Technology and Material Culture in African History:Challenges and Potentials for Research and Teaching An international conference, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, January 4 – 8, 2023   Call for Papers and Roundtables   The conference seeks to consolidate and foster the further development of history of technology and material culture in Africa. By gathering scholars from Tanzania and across Africa, as well as colleagues from other continents, the conference will demonstrate the discipline’s high degree of relevance—to the research and teaching of history and adjacent fields, as well as to contemporary political agendas. The organizers wish to use this event to discuss how historians of technology and material culture may contribute to the writing of a “usable past” for further generations. The organizers invite historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, and urban scholars to discuss the potentials of interdisciplinary and international collaboration around present intellectual, social, technological, and environmental challenges in Africa and globally. In the recent past, African countries have increased citizens’ access to up-to-date mobility and communication technologies—electric household items, mobile phones, and engine-driven vehicles. As the variety of terms indicates—daladala, matatu, tro tros, bodaboda, bajaji, and so on—artifacts are not just simply imported, but constantly modified to fit local circumstances and needs. By and large, however, a historical understanding of these processes of domestication and reinvention is still lacking. That present-day historians of technology do not limit themselves to the study of modern, Western machines and systems, but include broader aspects of (pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial) “material culture,” also means the discipline plays a central role both in research projects and teaching programs. There have been growing initiatives to integrate Africa into the global history of technology and material culture, but such efforts rarely focus on issues of teaching. Considering the ongoing curricular review at African universities, it is a pressing concern to discuss the potentials of including the history of technology and material culture in Bachelor and Masters programs. The organizers are convinced that the discipline of history needs to include an African perspective and showcase Africa’s contribution to global history of technology and material culture. Therefore, the conference focuses on policies, practices, and use to rethink the historiographic role played by material artifacts and systems. We believe there is a certain urgency in researching, writing, and teaching the history of technology and material culture from a truly African perspective. The organizers hope that the workshop will provide important additions to the nationalist and materialist views which have dominated African history research, writing, and teaching since independence. By giving participants an opportunity to discuss existing research projects and teaching programs, the organizers aim at laying the foundation for an international network of historians of technology and material culture in Africa. We thus ask interested teachers and researchers from Africa and beyond to contribute with standard workshop sessions and papers, roundtable discussions, and further innovative formats. Proposals may be on any thematic area in history of technology and material culture, for example: The place of technology and material culture in the teaching of African history The political “usefulness” of technological and material history Gender and material culture in African history Craft technologies (e.g., basketry, carpentry, weaving, pottery, metal working). Farming, fishing, and hunting technologies The adoption of material objects (e.g., cars, bicycles, electronic and domestic appliances) Infrastructure histories (e.g., transportation, water, power, sanitation) Repair and maintenance cultures Archaeological evidence Please submit 300-word proposals and one-page CVs to:Emanuel L. Mchome at emanuellukio@yahoo.com orFrank Edward at f38edward@yahoo.co.uk no later than August 31, 2022. This unique event will be organized by the History Department at University of Dar es Salaam in collaboration with the ERC-funded research project “A Global History of Technology, 1850-2000” at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany, the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), and the Foundation for the History of Technology in the Netherlands. The event will take place on site in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Lodging and main meals are provided by the organizers; a one-day excursion is also included. Participants from Africa are invited to apply for travel grants. Selected applicants will be notified Sept. 15, 2022, and they will be requested to submit preliminary conference papers (min. 2,500 words) by Nov. 15, 2022. Representatives of leading scientific journals will be present at the event. Contact Info:  Professor Mikael Hård ERC Project “A Global History of Technology, 1850-2000” Institute of History Technical University of Darmstadt Schloss, Marktplatz 15 64283 Darmstadt Germany Contact Email:  hard@ifs.tu-darmstadt.de URL:  http://www.global-hot.eu Read more

