Team > Prof. Dr. Clarissa Vierke
Prof. Dr. Clarissa Vierke
Faculty of Languages & Literatures
Literatures in African Languages
Clarissa Vierke, born in 1979, has been professor of Literatures in African Languages at the University of Bayreuth since 2014. With a scholarship of the German National Merit Foundation, she studied African Languages, Anthropology and Literatures in African Languages at the University of Bayreuth and the Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. She wrote her PhD about the specific poetics of a narrative peotic genre from the Swahili Coast in Eastern Africa. Since then, she has worked on manuscript cultures in Eastern Africa and travelling texts along the East African Coast from Kenya to Mozambique and across the Indian Ocean. She has also expanded her interest in Aesthetics to focus on other poetic genres.
In 2012, she won the Wissenschaftspreis of the University of Bayreuth and the Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz-prize of the German Research Council (DFG).
Academic Degrees
| 2010 | Doctorate: African Studies, BIGSAS, University of Bayreuth, supervisor: Prof. Dr. Said Khamis |
| 1999 – 2005 | Studies in African Studies, Social Anthropology and Literatures in African Languages, University of Bayreuth and Rijksuniversität Leiden |
Professional Background
| Since 2014 | Professor of Literatures in African Languages, University of Bayreuth |
| 2013 – 2014 | Visiting Professor, Department of Kiswahili and Other African Languages, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya |
| 2010 – 2012 | Assistant Professor („Akademische Rätin auf Zeit“) at the Institute of African Linguistics I, University of Bayreuth |
| 2009 – 2010 | Research Associate at the Institute of African Linguistics I, University of Bayreuth |
| 2006 – 2008 | Scholarship of the German National Merit Foundation (Studienstiftung des dt. Volkes) |
| 2005 – 2006 | Research Associate; Institute of African Linguistics I (Prof. Dr. Gudrun Miehe), University of Bayreuth |
Other
- Co-editor of journal “Matatu – Journal of African Literatures, Languages and Cultures”
- Co-editor of the book series “Archiv afrikanistischer Manuskripte” Rüdiger-
- Köppe-Verlag, Cologne
- Advisory Board Member, journal
- Scholarship in the Robert Bosch Foundation's Fast Track Programme
- Co-editor of the Online Journal Swahili Forum, hosted by the University of Leipzig
- Since 2015 Chairperson of the Afrophone Caucus of the African Literature Association (ACALA)
- Organizer of the annual Swahili Colloquium
Faculty of Languages & Literatures
Literatures in African Languages
I am a specialist of Swahili Language and Literature with an interest in more far-reaching literary connections and entanglements across the Indian Ocean and the African continent. My research has often taken a historical perspective: having widely worked on various poetic genres found in Swahili manuscripts of the 18th and 19th century. However, I have also extended my focus on contemporary poetry, like hiphop and newspaper poetry. A question that recurs throughout my research is how poetic form creates its powerful effect, echoes ideas of aesthetics, and shapes people’s lifeworlds.
Research topics:
- Comparative Literary Studies with a focus on Africa
- Swahili Literature and Popular Culture
- Manuscript Cultures in Africa
- Orality and Literacy
- Poetics and Aesthetics
- Travelling Texts in the Indian Ocean area
- Swahili Intellectual History
- Literature in Multi-lingual Contexts
- Research History with respect to African Languages and Literatures
Regional:
- Kenya
- Mozambique
- Tanzania
Current Research Project:
Faculty of Languages & Literatures
Literatures in African Languages
Publications
2024
Ute Fendler, Marie-Anne Kohl, Gilbert Shang Ndi, Christopher Joseph Odhiambo, Clarissa Vierke: Introduction. In: Ute Fendler, Marie-Anne Kohl, Gilbert Shang Ndi, Christopher Joseph Odhiambo, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Of Worlds and Artworks : A Relational View on Artistic Practices from Africa and the Diaspora. - Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2024. - S. 1-14.
Of Worlds and Artworks : A Relational View on Artistic Practices from Africa and the Diaspora. - Ute Fendler, Marie-Anne Kohl, Gilbert Shang Ndi, Christopher Joseph Odhiambo, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.). - Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2024. - 292 S.
2023
Critical Swahili Studies. - Irene Brunotti, Serena Talento, Duncan Tarrant, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.). - Swahili Forum, 30 (2023), Special Issue
Irene Brunotti, Serena Talento, Duncan Tarrant, Clarissa Vierke: Introduction. In: Swahili Forum, 30 (2023). - S. 1-23.
