6th Africana Studies Annual Interdisciplinary Conference
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Icons, Bridges and Milestones: Rethinking Africana Studies
October 16-18, 2014
The theme of the next JMU Africana Studies 2014 Conference brings to the fore major issues that the Africana community need to have conversation about. We need to examine leadership and programming in Africana Studies; consider new expansion strategies, and emerging new theories such as post-Black and their consequences. We also need to deliberate on current challenges that confront the community. To this end, panels and participants will be examining critical issues that affect the discipline from the perspectives of Chairs of Africana departments/units, Coordinators of Africana programs and faculty who teach Africana courses. Chairs, Coordinators and Africana scholars from different institutions are therefore invited to propose panels that will examine leadership and policy issues that affect Africana Studies, and to deliberate on how to reposition the discipline in such a way that it gains stronger foothold in the academia. Tangential too is the need to continue to explore and deepen the connections that Africana Studies foster between Africa and its diaspora. Critical issues and recommendations on vibrant programming for the future of the discipline are also part of the expected outcomes of this proposed conference.
The conference will also create platform for the celebration of the iconic figures in the Africana discipline. Key figures and their contributions to the field will be highlighted through documentary reviews and photographic exhibition. Colleagues interested in working on this area, or in creating a panel around this topic are welcome to propose topics.
Panels and participants will discuss, rethink, review, expand and debate the following sub-themes:
· Iconic figures in Africana Studies
· Mining the archives of indigenous voices from Africa homelands
· Triumph and Tenacity of Diasporic voices
· The Nuts and bolts of Africana Studies
· The Political Economy of Africana Studies
· Challenges of the discipline within the discipline
· Africana Studies within the context of local and global Politics
· Africana Programming: Policies and Funding,
· Decolonial Studies
· The location of women in Africana Studies
· Africana Change Agents: Bridging gaps, Charting new frontiers
· Africana atomic agencies, game changers genre benders and cultural agencies
· Africana Studies and ‘Other Cultural Margins’
· (Re)ConFiguring the Africana World?
By August 30th, please send proposals (title of paper/panel) and a 250 word abstract with name(s) and institutional affiliations, emails and telephone numbers to the organizers of African Studies 2014 Conference, James Madison University at africanastudies@jmu.edu. Accepted proposals will be announced via emails not later than September 15, 2014. The conference promises great interaction, exchange of ideas, and feedback. Graduate students are especially encouraged to attend and present papers. They will be partnered with senior scholars in respective disciplines who will mentor and encourage their growth as scholars. Kindly note that conference papers will be selected, peer-reviewed and published in an edited volume. We look forward to receiving you at JMU in October!
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEES FOR PRESENTERS:
Conference registration fees cover the costs of running the conference and include access to all presentations, performances, a reception on Thursday, 17 October, and much more.
All conference presentations are free and open to the public to attend. Conference fees are as follows, and will be payable upon acceptance of proposals for presentation, and are due no later than 30 September to ensure inclusion in the conference program:
James Madison University undergraduate and graduate student presenters: $10*
James Madison University faculty and staff presenters: $15*
Other undergraduate and graduate student presenters (non-JMU): $20*
All other presenters: $60*
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