The Alliance for African Partnership is now accepting proposals for the Transforming Institutions Strategic Funding Program. Successful applicants will receive up to $20,000 in seed funding to develop international strategic partnerships with universities, institutions of higher education and research, and/or organizations in the public or NGO sectors.   The application deadline is August 29th, 2022.   Alliance for African Partnership seeks proposals from AAP consortium members and their partners for activities which directly address AAP's pillar to transform institutions to be better able to participate in sustainable, equitable, and research-driven partnerships that make a broader impact on transforming lives. Travel can include any of the following—within Africa, to Africa from external locations, to the US, or to other locations outside of Africa. Virtual engagement is highly encouraged as it can be cost effective.   Exploratory Projects to support initial-stage partnership development. This funding is meant for new partnerships that have not previously worked together  Proposal Development Projects to support partners to develop a proposal in response to a specific funding opportunity   Pilot Workshop Projects to support short-term training activities or workshops   Proposed partnerships should focus specifically on institutional strengthening and capacity development. This could include projects that aim to build institutional strengths; to contribute to individuals’ capacity development which will lead to institutional strengthening; to plan for new units or institution-wide initiatives; and/or to pilot new approaches to research support, teaching or outreach that can eventually be scaled up across the institution(s).   Proposals that address the following areas will also receive priority in review:  1) building grant proposal development and/or improving grant management,    2)innovative models of joint teaching or degree programs (e.g., COIL courses), or     3) innovative models of research communication and engagement (e.g., building capacity of researchers to engage/communicate with policy makers, communities, etc.)   To learn more about the program, including how to apply, visit: https://aap.isp.msu.edu/funding/transforming-institutions-call-proposals/ Read more

Virtual Conference: Religion and Democracy on the African Continent: Colonial Legacies and Postcolonial Possibilities “A broad rethinking of political issues becomes possible when Western ideals and practices are examined from the vantage point of Africa.”—Pankaj Mishra, New York Review of Books Join us Saturday, May 7–Sunday, May 8, for a virtual conference, featuring scholars of Africana Studies, Religious Studies, Anthropology, History, Sociology, Law, and Politics, who will share their expertise on religion and democracy on the African continent. The event will feature a keynote address by Mahmood Mamdani, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University and author of the book, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, (Harvard University Press, 2020). The conference presentations will result in the publication of an edited volume to be made freely available next year.  Registration The conference will be hosted on Zoom; attendees must register separately for each session. Click on the linked session titles below to register and to learn more about the sessions and speakers. All sessions will be recorded and made available on the Religion, Race & Democracy Lab’s Vimeo channel. Schedule of Events Saturday, May 7: Looking Back 9–11 AM EST Historical Formations of Religion and Democracy   11:30 AM–1:30 PM EST African Religious Movements & Democracies   2–4 PM EST Keynote Lecture: Mahmood Mamdani, Neither Settler Nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities    Sunday, May 8: Looking Forward 10 am–12 PM EST Contemporary Conflicts, the State, and Religion in Africa   1–4 pm EST New Theories and the Future of Religion and Democracy in Africa (followed by Closing Remarks)   Co-sponsored by the University of Virginia Democracy Initiative's Religion, Race & Democracy Lab, the Page-Barbour Funds, the Institute of the Humanities & Global Culture, the Carter G. Woodson Institute, and the Virginia Center for the Study of Religion. Read more

