Reflections on the Project African Oral Literatures, New Media, and Technologies: Challenges for Research and Documentation

This paper offers a reflective update of the international project "African Oral Literatures, New Media, and Technologies: Challenges for Research and Documentation." This project has engaged the practice and the theoretical implications of technological documentation by implementing the ground-breaking series Verba Africana, published on DVDs and the Internet. Such a series produces videos of African oral genres, whether "classic" storytelling and songs, or hip-hop and video clips, with translations and interpretive commentaries informed by scientific research. Central topics of the project are issues of definition, interpretation, and impact of technology on what is recorded, as well as the questions of collaborative authorship and of "sharing knowledge."