Papers by Hannah Hoechner
Globalisation, Societies and Education, 2020
Homeland visits and stays have only recently began to receive attention within the growing litera... more Homeland visits and stays have only recently began to receive attention within the growing literature on the religious beliefs and practices of ‘second generation’ Muslims in Western contexts, just as African Muslims have largely been neglected within this emerging field. Drawing on data collected over a total of 14 months among Senegalese migrant communities in the greater New York area, and in Islamic schools receiving migrants’ children in Dakar, Senegal, this paper outlines how young people’s homeland returns for the sake of religious education give rise to complex negotiations of meaning and identity.
Children's Geographies, 2020
A growing body of literature explores how transnational migration from Africa to Western countrie... more A growing body of literature explores how transnational migration from Africa to Western countries affects childrearing practices. While the motivations and constraints underpinning parents' decisions to raise children partly or entirely in the 'homeland' are fairly well documented, much less is known about young people's experiences of transnational mobility and about its relationship to social reproduction. Drawing on data collected over 14 months among Senegalese migrant communities in New York and New Jersey, and in Islamic schools receiving migrants' children in Dakar, Senegal, this paper explores how educational stints in the 'homeland' equip young people with cultural and religious resources to deal with the challenges of living in the US as part of a triple minority as Blacks, immigrants, and Muslims. At the same time, homeland stays produce a series of new vulnerabilities, as young people struggle to adjust to an unfamiliar language and disciplinary regime in the US.
Globalisation, Societies and Education
This special issue showcases ethnographies with young people in the Global South which draw on th... more This special issue showcases ethnographies with young people in the Global South which draw on the common conceptual umbrella of the ‘identity of the educated person’ to unpack novel intersections between mobility, migration and education in the context of globalisation. Overarching themes include how definitions of the educated person are shaped by diverse identity constructions and axes of difference, notions of discipline and hardship, and global discourses and concepts which travel across international space. Definitions of the educated person are contested through migration processes, and young people’s agency within and beyond schools, through consumption practices and appropriation of popular culture.
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2014
‘Participatory’ research is often presented as a means to ‘empower’ stigmatised groups by address... more ‘Participatory’ research is often presented as a means to ‘empower’ stigmatised groups by addressing shame and by promoting attitude changes. Drawing on experiences producing a ‘participatory’ docudrama with traditional Qur’anic students (almajirai) in Kano, northern Nigeria, I reflect on the limits of ‘participatory’ research as a tool for ‘empowerment’. I describe the risks stigmatised groups may incur by participating, and consider to what extent, if at all, it can foster social change. The almajirai have attracted negative attention as presumed victims of child neglect and as ‘cannon fodder’ for Islamic radicalisation. Their participation in the filmmaking gave them an opportunity to voice their concerns and to rebuke those treating them heedlessly. At the same time, they became vulnerable to accusations and suspicions within their communities. To escape the negative connotations of poverty, they deemphasised its role for almajiri enrolment, thus concealing structural inequalities.
Children's Geographies, 2015
Mobility is a powerful resource young people can draw on to improve their lives, but it can also ... more Mobility is a powerful resource young people can draw on to improve their lives, but it can also entail risks. This paper explores how mobility becomes a contradictory resource for peripatetic Qur’anic students (almajirai) in Kano State in northern Nigeria. Moving to urban areas allows the young almajirai to escape difficult conditions and to access educational and income opportunities absent at their rural homes. It makes it possible for them to adopt self-conceptions as migrants in search of sacred knowledge who were once widely respected. However, economic decline has made survival in the city more difficult. Lacking the economic and cultural resources to participate in displays of status, and without social superiors to speak for them, the almajirai feel they have become fair game for those searching for scapegoats.
Africa, 2015
Inequalities are growing on a global scale today and rising consumerism has exacerbated the negat... more Inequalities are growing on a global scale today and rising consumerism has exacerbated the negative connotations of material deprivation in many places. What does this imply for how poor people experience their situation? What role does religion play in their lives? This paper explores these questions by studying how young Qur’anic students (almajirai) in Kano in northern Nigeria experience, and deal with, being poor. In the context of growing violent conflict related to the Boko Haram insurgency, poor Muslims, including the almajirai, have frequently been cast as being prone to violence in order to claim their share of highly unequally distributed resources. Religion has often been portrayed as a radicalizing force in their lives. This paper challenges such views. It describes how the almajirai deploy religious discourses to moderate feelings of inadequacy and shame triggered by experiences of exclusion. At the same time, recourse to religious discourses emphasizing the values of asceticism and endurance does not further an agenda of social change and thus risks perpetuating the almajirai’s weak social position. The paper concludes that consumerism and wealth-based definitions of status are likely to silence demands for social justice.
