Recent scholarship attests not only to the viability of biographical accounts in writing Zimbabwean history and politics on an academic basis, but also the need to develop further this genre. Taking a closer and more systematic look at the actors’ experiences, motivations and actions allows us to reconceptualise both colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwean politics and society. The biographical approach engages particularly well with the enduring quest to understand, in particular, liberation era dynamics (1960s to independence), early post-independence developments (1980 to the 1990s), and from 2000 onward, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF)’s power-retention politics and the opposition’s counterhegemonic endeavours. Histories of the individual help capture the broader and largely contradictory social ideas and struggles at play during the different epochs, in addition to establishing connections across time and space. The volume will contribute to the development of the biographical genre in historical studies. In the context of Zimbabwean history, society, and politics, it strives to trigger the rethinking of academic orthodoxies and traditions, the adoption of new sources, and the reimagination of old stories. Historical and interdisciplinary biographical accounts of particular interest include (but are not limited to): ● Trade unionists● Student leaders● Public intellectuals● Diaspora figures● Chiefs● Opposition politicians● Military officials● Bankers/economists● ZANU-PF dissenters● War veterans● Female politicians● Artists● Religious officials● Media/journalists● Propagandists and ideologues● Indigenous business people● Philanthropists● Matabeleland disturbances actors● Youth activists Those interested in contributing a piece on a figure active in Zimbabwean politics and society between 1960 and the present, should submit an abstract of 150 to 300 words by 30 April 2023 to zimbiographies2023@gmail.com. A draft, ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 words, should be in place by 1 November 2023. If funding allows, an in-person conference to present the papers may be held in the first half of 2024 at the University of the Free State, South Africa.  Lotti Nkomo, University of the Free StateBrooks Marmon, The Ohio State UniversityMelusi Nkomo, University of Zurich Read more

There has been a surge of scholarly interest in the Ghana of the 1950s and 1960s, under its charismatic independence era leader Kwame Nkrumah. These works tell a new story of that era, focusing on the possibilities of independence by looking anew at Pan-Africanism, socialism, new histories of the Cold War and Black internationalism (Alhman 2017; Getachew 2019; Iandolo 2022; Osei-Opare 2023).   In contrast, Ghana’s 1970s are often reduced to an afterthought. Military coups dominate the narrative. Indeed, the 1970s are a decade characterized by military rule, economic decline, emigration, and hardship (Hutchful 1979; Pellow & Chazan 1986). This hardship is reflected in the relative lack of scholarship on the period. The body of work that does exist tends to reinforce a top-down narrative, with a strong focus on the state. It is only after 1981, when J.J. Rawlings comes to power and stays, that Ghana again attracts significant scholarly interest (Herbst 1993; Nugent 1995; Brydon & Legge 1996).Forty years on, it is high time to return to the 1970s. Inspired by the interest in the Nkrumah years, and motivated by the availability of new archives in Ghana and elsewhere, we invite historians to reconsider the 1970s with us. Building on recent scholarship that begins to probe the 1970s anew (Hart 2016; Murillo 2017; Wiemers 2021), we seek contributions that engage with the following questions: How might our understanding of this decade change if instead of focusing on disjuncture, we looked for continuity? How did this period of transition between two defining political regimes (between Nkrumah and Rawlings) shape contemporary Ghana?  How did ordinary Ghanaians navigate this tumultuous decade? What does a focus on everyday lives, rather than a state-centric approach, reveal about these years? What new methods and sources might we turn to, to recover histories of a decade when state institutions supposedly collapsed? To what extent can the framing of “Ghana’s long 1970s” (1966–1981) help us reconsider the history of postcolonial Ghana? We are particularly interested in contributions that de-center political narratives, but are open to a wide array of approaches. We welcome expressions of interest and further conversations regarding potential submissions (write to: claire.nicolas@unil.ch).   Submission Guidelines Abstracts (200 words) should be submitted to Claire Nicolas (claire.nicolas@unil.ch) and Elisa Prosperetti (elisa.prosperetti@nie.edu.sg) by 1 April 2023. Contributors will be notified by 15 April 2023. Full papers (8000 words) are to be received by 15 September 2023. All articles will undergo peer review. Those accepted for publication will appear in a special issue of Ghana Studies, scheduled for publication in 2024.   About Ghana StudiesGhana Studies is the peer-reviewed journal of the Ghana Studies Association, an international affiliate of the African Studies Association (U.S). Its current editors are Victoria Ellen Smith (University of Bristol) and Nana Yaw Boampong Sapong (University of Ghana). Since its first issue in 1998, the journal has published significant work by leading scholars based in Ghana, the United States, Canada, and Europe. It is published annually by the University of Wisconsin Press. https://gs.uwpress.org/content/call-papers   About the editors of the special issueClaire Nicolas is a Research Fellow from the Swiss National Science Foundation, at SOAS (University of London). She specializes in the history of sport, citizenship, and gender.Elisa Prosperetti is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Education at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She specializes in the history of education, development, and nation-building.   