2022
Kai Kresse, Clarissa Vierke: Swahili language and literature as resources for Indian Ocean studies. In: History Compass, 20 (2022). - .
doi:10.1111/hic3.12725
2017
Clarissa Vierke: "What Is There In My Speaking" : Re-Explorations of Language in Abdilatif Abdalla's Anthology of Prison Poetry, Sauti Ya Dhiki. In: Research in African Literatures, 48 (2017). - S. 135-157.
doi:10.2979/reseafrilite.48.1.09
Clarissa Vierke, Flora Veit-Wild: Introduction : Digging into Language. In: Research in African Literatures, 48 (2017). - S. 9-18.
doi:10.2979/reseafrilite.48.1.01
Mosol Kandagor, Nathan O. Ogechi, Clarissa Vierke: Lugha na fasihi katika karne ya ishirini na moja : kwa heshima ya marehemu Profesa Naoma Luchera Shitemi. - Eldoret, Kenya : Moi University Press, 2017.
Clarissa Vierke: The Making of the ‘Classical’ Utenzi : a Consideration of the Early Editorial History of Tenzi in the 19th and 20th Century. In: Mosol Kandagor, Nathan O. Ogechi, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Lugha na fasihi katika karne ya ishirini na moja : kwa heshima ya marehemu Profesa Naoma Luchera Shitemi. - Eldoret, Kenya : Moi University Press, 2017. - S. 113-130.
Clarissa Vierke: Poetic Links across the Ocean : On Poetic ‘Translation’ as Mimetic Practice at the Swahili Coast. In: Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 37 (2017). - S. 321-335.
doi:10.1215/1089201x-4132941
Reading Closely : Investigating Textuality in Afrophone Literatures. - Clarissa Vierke, Flora Veit-Wild (Hrsg.). - Research in African Literatures, 48 (2017), 1
2016
Clarissa Vierke, Katharina Greven: Critical Visions of the Future in Swahili Fiction. In: Clarissa Vierke, Katharina Greven (Hrsg.): Dunia Yao - Utopia/Dystopia in Swahili Fiction : in Honour of Said A. M. Khamis. - Köln : Köppe, 2016. - S. 7-25.
Dunia Yao - Utopia/Dystopia in Swahili Fiction : in honour of Said A. M. Khamis. - Clarissa Vierke, Katharina Greven (Hrsg.). - Köln : Köppe, 2016.
Clarissa Vierke: From across the Ocean : Considering Travelling Literary figurations as Part of Swahili Intellectual History. In: Journal of African Cultural Studies, 28 (2016). - S. 225-240.
doi:10.1080/13696815.2015.1053800
Clarissa Vierke: The ‘Unhomely’ City : a Literary Figuration in Swahili Dystopian Literature. In: Clarissa Vierke, Katharina Greven (Hrsg.): Dunia Yao - Utopia/Dystopia in Swahili Fiction : in Honour of Said A. M. Khamis. - Cologne : Köppe, 2016. - S. 75-91.
2015
Clarissa Vierke: Comparing the Incomparable? on the poetic use of language in Swahili Hip-Hop and "Classical" Swahili Poetry. In: Lutz Diegner, Frank Schulze-Engler (Hrsg.): Habari ya English? What about Kiswahili? : East Africa as a Literary and Linguistic Contact Zone. - Amsterdam : Rodopi, 2015. - S. 81.
Clarissa Vierke: Some Remarks on Poetic Aspects of Sheng. In: Nico Nassenstein, Andrea Hollington (Hrsg.): Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. - Berlin : De Gruyter, 2015. - S. 227-255.
2014
Clarissa Vierke: Akhi patia kalamu : Writing Swahili Poetry in Arabic Script. In: Meikal Mumin, Kees Versteegh (Hrsg.): Arabic Script in Africa : studies in the use of a writing system. - Leiden : Brill, 2014. - S. 319-342.
Clarissa Vierke: "Im Gebälk die Fledermäuse" : Figurationen der Vergänglichkeit und der Täuschung in der klassischen Swahili-Dichtung. In: Hannelore Vögele, Uta Reuster-Jahn, Raimund Kastenholz, Lutz Diegner (Hrsg.): From the Tana River to Lake Chad : research in african oratures and literatures ; in memoriam Thomas Geider. - Köln : Köppe, 2014. - S. 285-309.
Clarissa Vierke: Seydou, Christiane (Hrsg.): La poésie mystique peule du Mali : Tradition Orale. Paris, 2008. In:Journal of Qur'anic Studies, 15, S. 286-292: 2014
doi:10.3366/jqs.2013.0124
Clarissa Vierke: Zur Forschungsgeschichte der deutschen Afrikanistik, ihre Anfänge und Ausrichtung, am Beispiel der Swahili-Forschung. In: Michel Espagne, Pascale Rabault-Feuerhahn, David Simo (Hrsg.): Afrikanische Deutschland-Studien und deutsche Afrikanistik. - Würzburg : Königshausen und Neumann, 2014. - S. 73-92.
