Abdul Sheriff is a Tanzanian emeritus

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

professor at the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

, and former director of the Peace Memorial Museum, the national museum of

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

Life

Sheriff was born on December 7, 1939, on the island of

. He was able to study with scholarships of the African

Scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

Program of American Universities and the African-American Institute. He obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

in 1964 at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, as well as his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1966. At the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

he obtained his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1971 on the basis of his research on the

history of Africa The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (''Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of d ...

.McGill University
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Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute
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/ref> Since 1969 he taught at the University of Dar es Salaam. From 1977 to 1979 he led the faculty of history as an associate professor, and chaired the historical society of Tanzania. In 1980, he was appointed as a professor at the university until 1996. Furthermore, he was visiting professor at universities in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Lisbon,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Important fields for Sheriff have been the research of the

Dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...

culture of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, the history and culture of Zanzibar, and the history and conservation of Stone Town, the old city district of Zanzibar. He has applied his knowledge in the restoration of the ceremonial palace of the sultan. In order to effectuate this restoration, he specially trained a local scientific team. Furthermore, he founded the House of Wonders as a national historic and cultural museum of Zanzibar and the coast of Swahili.Prince Claus Fund
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/ref> In 2005, Sheriff was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

for the crucial role he played in the conservation of the cultural heritage of Zanzibar. The following year he was rewarded with a Zeze Award of the Tanzanian Fund for Culture, and in 2007 with the Maxwell Cummings Distinguished Lectureship of the

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Bibliography

*1987: ''Slaves Spices & Ivory Zanzibar: Integration Of An East African Commercial'', Ohio University Press, *1991: ''Zanzibar Under Colonial Rule: Eastern African Studies'', met Ed Ferguson, Ohio University Press, *1995: ''Historical Zanzibar'', met Javed Jafferji & Ashter Chomoko, Hsp Publications, *1995: ''Zanzibar Chroniques Du Passe'', HSP Publications, *1995: ''Historical Zanzibar: Romance of the Ages'', HSP Publications, *1995: ''History & Conservation Of Zanzibar Stone Town'', Ohio University Press, *1998: ''Zanzibar stone town : an architectural exploration'', met Zarina Jafferji, Gallery Publications, ASIN B007ERZZVG *2001: ''Zanzibar Stone Town'', met Zarina Jafferji, Galley Publications, *2006: ''The Zanzibar House of Wonders Museum: Self-reliance and Partnership, A Case Study in Culture and Development'', met Paul Klooft & Mubiana Luhila, KIT Publishers Amsterdam, *2010: ''Dhow Cultures and the Indian Ocean: Cosmopolitanism, Commerce, and Islam'', KIT Publishers Amsterdam,

References

External links

*Sheriff, Abdul (2006
''Culture is the fountain of our progress ''
The Power of Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheriff, Abdul University of Dar es Salaam faculty Museum directors Historians of Africa Living people 1939 births People from Mjini Magharibi Region