CALL FOR WRITTEN RESPONSES TO THE CIES 2023 CONFERENCE THEME "IMPROVING EDUCATION IN A MORE EQUITABLE WORLD"   The 2023 Conference Theme was announced in Minneapolis at our annual gathering on Apr. 18-22, 2022. The landing page of our next year’s conference is at this link.  You are warmly invited to submit a written response to the 2023 Conference Theme “Improving Education for a More Equitable World”. The response will be a 3,000 or more-word essay addressing anything meaningful around the conference theme, covering one or more of the three broad areas, i.e., improvement and equity (and social justice) in comparative/international education.This is a great opportunity for you to respond to the conference theme around such critical questions as: How should we critically look at and meet the desired outcomes across times and spaces? in what ways may micro, meso, and/or macro educational strategies, structures, and processes be improved along with their environments? How do we know through rigorous methods we ARE making progress responsively? What changes can bring about responsible and sustainable advancement in learning, teaching, and schooling? What implications may these changes have on individual systems, contexts, and the already vulnerable planet? How may our endeavors help redefine comparative and international education in a way that reconnects it with contextualized educational policy and practice?You are also encouraged to touch on any other critical questions about the conference theme.Your written response will have an opportunity to be published after review on the CIES 2023 website along with our online submission system this summer.Please submit your written response to the conference theme by June. 15, 2022. All submissions should be sent as a Microsoft Word attachment to cies2023@cies.us with Written Response in your subject line.Please follow APA style with a cover page including your full name and passport-size photo, affiliations, the title for your written response, and a complete reference list ending your essay. By your submission, you authorize CIES to publicize the information on the cover page together with your written response. As a by-product, written responses will be planned for an edited volume or a special issue after the annual conference in 2023! Please help circulate this announcement to anybody, especially academics, practitioners, and students, who may have an interest in joining our conversations for CIES 2023 Conference on February 18-22, Washington, D.C. Read more

Call for Applications for the 2022 Ife Institute of Advanced Studies’ summer institute with doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in the humanities, the social sciences, and STEM affiliated with your institution and related networks.The Ife Summer Institute is an international platform for nurturing a new generation of scholars in the humanities and social sciences held for three years at Ile-Ife in Nigeria, and virtually in 2020-2021 to accommodate COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The institute hosts participants from all over the world and boasts distinguished faculty engaging contemporary scholarly topics.This year’s Institute will be held both in-person and via Zoom. Certificates of participation will be awarded to all registered participants at the end of the Institute.More details about the online application are available on our website: https://www.ias-ife.com/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ias-ife.com/__;!!HXCxUKc!iFM-iw4Hrc2buEwZzpnc791_EE0KuPMSXRZ8ZM5i6kNVTuvob3AJYw2dQVuqTSc$ .We can also be reached for questions or clarification at  iiasng.office@gmail.com<mailto:iiasng.office@gmail.com  or summerinstituteife.ng@gmail.com<mailto:summerinstituteife.ng@gmail.com>. Read more

Applications from young feminist groups from all majority countries to apply. More information is here.

The Journal for the History of Knowledge features an annual special issue, compiled by guest editors, which explores a theme central to the journal’s scope. The special issues of previous years have been Histories of Bureaucratic Knowledge (2020) and Histories of Ignorance(2021). We are currently accepting proposals for the 2024 Special Issue. Proposals should contain the following: A description of the proposed theme (1500-2000 words) highlighting its significance for the history of knowledge A table of contents (typically 8-12 articles of 8000 words) Abstracts of the articles Two-page CVs of the editors; short biographies of the contributors An outline of the production process up to manuscript submission. All manuscripts must be submitted to the journal by May 2023. Please send your proposal to: jhokjournal@gmail.com Proposal deadline: 1 May 2022Notification of acceptance: by 30 July 2022   After submission, all manuscripts will go through a process of peer-review, author’s revisions, and copy-editing. JHoK is a diamond Open Access journal, at no charge to the authors. Details of the journal’s scope and a full list of the editorial team and advisory editorial board is available on the journal's website. Read more

Do you have a demonstrated commitment to advancing sustainability for Africa’s landscapes, seascapes and communities?Do you want to be part of a global community of friends working to promote sustainable and equitable land management through the landscapes approach?Are you between 18 and 35 years old?The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), in partnership with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL), is launching the first ever “Young African Landscape Leadership” program, an 8-months program filled with networking meetings, regional dialogues, workshops and more.Let us know who you are, and your motivation to join. With a median age of just 19.7 years, Africa’s diverse population is by far the youngest  of any other continent in the world. These unique demographics offer a significant advantage in the drive to revive ecosystems and safeguard livelihoods. Africa’s youth have immense potential to forge a new development model and vision for the continent as they are already champions for landscape action and community-based solutions.    The GLF, in partnership with the Youth in Landscapes Initiative, is launching the first ever Young African Landscape Leadership, an eight-month annual program filled with networking meetings, regional dialogues, workshops and much more.    Learn more/apply: Young African Landscape Leadership 2022 - Youth in Landscapes Initiative (globallandscapesforum.org) Read more

