Clarissa Vierke

Prof. Dr. Clarissa Vierke is a specialist in Swahili Language and Literature at the University of Bayreuth, with a focus on literary connections across the Indian Ocean and African continent. She was awarded the German National Merit Foundation scholarship during her studies in African Languages, Social Anthropology, and Literatures in African Languages at Bayreuth and Leiden.

• Academic Degrees: Doctorate in African Studies (2010, Bayreuth), Studies in African Studies (1999-2005, Bayreuth/Leiden)

Her research spans historical Swahili manuscripts (18th-19th century), contemporary poetry (hiphop, newspaper poetry), and aesthetic practices that examine how poetic form shapes lifeworlds. She leads the project Poetry as Aesthetic Practice (Madagascar/Tanzania) and contributes to manuscript studies and decolonial aesthetics.

Recent publications include co-edited volumes on African Artistic Practices (2024), Decolonial Aesthetics (2023), and Travelling Texts (2020). She serves on editorial boards for journals like Matatu and Swahili Forum.

• Scientific Awards: Wissenschaftspreis (University of Bayreuth, 2012), Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz-Prize (DFG, 2012)

Prof. Vierke is Chairperson of the Afrophone Caucus of the African Literature Association (2015–present) and organizes the annual Swahili Colloquium. Her work bridges precolonial and contemporary Swahili traditions, emphasizing textual mobility and multilingual contexts.