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

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

Violent Turns Sources, Interpretations, Responses    The American University of Paris    June 21-23, 2023    The aim of this international conference is to provide researchers with an interdisciplinary platform to investigate and debate the question of contemporary irruptions of political violence and to inquire into the different responses intended to counteract violence. When and why do individuals, groups, and societies come to believe that peaceful means and legal avenues of redress, including non-violent civil disobedience, are insufficient or improper to achieve a social or political goal and to view violent action as morally legitimate and necessary for change? Can one identify trends shaping recourse to violence by parts of the populace? What role does state violence play in the dialectic? When, if ever, is political violence legitimate? How can violence be averted?    These are not new questions in political theory or the social sciences. State and non-state political violence being a regular occurrence in the historical trajectory of all societies, including modern democracies. But they have taken on new salience through the rise of far-right extremist movements and irruptions of individual and group violence of various ideological and social origins. The simultaneity of these phenomena across different countries, and the manifest potential for new violent turns, raises essential theoretical and policy questions, requiring renewed critical investigation.    The George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights, and Conflict Prevention and the Center for Critical Democracy at The American University of Paris welcome papers that analyze the origins of violence in new innovative directions and studies of state responses to violence and of the strengths and limits of strategies based on education, dialogue, truth and reconciliation, deradicalization and so forth. We are also interested in historical-comparative work situating current political violence across space and time, critical political philosophical investigations of state legitimacy, as well as rightful and unrightful resistance. We welcome contributions in all fields, including psychology, political science, anthropology, sociology, history, law, criminology, literature, and communications as well as approaches promoting creative responses to the theme of the conference.    Suggested Topics  Sources of violence   • Determinants (personal, community, structural) in the violent turn of individuals, groups, and institutions    • Differentiating drivers of violent turns: political, socio-economic, religious, or psychological • Are these factors and drivers really discernable and can they be disentangled?    • Identity, othering and violence    Spectrum of socio-political violence    • Symbolic and material violence    • Gendered and racialized violence    • Violence against things, violence against people    • State and non-state violence    • Colonial and anti-colonial violence    • Individual and mass violence    Institutions and violence    • Effects of violence on the rule of law, democratic stability, and human rights    • The role of the law and government institutions in reducing, maintaining, or fueling political violence    • States of exception and state violence    • Prevention, reeducation   Philosophical Investigations    • State legitimacy and legitimacy of non-state violence    • Pacifism, civil disobedience and violent direct action    • Political obedience, systemic injustices, and the right to resist    The conference languages are English and French. Proposals in English or French must include an abstract of no more than 400 words and a short narrative cv of no more than 250 words. Please send all materials to violentturnsconference@aup.edu by December 15th, 2022. We will evaluate the submissions and notify those we have selected by January 31, 2023.    Limited funds for travel and accommodation are available for presenters in need. If you wish to apply for a grant, please include a one paragraph statement requesting financial support.    Organizing and scientific committee:   Philip Golub (AUP), Constance Pâris de Bollardière (AUP), Stephen Sawyer (AUP), Brian Schiff (AUP), Sharon Weill (AUP), Roman Zinigrad (AUP)  Read more

