Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN
Annual Africa Conference
September 13, 2013
CALL FOR CONFERENCE PAPERS
The Department of History, Political Science, Geography, & Africana Studies at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, invites academics, independent scholars, policymakers, and graduate students to present papers in a one-day conference on the theme:
The New African Diaspora in the United States:
Immigration, Transnational Identities, and Integration
The African Diaspora in America was historically established by the trans-Atlantic slave trade that brought thousands of enslaved Africans to the United States between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries. However, the end of the slave trade did not terminate trans-Atlantic crossing by Africans. While there was no steady flow of immigrants from Africa to the United States before the last decades of the twentieth century, sporadic voluntary immigrations, nevertheless, existed. However, since the closing decades of the century, the United States has seen large-scale immigration from Africa, more than at any other period since the end of the Atlantic trade. Indeed, today, Africans are among the fastest-growing immigrant groups in America. This unprecedented wave of voluntary immigration has significantly redefined the African Diaspora in America. It has produced a “new” diaspora, distinct from the one occasioned by the forced migrations of the Atlantic slave trade. Though, this wave of African immigration to the United States is a relatively recent phenomenon, it has increasingly impacted the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of the host country.
This conference will offer scholars from various disciplines and other participants a unique platform from which to engage in intensive dialogue on important issues defining a “new” African Diaspora in America and the implication for the host country (United States) and the African continent. Within the broad theme of the conference, potential topics for presentation may include but are not limited to the following sub-themes:
Brain Drain and skills migration
Challenges of integration
Changing Immigration laws and the Diversity Visa lottery
Cultural/communal identities and community case studies
Educational pursuits
Growing African entrepreneurship
Immigrant families and refugees
Immigrants and host populations
Immigrants and relations with nations of origin
Immigrants and religious practices
Media and Diaspora communications networks
Professional pursuits and careers
Socio-economic and cultural challenges
Transnational organizations and networks
Transnationalism and integration
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Akanmu Adebayo, Professor of History and Director, Center for Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA.
Guest Speaker
Dr. Peter O. Nwosu, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN.
Date of Conference
Friday, September 13, 2013
Venue
Tennessee State University
Avon Williams Downtown Campus
330 Tenth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37203
Conveners
Dr. Adebayo Oyebade
Professor of History
Tennessee State University
Nashville, TN 37209
aoyebade@tnstate.edu
Dr. Gashawbeza Bekele
Assistant Professor of Geography
Tennessee State University
Nashville, TN 37209
Abstracts/Panel proposals
Each prospective presenter should submit electronically an abstract of 500 words or less to either of the conveners by May 31, 2013. Abstract prepared as Microsoft Word document should include the presenter’s name, title of paper, institutional affiliation, and contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email address). Please, note that submission of abstract automatically grants conference organizers the right to publish it in the conference program and website.
Conference Registration Fees
Mandatory non-refundable registration fees for the conference are:
Regular: $50 by May 31; & $60 by June 30 (banquet included).
Student: $30 by May 31; & $40 by June 30 (banquet included).
Banquet only: $25 by June 15.
Please, make your check payable to Tennessee State University.
Publication of Selected Papers
Selected conference papers will be published as a book.
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