Call for Papers:
“Integrating West African Perspectives and Voices into the Curriculum”
Oakton Community College
Des Plaines, IL
April 14-15, 2022
Deadline for Proposal Submission: November 30, 2021
We invite proposals of individual papers, panels or round-table discussion groups for an interdisciplinary conference. Papers focusing on art, anthropology, environmental science, gender, history, language & literature, music, philosophy, politics, as well as other disciplines are encouraged.
Our primary focus will be how to include the voices, histories, cultural contributions, and perspectives of the peoples of West Africa in our curriculum. We are aware of the colonial legacies that structure the very study of African people as an academic subject, as well as the many challenges posed by the rapidly changing global political context in which we work. While keeping in mind the ways that learning African culture and history can help U. S. students develop critical perspectives on western history and cultural hegemony, we also see the need to critically address contemporary contradictions and issues within African Studies. We especially invite proposals on:
• Theoretical approaches to West African cultures that have practical implications for teaching, and comparative approaches to culture, art, religion or politics;
• The efforts to theoretically and practically engage with real movements of West African peoples to preserve languages, protect biodiversity, and develop mechanisms of governance based on their indigenous heritage;
• Discipline and/or topic-specific pedagogical strategies, for example papers that explore the possibility of presenting this material in courses on environmental science, women and gender studies, and philosophy.
Guidelines for submission:
Proposals should be limited to 500 words or less and sent as a pdf document via email attachment to both Donovan Braud (dbraud@oakton.edu) and Katherine Schuster (schuster@oakton.edu). Please include “West African Perspectives Conference” in the subject line.
In addition to individual paper proposals, we are accepting proposals for panels of three or four participants, or for a roundtable-style discussion group on a specific topic.