The 47th annual meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society (FCHS) will take place at the Université des Antilles in Martinique, May 4-6, 2023. We welcome panels and papers related to this year's theme, "The Color of Slavery: Construction and Deconstruction of a Colonial System." This includes contributions on the racial legacies of slavery in French colonial and post-colonial societies in the Caribbean, the Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. We also solicit proposals that address any aspect of French colonial history.   Individual or panel propsals will be accepted between September 30 and November 15, 2022. Please send proposals to frenchcolonial2023@gmail.com.   Please see the FCHS English CFP for more details related to the conference, submissions, and grant opportunities. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Le 47e congrès annuel de la Société d'Histoire Coloniale Française (SHCF) se tiendra du 4 au 6 mai 2023 à l'Université des Antilles, pôle Martinique. Sous le titre « La couleur de l'esclavage : construction et déconstruction d'un système colonial », le congrès 2023 envisagera les espaces concernés par le commerce négrier, d'une Caraïbe étendue de la Louisiane aux Guyanes à un océan Indien étiré de Madagascar aux comptoirs des Indes orientales. Le thème de cette année permettra de considérer des sujets associés à l'esclavage, à ses héritages et à la colonisation des mondes atlantiques et indiens. Cependant, comme tous les ans, les propositions de communiation sur d'autres aspects de l'histoire coloniale française pourront également être pris en considération.  Les propositions pour des ateliers complets ou des communications individuelles seront acceptées entre le 30 septembre et le 15 novembre 2022. Veuillez envoyer votre proposition de communication ou d'atelier au comité scientifique par courriel à l'adresse suivante: frenchcolonial2023@gmail.com Veuillez consulter Appel SHCF français pour plus de détails sur le congrès, le processus de soumission, et des opportunités de candidater pour nos bourses.  Read more

Using ICTs to Preserve African Indigenous Knowledge Management SystemsGuest edited by Dr. Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto Over the years, Africa has evolved in its preservation of indigenous knowledge management systems through oral history, semiotics, traditional codes and arguably, less to do with modern digital technologies. The risk of progressive loss or extinction of some sustainable practices, courtesy our indigenous knowledge management that hitherto supported sectors on education, agriculture, vocation, commerce, governance, environment, security, climate, economy, food security, health and public order is clear. It is obvious that an open discourse and action on the preservation of Africa indigenous knowledge management systems cannot wait further. Africa has expressed its preservation through myths, storytelling, adinkra symbols, use of amulets, concoction use, rules on natural resources such as gold and diamond. Indigenous technologies were used to manage forests, water bodies and food security in Africa better than today. One may argue that current depletion of resources may be due to population explosion, economic situations and sophistication in technology. However, the question still remains that how did Africa manage its governance, security and health systems without the sophistication of technology at the time? It is obvious that some lessons could be learnt. How has Africa developed and preserved its numerous languages over thousands of years without digitization? Through modernization, patents have been taken for granted for indigenous cultural practices in agriculture and the use of symbols such as the adinkra, beads and craft works.   Countries are beginning to preserve their indigenous knowledge. One such example is South Africa. Since 2006, the country adopted a policy framework on the promotion and protection of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in South Africa. Through the Ulwazi Programme, several documentations on South African indigenous culture, local history like celebration of the rite of passage specific to Durban is being preserved via online media. The preservation of African indigenous knowledge management systems can be achieved through consciousness and proactiveness via dynamic legal frameworks and policy formulation with regard to data protection and research. There is no doubt that ICTs could be used to achieve the preservation of African indigenous knowledge management systems. This call therefore invites concepts and original research works on the preservation of African indigenous knowledge management systems using ICTs. Submissions may cover the following areas: The concept of African indigenous knowledge management systems How African indigenous knowledge management systems can be promoted via ICTs Case studies on African indigenous knowledge management systems via ICTs Software applications that can support on African indigenous knowledge in archiving Deadline for Abstract Submission: December 15, 2022Full paper is due by March 31, 2023 Direct all inquiries and submit abstracts and full papers to Dr. Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto at saheto@ug.edu.gh More about Using ICTs to Preserve African Indigenous Knowledge issue   Read more