BibliographyJ. Alhman, Living with Nkrumahism: Nation, State, and Pan-Africanism in Ghana (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2017).L. Brydon and K. Legge, Adjusting Society: The World Bank, the IMF, and Ghana (London: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1996).A. Getachew, Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019).J. Hart, “‘NIFA NIFA’: Technopolitics, Mobile Workers, and the Ambivalence of Decline in Acheampong's Ghana,” African Economic History, 44 (2016): 181–201.J. Herbst, The Politics of Reform in Ghana, 1982-1991 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993).E. Hutchful, “A Tale of Two Regimes: Imperialism, the Military and Class in Ghana,” Review of African Political Economy 14 (1979): 36–55.A. Iandolo, Arrested Development: The Soviet Union in Ghana, Guinea, and Mali, 1955–1968 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2022).B. Murillo, Market Encounters: Consumer Cultures in Twentieth-Century Ghana (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2017).P. Nugent, Big Men, Small Boys, and Politics in Ghana: Power, Ideology, and the Burden of History, 1982-1994 (London: Pinter, 1995).N. Osei-Opare, “Ghana and Nkrumah Revisited: Lenin, State Capitalism, and Black Marxist Orbits,” Comparative Studies in Society and History (2023): 1-23.D. Pellow and N. Chazan, Ghana: Coping with Uncertainty (Boulder: Westview Press, 1986).A. Wiemers, Development and Rural Statecraft in Twentieth-Century Ghana (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2021). Read more

Hosted by Rhodes University Department of Literary Studies in English and the Wits University Department of Fine Arts Date: 11-13 July 2023 Venue: Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa   In 1977, Ghanaian novelist Ama Ata Aidoo published her book Our Sister Killjoy: Or Reflections from a Black-Eyed Squint. In it Sissie arrives on a fellowship in Germany. Her observations of white colonial culture, of relations between black and white subjects and historical collisions and disjunctures, even relationships between African men and women come under her incisive interrogation and tongue. Both in form and in content, Sissie heralds a break with convention,  demonstrating that African subjects have always been speaking and not always in the politeness that some would prefer. Jean Paul Sartre (1948) in Orphée Noir said, “What then did you expect when you unbound the gag that muted those black mouths? That they would chant your praises? Did you think that when those heads that our fathers had forcibly bowed down to the ground were raised again, you would find adoration in their eyes?” Angry black women, sassy black women, too loud, too vocal abound as stereotypes in culture – women who do not know their place. bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Sara Ahmed, Pumla Dineo Gqola, Stella Nyanzi, Peace Kiguwa all talk about how the angry black women stereotype is used to silence subjects and, yet, as Lorde tells us, anger is a reasonable response to injustice. In a world coping with the stark inequalities that COVID-19 has thrown into view, our sisters across the continent and world have every reason to be angry, and they are more vocal than ever. In this fifth anniversary edition of the African Feminisms (Afems) Conference, which will be hosted by the Rhodes University Department of Literary Studies in English and the Wits University Department of Fine Arts, Afems 2023 will return to its birth at Rhodes University and celebrate Our Sisters Killjoy – feminist killjoys, black feminist killjoys, queer killjoys, differently-abled killjoys, eco killjoys, creative killjoys, anti-capitalist killjoys, speaking-truth-to-power killjoys, everyday killjoys, chick-lit killjoys, comedic killjoys and more … Conference presentations can include the following thematic areas: ·     On being angry black women ·     Back talk: Speech acts, speaking truths to power and ‘the mute always speak’ ·     Nervous Conditions: Radical negativities and radical refusals ·     Testimony as witnessing – or ‘theorising from the epicentres of our agency’ ·     Willful Subjects ·     Creativities as sites of de-authorisation, as de-archiving, of de-inscription and decolonisation ·     I Write What I Like ·     Onwards: Moving forward with ‘six mountains on her back’ ·     Butterflies Burning ·     Madams and Mistresses ·     Intersecting intersectionalities or refusing either/or positionalities ·     So Long a Letter: on love and sister-killjoys ·     David’s Story: or actually a story about a history of women ·     So you think you’re funny, eh? ·     Murder She Wrote: Women in Crime/ Women and Crime Afems 2023 aims to bring together a range of local and international African feminist scholars in the Sciences, Social Sciences, Economics, Law and Humanities disciplines in a three-day conference. Registration fee for all participants and attendees is R500 (R250 for students). Participants can present up to 20 minute papers, performative lectures or creative engagements. As is the format of Afems, creativities will form a central component. Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent in by 31 March 2023 to afrifems17@gmail.com. The abstract should contain the provisional title of the presentation (the format of the presentation needs to be outlined, i.e., paper presentation, performative lecture, creative presentation) and details on the presentation. Performative and creative presentations must be accompanied with details on equipment or venue needs (please note, the conference is not able to provide materials, specialist needs or honoraria). For more info on Afems 2023, please see: https://afemsconference.wixsite.com/afems   Contact Info:  Queries can be directed to Prof Sharlene Khan on: Sharlene.Khan@wits.ac.za or afrifems17@gmail.com Contact Email:  afrifems17@gmail.com   URL:  https://afemsconference.wixsite.com/afems/afems-2023 Read more

