The Program of African Studies graduate student seminar (AfriSem) invites graduate student papers in the study of Africa and its communities engaging with the theme: AFRICANISM(S): Positionality, Knowledge Production, and Narratives. Interested participants should submit abstracts of 250 words maximum to afrisemconference2018@gmail.com by March 20th, 2018. Please include your name, affiliation, and contact details.
The term Africanism(s) points for many a domain of thought and knowledge that takes the African continent as its object of study, however, it remains insufficiently thought-out and interrogated. From its origins to the current and multiple understandings of the term, the meaning of Africanism(s) and its consequential practices have greatly varied and constituted fields of contention. Thus, it seems to imply differing and potentially competing narratives and imaginations of a place, people, and studies across time and space.
Departing from this question about Africanism(s) and what it entails, this conference will interrogate, through multidisciplinary dialogue, the existence, relevance, and meaning of the term Africanism(s), with respect to the power relations that participate in its construction and materialization.
The African Graduate Student Seminar invites participants to consider a wide range of topics including but not limited to:
• Knowledge Production
• Positionality
• Authority/Power
• Language
• Translation
• Citations
• Origins
• Silence
• Genealogy
• Memory
• Sources
• Circulation
• Academic freedom
• Violence
• Domination
• Liberation
Presentations are welcome from a diverse range of disciplines in Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities. We are also interested in papers that engage with art, society, governance, education, etc. The conference is primarily a forum for graduate students to present their research to a cross-disciplinary audience. All presenters will be notified of acceptance by March 31st, 2018. Please contact the organizers on afrisemconference2018@gmail.com with questions and inquiries.