CFP: Nokoko special issue African Futures: Ambiguities, contentions, and connections in African speculative fiction and beyond The terms used to describe uniquely African or diasporic literatures of the future are contested. In her article, The Speculative Turn in African Literature (2019), Michelle Louise Clark considers science fiction to have poorly served those who have felt excluded from the genre, yet terms likeAfrofuturism are hardly universally applicable either. New categories to describe African diaspora literature have been created, rejected, taken up or defended in both academic and more open literary spaces: In her 2019 essays titled “Africanfuturism defined”, Nnedi Okorafor’s creation ofthe term Africanfuturism makes a clear distinction between sci-fi and speculative fiction written from a continental vs. diasporic point of view. Yet Sean Guynes (2021) points out that Afrofuturism does not necessarily hold water for Caribbean and South America writers, or for Africans in the European diaspora. Clark (2019) identifies still other, more contextually-anchored categories including Black Speculative Arts Movement, Black Quantum Futurism, Afrofuturismo, Afrofuturista, Astro-Blackness, and Afro-Surrealism, to name but a few. Clark (2019) further notes that science fiction and speculative writing are longstanding features of African writing and cultural production. However, as Guynes (2021) points out, recent discussions around categorization, genre and labels have produced a wealth of new approaches, theories, andexplorations into African futurity in literature. Futurity itself remains up for debate. Scholars like Amir Eshel, author of Futurity: Contemporary Literature and the Quest for the Past (2013) have used the term to describe a general literary turn towards imagined futures and to describe “the potential of literature to widen the language and to expand the pool of idioms we employ in making sense of what has occurred while imagining whom we may become.” Likewise, Guynes (2021) identifies futurity as engaging with a text or practice that draws upon the present to explore the possible nature of one’s subjectivity in the future. Though definitions differ, debates over the concept share a belief that in the here and now, futurity offers imaginative space towards new tomorrows. The vast array of possibilities and discussions bring to mind an island emerging from the ocean, with a yet unknown geography encircled by bubbling and raucous waters. We are at a unique moment in the history of African science and speculative fiction, one that defies narrow canonization, embraces the ambiguities of the moment and acknowledges difference as a concept worthy of exploration. What is clear, is that these emerging genres do not pretend to weave new realities without context, history or cultural politics. Nnedi Okorafor (2019), makes this clear in her definition of Africanfuturism, a point of view that “will tend to naturally have mystical elements (drawn or grown from actual African cultural beliefs/world views, not something merely made up).” As Nwankwo and Egbunike write in their introduction to ALT 39’s issue on Speculativeand Science Fiction, works by authors who are less-well known internationally, and written in African languages, are being recognized as inspiration for contextual, grounded and nevertheless speculative works by their contemporaries and their literary successors. Lastly, the possibilities of African science and speculative fiction extend beyond literature. Music, photography, film, dance, and the fine arts have all been influenced by the debates around afro/africanfuturism and no doubt are fomenting their own terms and philosophies to best articulate their visions. The goal of this special issue of Nokoko is to explore the still unfolding discussions around African science and speculative writing and fantasy. The special issue also seeks to examine where futurism rears its head in disciplines beyond Literature. We welcome:• articles that examine contemporary works of science and speculative fiction• articles that examine diasporic debates around science and speculative fiction• articles that trace the history of futurity or future thinking in an artistic practice or artist’s trajectory on the continent or in the diaspora• articles that explore the relationship between African spirituality and science and speculative fiction or arts creation• articles that explore language debates and the speculative turn• articles that examine non-literary yet cultural phenomena that are impacted by or are impacting concepts of futurity• articles that examine the role of technology, information networks and bio-tech in African science and speculative fiction• articles that explore taxonomical debates in African science and speculative fiction• articles that explore the connections between contemporary science and speculative fiction and Africa’s rich oral narrative heritage and its association with myth and fantasy.   