Stata is a complete and integrated data management software. It is fast, accurate, easy to use and provides all that can be considered as data science needs including data manipulation, visualization, statistics and automated reporting.   Date: March 23rd to June 15th 2022 (every Wednesday). Time: 5:00pm – 7:00pm WAT. Mode of delivery: ZOOM   Certificates shall be offered based on request and satisfactory level of participation during training.   Who can participate: Academics Researchers Students (Undergraduates & Postgraduates) Data Analysts & Scientists Civil Servants Entrepreneurs   Download training module here:  PILAF STATA TRAINING MODULE FACILITATORS Prof. O.E. Olubusoye Dr. O.A. Otekunrin     Registration closes 17th March, 2022. Register at PiLAF STATA Training Registration Form (google.com) Read more

PAYC is organized by the African Students Association (ASA) of Notre Dame, in conjunction with the Pan-African Students Union (PASU) at Northwestern University. The Conference will bring together young people from across the world with the aim of fostering a critical understanding of Africa’s historical and contemporary challenges. This year’s Conference will be held under the theme "Which Way, Africa?" which will explore explore alternative paths for Africa’s political, economic and cultural development.Discussions at the Conference will be guided by four critical questions; 1) WHO are we as Africans? 2) WHERE are we as a continent? 3) HOW did we get where we are? and 4) WHERE do we go from here? Discussions will take place within three committees; a) Politics & Governance b) Socioeconomic transformation and c) Culture & Identity. The Conference will feature a keynote address by Prof. Lwazi Lushaba from the University of Cape Town. For more information, please visit our website.Please do not hesitate to reach out to me should you have any questions about the Conference  - Olemo Brian payc2022@gmail.com.   Registration deadline Friday, March 11, 2022 https://www.panafricanyouthconference.org/ Read more

This two-day ICT training will be held in two sessions. The first will be Monday, March 28 from 9:00 – 10:00 AM (Eastern Time/US). The second session will be Tuesday, March 29 from 9:00 – 10:00 AM (Eastern Time/US). ​In order to complete this training, attendance is required on both days.Kindly use this link to compare time zones https://timezonewizard.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwz7uRBhDRARIsAFqjulkIzMc5eqvDZToeBekhc0cNy_zVpO9BUAdagZRUeb2QM-egXUTj4ocaAoUGEALw_wcB Certificates will be presented to all attendees who complete the two-day training.Training will be held through Zoom and is accessible through your computer. Click https://zoom.us/ to download Zoom to your computer.Registration will be limited to 20 participants. Please ensure you are able to commit to attending both days of the training before you register.Please click the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the registration form linked here: Zoom based free SAWBO/Kataru network training: Scaling of impact through WhatsApp - March 28 and March 29, at 9:00 AM EST/USA (google.com) to complete your registration. Your spot in the training will not be reserved unless the SUBMIT button is clicked.Kindly send any questions about this form to Severina Adames at seveadames@sawbo-animations.org. Read more

The Einstein Foundation Berlin has announced an international award to provide publicity for researchers and institutions seeking to improve the quality of research.Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research is the first award to recognize outstanding efforts that enhance the rigour, reliability, robustness, and transparency of research.To honour researchers and institutions whose work helps to advance the quality and robustness of research findings, awards worth €500,000 have been allotted across various categories.    Individual researchers or small teams of collaborating researchers can be nominated. The laureate will be awarded €200,000.   Governmental and non-governmental organizations, institutions, or other entities can apply or be nominated. The award-winning organization or institution will receive €200,000.    Early career researchers or small teams of collaborating researchers can submit a project proposal that seeks to foster research quality and value for an award of €100,000   Nominations and applications close on April 30, 2022   Apply now: Award – Einstein Foundation Berlin Read more