The literary and linguistic turn in the 21st century cannot be over-emphasized. This is precisely because questions around development continue to resonate with the imperative of taking recourse to language and, of course, the applied dimension of literature to reach out to the billions of the world’s population, in accordance with the implementation and realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Whether we are concerned with these development goals, from contextualized perspectives or globalized dimensions, it has become extremely important to note that, for instance, the very first goal, which is “No Poverty”, cannot be eradicated, or at least brought to the barest minimum, without the facility of language. The linguistic agency should be one that must be contextualized, or localized, so that, in the 21st century, the sort of all-round development at the global level is not achievable when only a few languages are considered to be languages of the world. In other words, it is high time we began to rethink the so-called notion of international languages that have, at their best, been tools of global tyranny. Yet, despite their so-called globalization, development is fundamentally localized to reflect internal dynamics.  When contextualized, therefore, we may begin to ask, how do we deploy our diverse languages and literature in Nigeria and Africa to mediate development? How do we make language and languages in Nigeria, and Africa more accessible through improved literacy? What are the benefits that we stand to enjoy when we interact with our African literature, especially in our languages? How do we move beyond the overdependence on international languages, so-called, to begin to explore and utilize all the gains that are inherent in the utilization of our own languages? Development, that is, problem-solving, is fundamentally contextualized, which means that the challenges we face in Africa are not exactly those faced in the other parts of the world. If they, through their languages and literature developed tools for solving their problems, the challenge before us is how do we do the same using our languages and literature in Africa? This conference, therefore, welcomes submissions that address theoretical and empirical challenges that stand in the way of linguistic and literary deployment of our knowledge systems to mediate development. The turn of applied knowledge to drive development has to begin with addressing the potential of our languages and literature as problem-solving tools. Sub-themes include, but are not limited to, the following: Langauge, Literature and Sociolinguistics, Language, Literaure and Psycholinguistics Language, Literature and National Development Language, Literature and Multilingualism Language, Literature and Media Language, Literature and Politics Language, Literature and Educational Development Language, Literature and Gender Studies Language, Literature and Medicine Language, Literature and Conflict Resolution Language, Literature and Religion Language, Literature and International Relations Language, Literature and Bilingualism in French Language, Literature and French Translation Language, Literature  and Digital Technology in the 21st Century Language, Literature and Sociability in the 21st Century  Language, Literature and Social Issues  in the 21st Century Language, Literature and Intersectional Perspectives in the 21st Century Language, Literature and Pragmatics Language, Literature and Discourse Language, Literature and Performing Arts Language, Literature and Economic Development Language, Literature and Security Studies Language, Literature and Mass Communication Language, Literature and Psychology   Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent to lculanglitconference@gmail.com . Kindly indicate the sub-theme that your abstract speaks to in your submission. All enquiries should be directed to the LOC members listed below: Dr Esther Senayon (08135283700); Dr Femi Jolaoso (08024290550), and Mr  Olusegun Jegede (08036545183). Important Dates: Abstract Submission Deadline: 10th March, 2023 Conference Days : Day 1 (22nd March, 2023) -Opening Ceremony,  Keynote and Lead Paper                                Presentations, and Plenary Sessions (Hybrid)                                     Day 2 (23rd March, 2023):  Syndicate Sessions and Chat Rooms (Virtual) Paper Publication  Submission Deadline-30th April, 2023 Conference Fees: Physical Nigeria-based Scholars=20,000 Naira Nigeria-based Postgraduate Students=10,000 Naira Other Africa-based Scholars-100 Dollars Other Africa-based Postgraduate Students=50 Dollars Other International Participants=120 Dollars Conference fees cover  lunch and conference materials.   Virtual Nigeria-based Scholars=15,000 Naira Nigeria-based Postgraduate Students=7,500Naira Other Africa-based Scholars-80 Dollars Other Africa-based Postgraduate Students=30 Dollars Other International Participants=100 Dollars   Chief Host: Prof. Kabiru Adeyemo, VC, Lead City University, Ibadan Host:           Prof. Donald Odeleye, Dean, Faculty of Arts                            Convener:   Dr Ufuoma Davies, Head, Department of Languages and Literature   Keynote Speaker-Prof. Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, Professor of English, Africana Literatures and Creative Writing, University of Ibadan, Nigeria   Lead Paper Presenters- Stephen Boluwaduro, University of Wisconsin, U.S.A. -Hauwa Mohammed Sani, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria   Contact Info:  Senayon Olaoluwa Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan Nigeria Contact Email:  samsenayon@gmail.com Read more