Boko Haram: Islamism, politics, security and the state in Nigeria
The enrolment of many boys and young men in traditional Qur’anic schools rather than formal educa... more The enrolment of many boys and young men in traditional Qur’anic schools rather than formal education has become an issue of growing concern in northern Nigeria. The almajirai, the students of such schools, have attracted attention in the context of increased attempts to universalise primary education and growing concerns about child welfare. They have also been discussed as potential ‘foot soldiers’ for violence in the context of Boko Haram. As systematic evidence does not exist to substantiate such claims, the link between almajirai and violence is often made with reference to the conditions of their upbringing. That the almajirai grow up defying the norms of ‘modern’ childhood is taken as ‘proof’ of a violent predisposition. This chapter shows the problems of such reasoning. In terms of skills and future prospects, little differentiates the almajirai from other poor undereducated youth from rural households. Young people frequently move between different educational systems, which means few children are ‘pure’ almajirai. Lingering at the bottom of the status hierarchy, the almajirai often lack the power to refute unjustified accusations. These feed negative stereotypes, which may give rise to fresh accusations. Widespread prejudice and stigma are major concerns to the almajirai.
European Journal of Development Research, 2011
... For instance, when Shu'aibu (10 years old) began singing into my tape-recorder and f... more ... For instance, when Shu'aibu (10 years old) began singing into my tape-recorder and fooling around, his older brother Bashir (12 years old) told him that he, as an Almajiri, should ... In: A. Jega (ed.) Identity Transformation and Identity Politics under Structural Adjustment in Nigeria. ...
Book chapters by Hannah Hoechner
Routledge Handbook of Diaspora Studies, 2018
Film by Hannah Hoechner
Neuf étudiants de trois écoles coraniques de Kano ont été formés à l’écriture de ce film, au jeu,... more Neuf étudiants de trois écoles coraniques de Kano ont été formés à l’écriture de ce film, au jeu, à la prise avec caméra et à la mise en scène. Ce film montre leurs perspectives sur la vie des almajirai à Kano et leurs expériences au quotidien.
Les almajirai sont des garçons et jeunes hommes issus de la campagne pour la plupart et qui vont vivre dans les centres urbains du Nigéria du nord afin d’étudier le Coran. Quittant le domicile parental, ils vivent chez un maître coranique. Les almajirai apprennent à lire, écrire et réciter le Coran. En dehors des cours, ils gagnent leur vie: Les étudiants plus âgés travaillent comme manœuvres, commerçants ambulants ou artisants d’art. Les étudiants plus jeunes par contre travaillent comme domestiques ou mendient en rue. Par conséquent, ils façonnent l’image des rues des centres urbains au Nigéria du nord.
Hannah Hoechner mène des recherches auprès des almajirai et la production de ce film avec et sur les almajirai, qui a été soutenu par le Goethe Institut Kano, faisait partie de ses recherches de terrain à Kano/Nigéria en 2011.
Réalisation: Abdullahi Yahaya Sa'ad
Asst Réalisation: Buhari Murtala
Production: Hannah Hoechner
Scénario: Abdullahi Yahaya Sa’ad, Buhari Murtala, Sadisu Salisu, Muhammad Naziru Usman, Kabiru Idris, Auwalu Mahamud, Isma’il Abdullahi, Anas Ali, Ikiramatu Mukhtar
Consultant scénario: Nasiru Bappah Muhammad
Camera: Sadisu Salisu
Montage: Auwal Kabir Indabawa
The almajirai are boys and young men from primary school age to their early twenties who have com... more The almajirai are boys and young men from primary school age to their early twenties who have come to the cities and villages in northern Nigeria to study the Holy Qur’an. They don’t stay with their parents, most of whom reside in rural areas, but live with their Qur’anic teacher (malam).
The almajirai learn to read, write, and recite the Holy Qur’an. During the lesson-free time they earn their livelihood: Older students to menial jobs and engage in petty trade or handicrafts. Younger students work as household helps, or beg for food and money on the streets, which makes them a highly visible feature of the urban landscape.
Nine almajirai from three different Qur’anic schools in Kano State have been trained to write the script for this film, to do most of the acting, to handle the camera, and to give the stage directions. This film shows their views and experiences they made while living as almajirai in Kano.
