Latest news with #BUToday
Ya Biladi
4 days ago
- Science
- Ya Biladi
Boston University scholar traces Morocco's ancient brocade tradition in Fes
A Boston University doctoral student is documenting the evolution of Morocco's centuries-old brocade weaving industry in the city of Fes, where the craft has persisted since medieval times despite significant changes in materials and techniques. According to BU Today, Morgan Snoap, a PhD candidate in African art and Fulbright Student Researcher, has spent nine months in Fes studying how traditional brocade production has adapted to modern times while maintaining its cultural significance. The research reveals that brocade weaving in Fes dates back to the 14th century, when ornate silk belts were essential wedding attire for both Muslim and Jewish women. These wide ceremonial belts featured intricate floral and geometric patterns and were wrapped multiple times around the waist over kaftans. Today's brocade industry faces different realities. The original silk material has been replaced by rayon after Morocco's silkworms died out in the late 19th century, forcing weavers to rely on imported silk. The complex medieval «lampas» weaving technique has evolved into a simpler but still intricate hand-operated process using drawlooms. Only four brocade workshops remain in Fes, where master weavers collaborate with drawmen to create designs. While ceremonial belts are no longer worn, brocade kaftans continue as wedding attire, and the fabric now decorates hotels, restaurants, and homes as furnishing material and curtains.
Axios
31-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
BU closes antiracist research center as founding director leaves
Boston University is closing its Center for Antiracist Research as its founding director, scholar Ibram X. Kendi, leaves for another job. Why it matters: BU's decision, which comes amid a federal backlash to programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion, may spell the end for several initiatives that came out of the center, including the online magazine The Emancipator. Driving the news: Kendi is joining Howard University as the director of its new Institute for Advanced Study, the university announced Thursday. The institute will explore the importance of the African diaspora across the world, including its connections to race, racism, technology, climate change and inequities. BU announced the center's closure, saying the remaining 12 employees will remain on staff until June 30, when the center's charter expires. What they're saying:"I am departing for an opportunity I could not pass up, but what connected us at CAR remains, especially during this precarious time," Kendi wrote in a statement, per the university-run publication BU Today. "Our commitment to building an equitable and just society." Flashback: Kendi, known for his book, "How To Be An Anti-Racist," joined BU to open the center in 2020. The venture launched after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and protests over his death and other killings involving law enforcement. The center launched the present-day Emancipator as a nod to the 19th-century abolitionist newspaper, as well as a COVID Racial Data Tracker to outline the pandemic's disproportionate effects on Black people. Kendi and the center faced criticism in 2023 after he announced layoffs for 19 employees, which he called part of a new strategy to keep the center sustainable long-term. BU Today cited "shifting" public support and waning contributions as the reason. Kendi told Axios at the time the layoffs "devastated" him.
