the Bamum script. He continues to translate and inventory documents with a team of translators and has commenced an initiative to spread literacy among Bamum youth in schools. In 2006 the King of the Bamum, El Hadj Sultan Ibrahim Mbombo Njoya, recognized him for his efforts by awarding him the Bamum title “Nji” (“Master”). His work on Bamum began as a Fulbright Scholar in 2004. In 2006, Tuchscherer lived and conducted research in Foumban
Foumban
Foumban or Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 . It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture...
for the year.
Tuchscherer's interests include nineteenth and twentieth century West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, colonialism in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
history in South Carolina and Georgia. His important research on the origin, development and spread of writing in Africa has appeared in several leading journals: the Bagam script of Cameroon in African Affairshttp://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/, the Vai script
Vai script
The Vai syllabary is a syllabic writing system devised for the Vai language by Momolu Duwalu Bukele of Jondu, in what is now Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia. He is regarded within the Vai community, as well as by most scholars, as the syllabary's inventor and chief promoter when it was first...
of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
in History in Africahttp://www.jstor.org/journals/03615413.html, the Mende script of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
in African Languages and Cultureshttp://www.jstor.org/journals/0954416X.html and Journal of African Cultural Studieshttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/13696815.html, and Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
in Africana Bulletin. Tuchscherer is currently writing a book entitled Black Scribes that explores the history of the written word in Africa from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs to modern West African alphabets.