Making and Remaking Mosques in Senegal

Canone specializes in the architecture and sociology of mosques, and issues of gender and space in Islam. She places Senegal within the context of Islamic architecture in sub-Saharan West Africa, and integrates the space allocated to women in mosques within the wider spectrum of the study of Islamic architecture, which tends to be more concerned with the monumental and creative output of central Muslim lands. The architecture of the mosques of Senegal is interesting, she says, because of the socio-religious context that brought the mosques into being. She covers from conversion to construction; the quest for an appropriate aesthetic; and discourse, gender, and identity. In an epilogue, she wonders whether there is room for sustainable architecture. The study served as her 2006 PhD dissertation in art and architecture at the University of London. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Cleo Cantone, PhD in Art and Archaeology at London University (2006), is a freelance translator and researcher specialising in the architecture and sociology of mosques as well as the issues of gender and space in Islam. Her current research interests include sustainable architecture and Islamic influences on Siculo-Norman architecture.