The literary and linguistic turn in the 21st century cannot be over-emphasized. This is precisely because questions around development continue to resonate with the imperative of taking recourse to language and, of course, the applied dimension of literature to reach out to the billions of the world’s population, in accordance with the implementation and realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Whether we are concerned with these development goals, from contextualized perspectives or globalized dimensions, it has become extremely important to note that, for instance, the very first goal, which is “No Poverty”, cannot be eradicated, or at least brought to the barest minimum, without the facility of language. The linguistic agency should be one that must be contextualized, or localized, so that, in the 21st century, the sort of all-round development at the global level is not achievable when only a few languages are considered to be languages of the world. In other words, it is high time we began to rethink the so-called notion of international languages that have, at their best, been tools of global tyranny. Yet, despite their so-called globalization, development is fundamentally localized to reflect internal dynamics.  When contextualized, therefore, we may begin to ask, how do we deploy our diverse languages and literature in Nigeria and Africa to mediate development? How do we make language and languages in Nigeria, and Africa more accessible through improved literacy? What are the benefits that we stand to enjoy when we interact with our African literature, especially in our languages? How do we move beyond the overdependence on international languages, so-called, to begin to explore and utilize all the gains that are inherent in the utilization of our own languages? Development, that is, problem-solving, is fundamentally contextualized, which means that the challenges we face in Africa are not exactly those faced in the other parts of the world. If they, through their languages and literature developed tools for solving their problems, the challenge before us is how do we do the same using our languages and literature in Africa? This conference, therefore, welcomes submissions that address theoretical and empirical challenges that stand in the way of linguistic and literary deployment of our knowledge systems to mediate development. The turn of applied knowledge to drive development has to begin with addressing the potential of our languages and literature as problem-solving tools. Sub-themes include, but are not limited to, the following: Langauge, Literature and Sociolinguistics, Language, Literaure and Psycholinguistics Language, Literature and National Development Language, Literature and Multilingualism Language, Literature and Media Language, Literature and Politics Language, Literature and Educational Development Language, Literature and Gender Studies Language, Literature and Medicine Language, Literature and Conflict Resolution Language, Literature and Religion Language, Literature and International Relations Language, Literature and Bilingualism in French Language, Literature and French Translation Language, Literature  and Digital Technology in the 21st Century Language, Literature and Sociability in the 21st Century  Language, Literature and Social Issues  in the 21st Century Language, Literature and Intersectional Perspectives in the 21st Century Language, Literature and Pragmatics Language, Literature and Discourse Language, Literature and Performing Arts Language, Literature and Economic Development Language, Literature and Security Studies Language, Literature and Mass Communication Language, Literature and Psychology   Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent to lculanglitconference@gmail.com . Kindly indicate the sub-theme that your abstract speaks to in your submission. All enquiries should be directed to the LOC members listed below: Dr Esther Senayon (08135283700); Dr Femi Jolaoso (08024290550), and Mr  Olusegun Jegede (08036545183). Important Dates: Abstract Submission Deadline: 10th March, 2023 Conference Days : Day 1 (22nd March, 2023) -Opening Ceremony,  Keynote and Lead Paper                                Presentations, and Plenary Sessions (Hybrid)                                     Day 2 (23rd March, 2023):  Syndicate Sessions and Chat Rooms (Virtual) Paper Publication  Submission Deadline-30th April, 2023 Conference Fees: Physical Nigeria-based Scholars=20,000 Naira Nigeria-based Postgraduate Students=10,000 Naira Other Africa-based Scholars-100 Dollars Other Africa-based Postgraduate Students=50 Dollars Other International Participants=120 Dollars Conference fees cover  lunch and conference materials.   Virtual Nigeria-based Scholars=15,000 Naira Nigeria-based Postgraduate Students=7,500Naira Other Africa-based Scholars-80 Dollars Other Africa-based Postgraduate Students=30 Dollars Other International Participants=100 Dollars   Chief Host: Prof. Kabiru Adeyemo, VC, Lead City University, Ibadan Host:           Prof. Donald Odeleye, Dean, Faculty of Arts                            Convener:   Dr Ufuoma Davies, Head, Department of Languages and Literature   Keynote Speaker-Prof. Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, Professor of English, Africana Literatures and Creative Writing, University of Ibadan, Nigeria   Lead Paper Presenters- Stephen Boluwaduro, University of Wisconsin, U.S.A. -Hauwa Mohammed Sani, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria   Contact Info:  Senayon Olaoluwa Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan Nigeria Contact Email:  samsenayon@gmail.com Read more