Abstracts of 300 words due by November 21, 2022. Scholars whose abstracts are approved by the editors will be required to submit papers that critically engage with any number of these issues. Submissions should be no longer than 8,000 words. We also welcome shorter contributions, such as poetry, art, short fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as photo essays. Articles should follow Nokoko’s https://ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/nokoko/information/authors We encourage potential authors to discuss articles in progress if they seek advice on preparing a successful submission. Please contact us if you wish to propose a particular book for review(s) and we will assist in finding a review copy. Book reviews have a 1,000-word limit, although extended book reviews of two or more books may be longer (see, for example, the extended review by Heffernan in Issue 7). We also continue to accept articles outside this theme-specific area. Submission Deadlines: Draft paper due by April 1, 2023, to be submitted through Nokoko portal at https://ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/nokoko/about/submissions or by email to: nokoko@cunet.carleton.ca For clarification on any part of this CFP please contact the Issue editors:Chichi Ayalogu: ChiChiAyalogu@cmail.carleton.caEmma Bider: emmabider@cunet.carleton.ca Read more

This call for paper focuses on the constitutionalisation and dynamics of African Monarchs (Kings, Queen Mothers, and Chiefs) since independence in the ‘Africa of Republics’ and ‘African monarchies.’ With the ascension of African nation states to independence, a continental replication of republicanism followed except for Morocco, Lesotho and Eswatini which emerged from the colonial mould as sovereign constitutional monarchies. Out of Africa’s 54 fully recognised sovereign states today, 51 are constitutional republics which still contain traditional monarchies which stand out as sub-national entities (see Iddawela & Rodríguez-Pose 2021) while three are sovereign monarchies. Prototypes of sub-national entities within African sovereign states include, but are not limited to, the Yoruba kingdoms (Nigeria), the Buganda kingdom (Uganda), the Ashanti kingdom (Ghana), the Zulu kingdom (South Africa), the Ndebele kingdom (Zimbabwe), the Gaza kingdom (south-eastern Zimbabwe stretching down to the southern part of Mozambique), and the Lozi kingdom (Zambia).  Traditional monarchies/chiefdoms still flourish in African republics today as sub-national entities and special constitutional provisions have been enacted to recognise them and increase their relevance in contemporary governance (Iddawela & Rodríguez-Pose 2021). Traditional authorities in post-colonial Africa are important players in a single, integrated modern political republican system, rather than opponents in a sharply bifurcated state (see Muriaas 2011; Logan 2009). African traditional authorities have been gradually given a stamp of constitutional recognition in the African post-colony.  The constitutionalisation of African monarchies simply refers to the recognition and inclusion of Kings, Chiefs and Queen Mothers into African republican constitutional frameworks as relevant political actors in the overall governance processes in Africa. This is done despite the chequered past of traditional rulers as collaborators of slave dealers and oppressive colonial regimes. The politics of inclusion and the dynamics of African Monarchs in the new political dispensation have not been critically historicised and contextualised within the political dynamics of the post-colony and on a comparative continental basis to fully appreciate the trajectory of these phenomena. This lacuna needs to be urgently addressed.  We intend to bring together a coterie of scholars from different parts of the continent to brainstorm on the trail of the constitutionalisation and dynamics of African traditional monarchs within and across African states since independence. The terms ‘Monarchs’, ‘Traditional Authorities’, ‘Traditional Leaders’, ‘Kings’ and ‘Chiefs’, Queen Mothers, and the Rain Queens of Balobedu are synonymous in this Call For Papers. Monarchs or traditional authorities refer to the historically rooted indigenous African leadership. Nonetheless, Ubink (2008) quickly posits that the current traditional leaders in Africa do not all have pre-colonial roots. Instead of referring to historic roots, ‘traditional leadership’ refers to leadership whose legitimacy is rooted in history-either real or invented-and culture, often combined with religious, divine, or sacred references. Ubink therefore provides are more encompassing concept for African traditional rulers.  Africa’s monarchies have survived the post-colonial wind of change. Globally the pendulum has been swinging between monarchism and republicanism as alternative constitutional regimes since modern times. In 1793 the republic was presented as the mortal enemy of the monarchy with the beheading of the French royal couple in Paris (Finnsson 2018; Langewiesche, 2017). But monarchism remained entrenched in continental Europe until World War I unleashed the final coups de grâce on it following the defeat of monarchical regimes. It was soon the turn of Africa to attempt to uproot and destroy its monarchies which were so entrenched in the culture and tradition of the peoples. Was this an achievable and a desirable task? Why have the sovereign African monarchies of Morocco, Lesotho and Eswatini survived as alternatives to republicanism?  