Concept
The conference aims to foster the presentation and discussion of multiple disciplinary approaches and contributions to the understanding of cultural, literary, historical, social, educational, artistic, ecological, and political landscapes in Africa. The conference will bring together students, academics, policymakers, community leaders, artists. It will promote a broad disciplinary approach to African Studies and a dynamic forum for discussion and knowledge production. A particular attention will be dedicated to the importance of future leaderships and to the role of young policymakers, researchers and artists.
As Africa evolves towards an increasingly more centric position in the world stage and as it showcases notable narratives of development, resistance and creation, it is paramount to listen to African scholarship and to engage in collaborative discussions. Such approach is one of the many possible ways of moving together towards a most needed discussion on authorized voices in research dissemination, and on the current relevance of postcolonial theory and its growing divergent readings. How can we chart such heritage? Who do we need to listen to at the transnational, national and regional levels?
We welcome contributions for panels, papers and posters on ongoing academic research, fieldwork, community-based projects, related to, including but not limited, the following themes:
- Activism(s): reforms and practices
- Arts: production and commodification
- Cultural practices: representations and discourses
- Environment and ecocriticism
- Diaspora communities: past and present history(ies)
- Education: policies, practices and skills development
- Film, theatre, music: new directions, legacies
- History: foundations and current readings
- LGBT communities: challenges and realities
- Literatures: theory, critique and production
- Media and Social Media: challenges and current issues
- Oral History: storytelling and community empowerment
- Philosophy: African thought and trends
- Religion(s): mapping the postcolonial reality
- Slavery and transatlantic slave trade
- Technology and science: state of the art
- Urban spaces and public policies
- Women’s roles: society, academia and power structures
The Scientific Committee will decide which proposals to accept based on: a) compliance with the subjects; a) on clarity, relevance, cohesion and academic accuracy and c) cross-thematic and interdisciplinary proposals are strongly encouraged.
