Anne Storch conducted two pilot studies on how language is fixed as heritage, a thing of the past, and an object in a museum in contexts of recently emerging activism and appreciation of the culture of the ‘subaltern‘. In Cape Town, she looked at community museums and grassroot discourses, and co-organised a conference on Colonial Linguistics together with Ana Deumert (University of Cape Town). She also presented a talk at the University of the Western Cape.

At Doha, she investigated emotional investment and heritaging strategies as presented and performed in museums and exhibitions. The focus of this pilot study was on how ‘Black Qatari’ history and culture plays a role in these institutions and daily discourse. This relates to a newly implemented research focus on the African diaspora of the Persian Gulf. Together with PhD student Sara Zavaree, who studies ‘Black Iranian’ culture, Anne Storch will research Khaleeji-African multilingualism and its context.