There are two identifiable phases in the trajectory of African monarchs in Africa since independence. The first phase starts from the eve of African independence to 1989 and was characterised by the caricaturing, demonisation, criminalisation and eclipsing of traditional authorities. The second phase was triggered by the Huntington’s third democratic wave in Africa and was marked by the resurgence and revalorisation of African monarchs and their integration in the republican constitutions of African states.  African traditional institutions and mechanisms were henceforth being employed to provide more content to the nation-building. They assumed their roles as dynamic and influential local political structures that the rural population easily identified with as the crystallizing socio-political agency. The effort of the post-colonial state to constitutionalise traditional institutions was a way of arguably reforming and re-traditionalising chieftaincy and re-engaging them in nation-building (Momoh 2004).  PHASE 1: The Era of the Caricaturing, Demonising, Criminalising and Eclipsing of Traditional Monarchs from the eve of independence to 1989  Traditional authorities were generally subjected to virulent criticism as relicts of the feudal order and colonial collaborators who simply had to be discarded in the new independent African republican governments. They were seen as impediments to modernisation and nation-building and accused of operating on principles that were antithetical to democratic ideas and values. For example, a chief was not elected into office by popular vote, but through lineage, and is thus in office for life. This system was patriarchal and largely excluded women from the office based on repugnant customary laws that were oppressive to women (Logan 2009; Beall & Hassim 2005).  Some countries, such as Guinea Conakry, Uganda and Tanzania ventured to formally abolish traditional leadership as competitors to the modern state (Suret-Canale 1966; Oloka‐Onyango 1997; Crutcher 1969). Other countries entered a path to curtail chiefs’ powers. For instance, the first independent government of Ghana, headed by President Kwame Nkrumah, abolished the formal judicial function of the chiefs, and tried to break their economic power base by depriving them of any role in land management and eventually of ownership and their claims to have the right to collect land ‘rents’ (Rathbone 2000). The Botswana government in the first years after independence transferred the responsibility for local health, education and public works, the levy of local taxes, and the impounding of stray stock from the chief and his tribal administration to the newly created District Councils, and the right to allocate tribal land to executive tribunals, known as Land Boards (Denbow et al 2006). Julius Nyerere’s Tanzania abolished the chieftainship institutions and replaced them with a modern administrative system. In Mozambique, the socialist Frelimo government upon gaining its independence in 1975 banned chiefs and set up new governance structures to undermine them.  In some other African countries, the state administration ignored chiefs and left them to their own devices and expected them to either thrive in the locality or to slowly wither away. This did not happen because during the first decades of independence, Chieftaincy institutions did not disintegrate. They continued to be relevant to their constituencies because of the important roles they played in their communities.  Phase II: The Third Democratic Wave, the introduction of Multipartyism and the Collapse of Apartheid and the fate of Traditional Monarchies  The “third wave" of democratisation” that “swept through the African continent since the 1990s (Huntington 1993) unleashed in its wake some sort of epidemic of constitution-making” (Fombad 2007: 1). New or substantially revised constitutions were introduced in most African countries that “contained provisions that “purported to recognise and protect most of the fundamental human rights that are associated with constitutionalism and Western liberal democracy, with one of the most significant developments being the recognition of political pluralism and the legalisation of previously banned political parties” (Fombad 2007: 1) It was in this context of competitive political pluralism that traditional rulers resurfaced and reasserted themselves as forces to reckon with (Tom Goodfellow and Stefan Lindemann 2013; Englebert 2002; Foucher & Smith 2011; Ubink 2008; Chimhowu 2019).Many African countries reviewed their republican constitutions and integrated African monarchies.  