Kenya Coast Portal
The African Studies Centre Leiden is sad to report that Jan Hoorweg passed away in his home in Leiderdorp on 3 August 2022.
In memoriam Jan Hoorweg (1939-2022)
Compilation of materials from the social sciences and humanities consisting of four sections: Reviews, Bibliography, Statistics and Open-Access Publications.
The Kenya Coast is a region with distinct geographical, economic and social characteristics. It has a long history of intercontinental trade and cultural exchange with other communities along the East African coast as well as with the Middle East and South Asia. In particular the coastal strip with the seaports of Mombasa and Lamu very much belonged to the political and cultural world of the Indian Ocean but, at the time of Independence, the region was incorporated into the Republic of Kenya, which has its administrative, economic and political centre inland [1].
Due to its cultural diversity and varied history, the Coast has attracted the attention of many researchers over the years. This Portal is a service provided by the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) for students, researchers, development workers, government officials and others with an interest in the region. It provides a digital sequel to the Kenya Coast Handbook [2] and incorporates academic disciplines from the social sciences and humanities, notably anthropology, demography, economics, education, geography, history, languages, law, political science, religion and sociology [3]. The coastal region, as such, is defined as extending about 150 km inland and covers Taita Taveta county, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu and the lower part of Tana River (i.e. Tana Delta) [4].
The Portal consists of four parts: a section with topical reviews by different authors; a bibliographical section with literature references; a section of tables and maps offering statistical information; and a section listing open-access publications. Each section starts with a brief introduction and a list of documents. The document entries provide basic information and a link to the document itself. All documents are presented in PDF format [5].
Also included is a manual with information sheets giving inventories of the different sections, instructions for the compilation of materials and checklists for data presentation.
> Books, Reports and Dissertations
> Manual and information sheets
The Portal is not designed to be a static body of knowledge but should be seen as work-in-progress. We invite readers to provide further information in the form of literature references, statistical data and/or full-text publications. The bibliography was last updated in July 2017 and additional suggestions from readers would be greatly appreciated. Similarly, the section with statistical information will have to be routinely updated to keep up with developments and can be expanded with new items. Finally, we would be happy to receive books, reports and dissertations that have already been published and to add them to our open-access collection. For suggestions or contributions, please contact the editor: kenya-coast@ascleiden.nl.
Posted on 14 April 2014, last modified on 8 August 2022