May 14, 2007
A captivating lecture on African scripts and symbols delivered
by Associate Professor
Konrad Tuchscherer, Ph.D. , helped inaugurate a new exhibition
at the National Museum of African Art, part of the Smithsonian
Institution, in Washington, DC on May 12. The exhibit, entitled
“Inscribing Meaning,” deals with alphabets and scripts from Africa,
many of them shrouded in mystery.
Photo Gallery
Smithsonian Curator Veronika Jenke introduced Dr. Tuchscherer as
“the leading scholar of African writing and graphic symbols.”
The St. John’s scholar, who has published extensively and
researched for years in Africa as a Fulbright scholar, read several
of the alphabets.
Speaking to a large audience in a packed lecture hall,
Tuchscherer recounted the dramatic story of the discovery of the
Rosetta stone and the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. He
talked about ancient rock art in the Sahara Desert, African
cosmograms found in Mali and Kenya, and the 2,000-year-old
alphabets of the Tuaregs and Ethiopians.
He concluded his talk with highlights of the Bamum Scripts and Archives
Project, a major cultural preservation project in Cameroon that
is sponsored by St. John’s University.
In addition to his lecture, Tuchscherer made important
contributions to the Smithsonian exhibition, such as photographs
from his fieldwork, a chapter on the history of writing to the
exhibition catalogue, and translations of some scripts in the
exhibition.
Tuchscherer’s lecture also served as a “launch pad” for St.
John’s innovative new offering, Discover the World
Africa. This newest study-abroad offering will afford students
the opportunity to study in a modular program that commences in New
York City while performing service to the African immigrant
communities there, and then travel to Rome, Italy, and ultimately
Cameroon in western Africa, for additional course work and academic
service-learning. Africa is the third location to be offered in the
Discover the World program during the past year.
About 35 students from St. John’s University showed their
interest in Dr. Tuchscherer’s work by making the one-day round-trip
to Washington, DC for Dr. Tuchscherer’s lecture.
Learn more about the
Discover the World Africa launch