Blog posts by Hannah Hoechner
Newspaper articles by Hannah Hoechner
World Politics Review, 2019
Koranschüler in Nigeria schämen sich für ihre Armut. Sie werden beschimpft, manchmal sogar körper... more Koranschüler in Nigeria schämen sich für ihre Armut. Sie werden beschimpft, manchmal sogar körperlich angegriffen und gelten als »Kanonenfutter« für die islamistische Sekte »Boko Haram«.
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Papers by Hannah Hoechner
Book chapters by Hannah Hoechner
Film by Hannah Hoechner
Les almajirai sont des garçons et jeunes hommes issus de la campagne pour la plupart et qui vont vivre dans les centres urbains du Nigéria du nord afin d’étudier le Coran. Quittant le domicile parental, ils vivent chez un maître coranique. Les almajirai apprennent à lire, écrire et réciter le Coran. En dehors des cours, ils gagnent leur vie: Les étudiants plus âgés travaillent comme manœuvres, commerçants ambulants ou artisants d’art. Les étudiants plus jeunes par contre travaillent comme domestiques ou mendient en rue. Par conséquent, ils façonnent l’image des rues des centres urbains au Nigéria du nord.
Hannah Hoechner mène des recherches auprès des almajirai et la production de ce film avec et sur les almajirai, qui a été soutenu par le Goethe Institut Kano, faisait partie de ses recherches de terrain à Kano/Nigéria en 2011.
Réalisation: Abdullahi Yahaya Sa'ad
Asst Réalisation: Buhari Murtala
Production: Hannah Hoechner
Scénario: Abdullahi Yahaya Sa’ad, Buhari Murtala, Sadisu Salisu, Muhammad Naziru Usman, Kabiru Idris, Auwalu Mahamud, Isma’il Abdullahi, Anas Ali, Ikiramatu Mukhtar
Consultant scénario: Nasiru Bappah Muhammad
Camera: Sadisu Salisu
Montage: Auwal Kabir Indabawa
The almajirai learn to read, write, and recite the Holy Qur’an. During the lesson-free time they earn their livelihood: Older students to menial jobs and engage in petty trade or handicrafts. Younger students work as household helps, or beg for food and money on the streets, which makes them a highly visible feature of the urban landscape.
Nine almajirai from three different Qur’anic schools in Kano State have been trained to write the script for this film, to do most of the acting, to handle the camera, and to give the stage directions. This film shows their views and experiences they made while living as almajirai in Kano.
Blog posts by Hannah Hoechner
Newspaper articles by Hannah Hoechner
Les almajirai sont des garçons et jeunes hommes issus de la campagne pour la plupart et qui vont vivre dans les centres urbains du Nigéria du nord afin d’étudier le Coran. Quittant le domicile parental, ils vivent chez un maître coranique. Les almajirai apprennent à lire, écrire et réciter le Coran. En dehors des cours, ils gagnent leur vie: Les étudiants plus âgés travaillent comme manœuvres, commerçants ambulants ou artisants d’art. Les étudiants plus jeunes par contre travaillent comme domestiques ou mendient en rue. Par conséquent, ils façonnent l’image des rues des centres urbains au Nigéria du nord.
Hannah Hoechner mène des recherches auprès des almajirai et la production de ce film avec et sur les almajirai, qui a été soutenu par le Goethe Institut Kano, faisait partie de ses recherches de terrain à Kano/Nigéria en 2011.
Réalisation: Abdullahi Yahaya Sa'ad
Asst Réalisation: Buhari Murtala
Production: Hannah Hoechner
Scénario: Abdullahi Yahaya Sa’ad, Buhari Murtala, Sadisu Salisu, Muhammad Naziru Usman, Kabiru Idris, Auwalu Mahamud, Isma’il Abdullahi, Anas Ali, Ikiramatu Mukhtar
Consultant scénario: Nasiru Bappah Muhammad
Camera: Sadisu Salisu
Montage: Auwal Kabir Indabawa
The almajirai learn to read, write, and recite the Holy Qur’an. During the lesson-free time they earn their livelihood: Older students to menial jobs and engage in petty trade or handicrafts. Younger students work as household helps, or beg for food and money on the streets, which makes them a highly visible feature of the urban landscape.
Nine almajirai from three different Qur’anic schools in Kano State have been trained to write the script for this film, to do most of the acting, to handle the camera, and to give the stage directions. This film shows their views and experiences they made while living as almajirai in Kano.