2013
Clarissa Vierke: Préface : L'Histoire de la langue Swahili de David Massamba dans l'histoire de la recherche et dans le contexte national. In: David Massamba (Hrsg.): Histoire de la langue Swahili : de 50 à 1500 après J.-C.. - Paris : Karthala, 2013. - S. 5-16.
Clarissa Vierke: Préface: Localiser Histoire du Swahili de David Massamba dans le contexte des recherches et dans le discours sur l’identité nationale (Übersetzung vom Englischen ins Französische von Alain Ricard). In: Histoire de la langue swahili : de 50 à 1500 après J.-C. / David Massamba ; traduit du swahili par François Devenne. - Paris : 2013.
2012
Clarissa Vierke: Mafumbo : Considering the Functions of Metaphorical Speech in Swahili Contexts. In: Michael R. Marlo, Nikki B. Adams, Christopher R. Green, Michelle Morrison, Tristan M. Purvis (Hrsg.): Selected Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics : African languages in context. - Somerville : Cascadilla Proceedings Project, 2012. - S. 278-290.
2011
Clarissa Vierke:On the poetics of the Utendi : a critical edition of the nineteenth-century Swahili poem "Utendi wa Haudaji" together with a stylistic analysis. - Zürich: Lit, 2011.
(Dissertation, 2011, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies - BIGSAS)
Clarissa Vierke: On the Poetics of the Utendi : A Critical Edition of the Nineteenth-Century Swahilin Poem "Utendi wa Haudaji" together with a Stylistic Analysis. - Berlin : LIT, 2011. - XVIII, 704 S.
Clarissa Vierke, Gabriele Sommer: Speech Acts and Speech Events in African Languages. In: Gabriele Sommer, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Speech Acts and Speech Events in African Languages. - Köln : Köppe, 2011. - S. 11-40.
Speech Acts and Speech Events in African Languages. - Gabriele Sommer, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.). - Köln : Köppe, 2011.
2010
Clarissa Vierke: Between the Lines : Life and Work of the Lamuan Artist and Cultural Broker Muhamadi Kijuma. In: Gudrun Miehe, Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Muhamadi Kijuma : Texts from the Dammann Papers and other Collections. - Köln : Köppe, 2010. - S. 41-62.
Gudrun Miehe, Clarissa Vierke: Muhamadi Kijuma : texts from the Dammann papers and other collections. - Köln : Köppe, 2010. - 532 S.
2009
Clarissa Vierke: Johann L. Krapf : His Life and Work in Context. In: Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Johann Ludwig Krapf : The Life and Work of a Missionary and Scholar-Traveller in Nineteenth-Century East Africa ; Proceedings of the Workshop on Life and Work of Johann Ludwig Krapf, Mombasa, September 11, 2007. - Nairobi : Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2009. - S. 28-49.
Johann Ludwig Krapf : The Life and Work of a Missionary and Scholar-Traveller in Nineteenth-Century East Africa ; Proceedings of the Workshop on Life and Work of Johann Ludwig Krapf, Mombasa, September 11, 2007. - Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.). - Nairobi : Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2009.
Ahmed S. Nabahany: Utenzi wa Mapisi ya Johann Ludwig Krapf wa Ujerumani : Poem about the Life of Johann Ludwig Krapf from Germany. In: Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Johann Ludwig Krapf : The Life and Work of a Missionary and Scholar-Traveller in Nineteenth-Century East Africa ; Proceedings of the Workshop on Life and Work of Johann Ludwig Krapf, Mombasa, September 11, 2007.. - Nairobi : Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2009. - S. 14-26.
Clarissa Vierke: "Words do neither take roots not bear fruits in our country" : Johann Ludwig Krapf's Role as Pioneer Grammarian of Swahili. In: Clarissa Vierke (Hrsg.): Johann Ludwig Krapf : The Life and Work of a Missionary and Scholar-Traveller in Nineteenth-Century East Africa ; Proceedings of the Workshop on Life and Work of Johann Ludwig Krapf, Mombasa, September 11, 2007. - Nairobi : Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2009. - S. 142-156.
2007
Clarissa Vierke: Of Plants and Women : A Working Edition of two Swahili Plant Poems. In: Swahili Forum, 14 (2007). - S. 27-80.
Faculty of Languages & Literatures
Literatures in African Languages
Prof. Dr. Clarissa Vierke
Professor for Literatures in African Languages
University of Bayreuth
Literatures in African languages
95440 Bayreuth
Room: Room: 1.10 (GW I)
Fax: +49 (0)921 / 55-3641
Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-3550
E-mail: clarissa.vierke@uni-bayreuth.de