Doha: The Indian Ocean Working Group (IOWG) research initiative at QF-partner Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) organised the inaugural Loiy Hammad Memorial Lecture by Dr. Thomas F. McDow from Ohio State University on the subject of his book, Buying Time: Debt and Mobility in the Western Indian Ocean.
In Buying Time, a finalist for the Bethwell A. Ogot Book Prize for Best Book in East African Studies, Dr. McDow analyses Swahili and Arabic financial records that reveal new connections between trade relations, familial connections, colonial expansion, and environmental change across a vast region that extends from the Arabian desert to the Congo River.
This memorial lecture series was recently launched in memory of GU-Q student Loiy Ahmed Hammad, a senior who would have graduated at the end of the current academic year.
The Dean of GU-Q, Dr. Ahmad Dallal, said: “The passing of this cherished young scholar has affected all of us. This commemorative lecture series is one way to recognise the deep impact Loiy had on us as a community. By bringing the community together in his name for scholarship, we are celebrating the memory of a special individual.”
Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Rogaia Abusharaf, shared that it was Loiy’s love of ethnography, and “the marvellous world of the Indian Ocean” that led to the group’s decision to lend his name to the IOWG’s scholarly work.
“Loiy was the student that every professor wished to see. His intelligence and quick wit will be greatly missed. To honour his loving memory, we plan to dedicate our lectures to him throughout this academic year.”