The Pros and Cons of China and the Chinese in Africa Sabella Ogbobode Abidde, PhD Although the oral and written record of ancient China’s early beginnings in Africa is scant, the connection with Africa is much longer than several European nations. What is well documented, however, are modern China’s connections with Africa which came to the fore at a meeting of Asian and African states in April 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. Scholars refer to this meeting as the Bandung Conference whose sole aim was to promote economic and cultural sovereignty and to vigorously oppose colonialism and neocolonialism by western and non-Western nations. Leading the Chinese delegation at that conference was Premier Zhou Enlai who, between December 1963 and January 1964, completed a ten-country tour of Africa. These two events spurred the ongoing Sino-African relations. Over the years, China has, for instance, been offering economic and technical support to states and societies on the continent; and was supportive in the war of national liberation of several African countries. China has also contributed to peacekeeping missions and is today known mostly for providing aid and loans and aiding in the infrastructural development of the continent. So, how could these be bad for Africa? Compared to China, what is the scorecard of the European countries that were involved in the “invasion, annexation, division, and colonization of most of Africa” – other than the continuing colonization, arrogation of resources, and the dismissal of Africans? China -- officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC) -- is today considered the dominant foreign power on the continent. And the Beijing approach, some scholars have argued, is simply an improvement on the inhumane scheme that began right after the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885. In essence, they think of China’s decades-long activities in Africa, not as virtuous, honorable, or altruistic; but as exploitative, dubious, opportunistic, and duplicitous. Some African leaders and elites, they assert, are no match for the shrewdness and scheming tendency of Beijing and its many business and political leaders who show up on the continent and on their way back cart resources that far outweigh their past and current investments. Other than the periodic visits by government officials, the continent is home to an estimated 1.5 million Chinese some of whom are alleged to be involved in extralegal, exploitative, and demeaning activities. It is also alleged that they violate social and cultural norms and guardrails. A further allegation is that Chinese citizens can get away with these violations because many states are too weak, too afraid, or too corrupt to bring them to order. The Chinese are today more powerful and influential (in Africa) than all the citizens of Euro-American nations, and had earlier displaced the Pakistanis, the Indians, and the Lebanese. At this point in history, it seems no one -- not even the US, Canada, Germany, France, Brazil, or Britain -- can afford to ignore China; and no society, no matter how big or small, provincial or cosmopolitan, or agrarian can ignore the Chinese citizens. Traditionally, topics are suggested for contributors to write about. For this project, we have decided to take a different approach: Contributors are asked to first pick a country (i.e., Senegal); a cluster of countries, (i.e. Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Botswana); or a region (i.e. West Africa, East Africa, or Southern Africa); and then engage the questions that are listed below as it relates to the country, the cluster of countries or the region they are interested in. Contributors can pick one or multiple questions to examine. 1.  Are African leaders furthering their national interests, self-interest, or the interest of China and Chinese citizens? 2.  What is the relationship between African-based Chinese citizens and their host communities? Who benefits more and why? 3.  Is China and its citizens, like all others before them, doing Africa more harm than good? 4.  If Africans are at a disadvantage, then, what is it about African leaders that makes them easily hoodwinked and exploitable? 5.  If communities in Africa are being taken advantage of, what are the remedies available to them to correct the imbalance? 6.  What is the endgame for China in terms of its foreign policy and for African governments in terms of their development agenda and indebtedness to Beijing? 7.  Would China and the Chinese society tolerate the African and African businesses if they acted in the same/similar manner as they do in Africa? 8.  Do African governments have access to the same or similar business and investment opportunities in China as China does in Africa? 9.  Why do Euro-America countries complain about the role and place of China in Africa? 10.  