USA Africa Dialogue Series - Call for Papers

Call for Papers

Conference: University of South Africa (UNISA) October 3-6, 2011

Theme: Religious, Ethical, and Theological Voice and Voicelessness in the New Millennium.

We invite paper proposals that address the theme of this conference from scholars working on Africa and the African diaspora. This multi disciplinary conference will launch a five year project that will explore the place and role of religion, ethics, and theology in the new millennium in light of the major shifts that have taken place in Africa and the African diaspora. These shifts have been marked political transformations, the emergence of the African Union, economic prospects in some countries and continuing crisis in some, health care crisis and HIV and AIDS, conflicts and wars, increasing challenges on gender issues, the shifting dynamics of religious institutions and the growth of Pentecostalism, as well as the shifting voice of religious communities in this new context.

The end of apartheid in South Africa and the rise of few democratic states in Africa offered a promising opportunity for democratic rule, reconciliation, renaissance, and a new partnership for development. Participants at the conference will explore the voice or lack of voice which we perceive in religion, ethics, and theology and think of new ways for scholars across disciplines to engage in a new and broad based conversation on these issues. Africa stands at a cross roads in many ways and there is a need to reassess the voice or voicelessness of religion, ethics, and theology as a way of starting a new debate on human and social values that are necessary for recovery and growth in a global context. The interrogation of these broad issues could bring new questions in light of recovery projects like the African renaissance, new institutions like NEPAD established to bring transformations in Africa and the diaspora. Then there are perennial questions about the role scholars of religion, ethics, and theology could play in shaping an interdisciplinary quest for justice as they did in the past. We hope that participants at the conference and subsequent conferences will engage in a multidisciplinary dialogue and explore new ways of approaching a human agenda that would chart new parts of for people as they negotiate existence in the new millennium. The scholarly dialogue we envisage will create a forum for scholars at all levels of their work in the academy and the community.

Subtheme that should be considered for submitting abstracts include:

·       Voice and Voicelessness in religion, ethics, theology

·       Gender: Voicelessness and Violence

·       Political and Social Voicelessness

·       Economic Voicelessness of the global poor

·       Inter-religious voicelessness

·       Searching for a Voice: Interdisciplinary perspectives

Abstracts should be between 200 and 500 words and should be submitted by email before the 15^th of August 2011 to the following members of the organizing committee.

 

Dr. I. D Mothoagae (UNISA):

Dept of New Testament & Early Christian Studies

Email: mothodi@unisa.ac.za

Tel: +27 (0)12 – 429 4681

 

Prof M Madise (UNISA):

Dept of Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology

Email: madismjs@unisa.ac.za

Tel:  +27 (0)12 – 429 4706

 

Professor Elias K. Bongmba

Harry and Hazel Chavanne Chair in Christian Theology

Professor of Religious Studies

Rice University, MS 15

Houston, TX, 77251-1892

Email: bongmba@rice.edu