Do African governments need aid and loans from China to build their infrastructure; and do they need Beijing’s assistance to develop their respective economies? Note: Contributors can also aggregate the entire continent when responding to one or more of the questions. Or they could pose and examine questions that have not been asked if such questions fall within the overall thrust of our book, i.e., questions relating to governance, sovereignty, the natural environment, transfer of technology, and China’s relationships with other states and institutions outside of the continent. Submission Requirements/Due Date: ·     Please submit a 300-350-word abstract plus a 150-250-word biography (About the Author) by March 31, 2023. ·     You will be notified of the acceptance or rejection of your abstract by April 17, 2023. ·     The first draft of your chapter, 8000-9500 words, is due on September 29, 2023. The second draft would be due on October 30, 2023. ·     Information concerning our publisher will be relayed later. For citation/formatting, please adhere to the APA Format (sixth edition). Please send your abstract/queries to: Sabidde@gmail.com About the Editor: Sabella Abidde is a professor of political science and a member of the graduate faculty at Alabama State University, Montgomery. He is an alumnus of Saint Cloud State University Minnesota; Mankato State University Minnesota; University of Oklahoma, Norman; and Howard University. Dr. Abidde is the series editor of Africa-East Asia International Relations (Springer Nature), and African Governance, Development, and Leadership (Lexington Books). He is the editor/coeditor of China and Taiwan in Africa: The Struggle for Diplomatic Recognition and Hegemony (Springer, 2022); Africa-China-Taiwan Relations, 1949–2020 (Lexington Books, 2022); and Human Trafficking in Africa: New Paradigms, New Perspectives (Springer, 2021). He is a member of the Association of Global South Studies (AGSS); The African Studies and Research Forum (ASRF); and the American Association for Chinese Studies (AACS). Contact Info:  Department of History and Political ScienceAlabama State University Montgomery, Alabama 36104   Contact Email:  sabidde@gmail.com   URL:  https://www.springer.com/series/16857   Read more

  Date:  May 17, 2023 to May 18, 2023 Location:  Maryland, United States Subject Fields:  African History / Studies, Human Rights, Military History, Peace History / Studies, Women's & Gender History / Studies   Since the 1960s, 22 of the 54 African countries have witnessed civil wars that resulted in mass violence, displacement and refugee crises, economic and infrastructural destruction, and political and regional instability. Caused by complex historical drivers and experiences rooted in the colonial legacy of fragile constitutional and institutional structures, ill-prepared political leadership, sectarianism, ethnonationalism, religious intolerance, poverty and inequality, and stiff competition for scarce resources, among other factors, the wars have had devastating impacts on Africans especially women. African women have been embroiled in armed conflicts as civilians—fleeing the hostilities, searching for refuge, and struggling to protect and feed their families. They have also been active participants in the battlefields as combatants, militia members, companions of male fighters, carriers of food, supplies, weapons and information, medical practitioners attending to the sick and the wounded, and spies undertaking dangerous espionage missions. They have worked as dedicated diplomats educating and currying continental and international support and mobilizing human and material resources for their causes. Civil wars disproportionately affected women in terms of their access to resources, their participation in the decision-making processes of postwar rehabilitation, and the degree of their reintegration in postwar society. The militarization and sexualized violence engendered by the civil wars in Africa have also affected women and their daughters disproportionately. While armed conflicts turned women’s bodies into sites of violence as well as of resistance, they also highlighted women’s resilience and agency in protecting and feeding families, helping communities survive, and exploiting socioeconomic and political opportunities engendered by the hostilities. We invite paper and panel proposals that apply critical interdisciplinary and gendered perspectives to analyze the complex and diverse experiences of African women in prewar, wartime, and postwar societies. Proposals that also explore the complex forms and effects of violence against women and girls in wartimes and immediate postwar zones, and help crack the silence and secrecy that have obscured women’s war experiences are welcome. We also invite those that focus on African women’s agency in terms of their survival strategies and exploitation of the new opportunities—economic, political, educational, creative and artistic expressions—that are engendered by civil wars. This conference also commemorates the 23rd anniversary of the 2000 adoption of United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, which recognized women’s contributions in peacemaking and peacebuilding. African women have demonstrated their agency in prewar peacemaking, wartime peacekeeping and postwar peacebuilding, engaging in conflict prevention, and in reconciliation, reconstruction and transformation processes. Yet women’s voices and perspectives are often ignored and their contributions undervalued by peacebuilding practitioners and stakeholders. A key question the conference intends to interrogate is: to what extent have African women participated in peace talks and negotiations, and in formulating postwar plans for reconstruction and sustainable peace? The transformative nature of peacebuilding requires the contributions of both men and women, and their full representation in peacemaking and peacebuilding processes. We welcome proposals that apply interdisciplinary gendered perspectives to analyze peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts in different conflict-zones in the continent as well as those that focus on women’s contributions to peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts at different arenas, including local grassroots, national, regional, continental, and global contexts. We invite panel and individual paper proposals on but not limited to the following sub-themes: Theories and methodological frameworks in researching and writing about African women and civil wars Wartime conditions and gendered survival strategies Women and genocides Women, the military, and female combatants Armed conflicts, gender and economic resources Displacement, migration and female refugees Women, wars and religion Gender and humanitarian interventions Wartime sites and forms of violence against women, and by women Women, prewar, wartime and postwar politics and governance Gender and wartime marriages Gendered wartime human rights abuses and violations Women, wars and technology Psychology and trauma of wartime rapes, forced motherhood, and stigmatization Armed conflicts, women’s rights and international legal instruments Artistic, creative, literary, and media representations of women’s war experiences Gender, memory, war memoirs and counter-narratives Women in prewar peacemaking and postwar peacebuilding Other related sub-themes Submission Guidelines Paper and panel proposals should include title, author full name(s), status, institutional affiliation, mailing and email addresses, phone number, and 250-300 words. We also need a bio of up to 200 words. Proposals and bios should be sent in MS Word format to afst-conference@umbc.edu no later than March 31, 2023. We will start informing authors of accepted proposals by late January 2023.    Contact Info:    Gloria Chuku, Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Africana Studies University of Maryland, Baltimore County Baltimore, MD 21250 USA l   Contact Email:  chuku@umbc.edu   URL:  https://africanastudies.umbc.edu/conference/may-2023-african-women-civil-wars-and-peacebuilding/ Read more

History of Education Quarterly seeks submissions addressing the 50th anniversary of Congress’s Equal Educational Opportunities Act, signed into law in 1974. In mandating that all schools receiving federal funds accommodate students regardless of English language proficiency, the law established important rights for emerging bilingual students and paved the way for future legislation addressing the needs of linguistically minoritized young people. The HEQ editors invite submissions that explore the history of education for non-native speakers, including but not limited to:   Early policies addressing instruction in languages other than English The intersection of race and language in U.S. schools Activism in defense of the rights of linguistically minoritized students National and international studies of language politics in state-supported schools Contestation over the education of undocumented students Issues of curriculum and instruction as they relate to English language acquisition  To be included in Volume 64 (2024), submissions must be received no later than December 31, 2023. Papers that do not meet the deadline for Volume 64 will still be given careful consideration for future volumes of History of Education Quarterly.   Contact Info:  Kim Tolley Managing Editor, History of Education Quarterly Contact Email:  Kimberley_Tolley@uml.edu   URL:  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-of-education-quarterly Read more

Our 2023 Call for Proposals is open for all submission types!Join the ASA in San Francisco, Nov. 30 – Dec. 2, 2023 for our 66th Annual Meeting. Review our general meeting information and read the full theme statement African Presences: Envisioning Africa in Text and Deed by Claudia Gastrow (University of Johannesburg) and Shobana Shankar (Stony Brook University). Deadline to submit proposals is April 2, 2023 at 11:59 PM Eastern.The submission portal is open to any individual registered for the Annual Meeting. Looking for discounted registration? Renew your annual membership or join the ASA to receive a discount at every tier.    Register and Submit: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/africanstudiesassociation.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a59a520d2255ab32522a2367d&id=2bc0d75234&e=211d84b5d5__;!!HXCxUKc!1uFGEuZ6-StHNTTlTT0dwtf4MPiBBdI1zixJn-SCXOdJ05AhDCRJMOaZpVOi-Xorp2CjfatvFDv1fFdg8wwtRK7OYTo$  Read more

The deadline to submit articles for this year's Journal of Academic Freedom is just a month away. If you didn't have a chance to read last year's volume, please check out its outstanding selection of articles. Our new call for papers engages with and builds on many of the themes that contributors explored in those articles. Since the volume's publication in November, article web pages have been updated with a new feature that allows for easier online reading, downloading, and printing.   Call for Papers: Landscapes of Power and Academic FreedomThe 2023 issue of the Journal of Academic Freedom seeks original articles that investigate the links between landscapes of social power and the historical development and contemporary status of academic freedom. For over a century, the AAUP has defended the profession against attacks on academic freedom and has faced many powerful adversaries in the process, yet it has also found and cultivated allies. Preserving academic freedom for a free society entails understanding those who would dismantle or undermine it as well as those who will coalesce in its defense. Within the United States and internationally, we have witnessed the deleterious effects that authoritarian governments, unchecked corporate interests, reactionary movements, and partisan politics have on academic freedom. Indeed, we could cite a wide range of impacts, from tenure denial, dismissal, and (self-)censorship to imprisonment, political exile, and “brain drain.” What can we learn about academic freedom and its contemporary precarity by exposing the forces of power that mobilize against it?   We invite consideration of how academic freedom serves as a touchstone for democracy and the ways that the death of academic freedom signals the atrophy of more inclusive and democratized landscapes of power. What is the relationship between democratic societies and the flourishing of academia and academic freedom within them? What kind of society would powerful forces working against academia and academic freedom usher forth if they had their way? History and comparative international studies give us some clues about a range of possible futures we can envision for academic freedom. Potential topics and questions that prospective authors might explore for volume 14 include the following:   The relative autonomy of the knowledge sector within which the academy is situated. How do academic labor movements, professional associations, and wider social movements and coalitions support academic freedom and resist economic, partisan, and state intrusions that limit this autonomy? How can we acknowledge and strengthen landscapes of power—both within the profession and in the wider society—that bolster and protect academic freedom?   Comparative histories and current examples of academic censorship. How do past and present attempts at thought control, political and religious interference in curricula, and other threats to academic freedom erode civil society and its democratic processes?   Liberal arts programs and colleges and the utilitarian ethos. Are the liberal arts and the transformative critical thinking paradigms they promote being targeted by specific political or economic groups? What are the agendas behind such attacks? Is the ongoing transformation of liberal arts colleges and departments across the United States and elsewhere into “career-ready” degrees and institutions the result of market-driven forces or an ideological effort to straitjacket knowledge production? What is the current and potential impact of challenges to the liberal arts on academic freedom and shared governance? And what is the impact on the larger experiment of democracy?   Resisting structures of discipline and coercion in the academic profession. How can educators counteract the routinized behavior imposed by standardized testing in K–12 and higher education and expectations for education as the recitation of established truths? And how can they harness the revolutionary potential of debate and critical thinking and nurture competing narratives, discoveries, or conceptual frameworks to challenge received forms of knowledge?   External agendas or powerful interests in conflict with academic standards. We encourage investigations and analyses that dissect the often-hidden motives and interests of powerful actors. In many instances, these motives may be economic, ideological and partisan, or morally coercive. The attacks on climate scientists, for example, often trace back to powerful economic interests in the fossil-fuel sector but have strong partisan and ideological allies. Contemporary attacks on research and teaching about racism have complex power structures and interests behind them. Are public universities bound by private donor interests and their private corporate or ideological agendas? How does this increasing tendency toward “philanthropy” as a way to support higher education threaten the status of public universities and their foundational mandate to serve democracy and the common good?   Submissions of 2,000–6,000 words (including any notes and references) are due by March 20, 2023. Complete submission guidelines and instructions, our editorial policy, and links to past volumes of the journal are available at https://www.aaup.org/CFP. Read more

The RFP seeks innovative approaches to enhance climate adaptation for agriculture in Africa in ways that link directly with and strengthen the ecosystem of local actors and institutions. Specifically, the objective is: To support innovations that strengthen agriculture-related risk management processes and adaptation prioritization, planning, and investment, through intra-Africa research collaboration on data, data science, and modeling. Due date: January 15, 2023 Grant period: 18-24 months Seed projects: $100,000 US max; Transition to scale projects: $200,000 US max Eligibility: Must be led by a PI based in Africa. Teams comprising multiple African institutions within or across countries will be given preference over applicants from single institutions. Other global partners may be included.  At least 90% of the funding must go to an African institution(s). SAF particularly encourages applications from women-led projects and organization https://scienceforafrica.foundation/funding/african-agriculture-climate-adaptation-research-system-request-for-proposals Read more

To celebrate the impact of U.S. program alumni as we celebrate 60 years of the U.S.-Uganda relationship, the U.S. Mission will acknowledge the outstanding work of Ugandan alumni through the Alumni Impact Awards. The Embassy will solicit nominations for 13 Award Categories (see below for list) from alumni and Embassy staff via an online platform.  The nominations will be considered by a committee consisting of both Alumni and Embassy staff, with nominations of five finalists in the categories submitted to the Ambassador for approval.   The YALI-RLC Alumni Chapter of Uganda will provide administrative support for the award process and award ceremony, tentatively scheduled for January 21, 2023.   Link: https://ug.usembassy.gov/alumni-impact-awards-nominations/     Read more