The Ghana Constitution of 1992 guaranteed the institution of chieftaincy and restricted the state from appointing or refusing to recognise chiefs (article 270) (Alden Willy and Hammond 2001; Ubink 2008). In Uganda the powerful kingdom of Buganda, abolished by Uganda’s 1967 Constitution after the Buganda king had been exiled in 1966 was largely restored in 1993 by President Museveni. Despite the negative role of traditional authorities during the Apartheid period, South Africa worked towards collaboration with traditional rulers and entrenched their positions in the post-apartheid constitutions. The South African Parliament passed two pieces of legislation in 2003 that clarified the position of traditional authorities in South Africa’s democracy (Claassens 2006; Ntsebeza 2003; 2005; Ntshona and Lahiff 2003; Oomen 2002). Many African countries have established House of Chiefs in recognition of the importance of traditional authorities (Ubink 2008). The trajectory of African traditional rulers in post-independence Africa is emblematic of dynamism as captured in Professor Nyamnjoh’s incisive article on Chieftaincy and democracy in contemporary Cameroon and Botswana (Nyamnjoh, 2014). This general trajectory in Africa deserves scholarly investigation.  We invite paper abstracts of 600-1000 words that will analyse these issues within individual countries, comparatively, and/ or through the lenses of different case studies. The abstracts should focus on, but not limited to, the following themes:  From exclusion to inclusion of Traditional Rulers in post-independence African Politics  The trajectory of Traditional Authorities through the politico-constitutional mould  A Comparative Study of the constitutionalisation of Traditional Authorities in Africa  A critical analysis of the constitutional basis of the enthronement and destitution of  Traditional Rulers in specific African counties since independence  Extra-Constitutional Formation and Evolution of the League of Traditional Rulers (i.e. the North-West and South West Chiefs Conferences) in Cameroon in the era of political liberalisation.  The Zulu nation in South Africa and the Making and Evolution of the 1994 South African post-apartheid Constitution.  The Birth, Evolution and Achievements of the South African Provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders  The inclusion and exclusion of the modern state in political transition in African kingdoms after the demise of a King/Queen Mother since independence.  Critical Perspectives of Challenges of Reconciling Traditional Rulers and African Democratic Governments based on Western European Models.  Post-independence political positioning of Traditional Rulers in modern politics  A Comparative Study of Queen Mother Institutions in Africa since independence  A History of African Female Chiefs in the House of Chiefs  Conference Coordination: University of the Free State Call for Paper Deadline: 30 November 2022  Please send 600-1000 words abstract of your paper and a 150-word bio in an MS Word document. Abstracts will be accepted in English or French. The abstract should clearly reflect the (i) aims, (ii) research questions, (iii) methodology, (iv) innovative potential/originality and (v) relevance of the paper.  Notification of accepted proposals will occur by 20 December 2022. Final manuscripts should be due on 20 January 2023.  Expected outcome of conference: Selected papers would be published in a book  If you have any questions, please feel free to email the convenors. Please send your submissions to: Email address: africacostit399@gmail.comEmail address: constitutionindepe@gmail.com Tentative Conference Dates: 2-4 February 2023 Read more

Decolonization discourses have taken new turns since the second decade of the 21st century. Unfortunately, instead of accounting for decades of activism and scholarship on the decolonization of African knowledge systems, ideologies, and practices since the 1950s, the new decolonization agitation largely disregards previous incarnations. Decolonization has become a catch-all word for every legacy of colonialism that must be dismantled as new ones emerge. As it is, what needs to be decolonized has increased as new bodies of knowledge and the real consequences of imperial domination in the everyday life of Africans emerge and are transformed from their familiar state.   Moving beyond the simplistic definitions of decolonization, we ask for critical reflections on the historicity of actions, politics, and practices that have shaped how scholars, artists, and public commentators have been reflecting on the legacies of colonial domination. We ask for continuity and change in the history of decolonization. We seek contributions that engage with decolonization paradigms beyond the dichotomy of contemporary or postcolonial Africa and the colonial past to interrogate the new challenges of decolonization emanating from the struggle to decolonize within African institutions of power, including but not limited to universities. Should the decolonizer be decolonized? How is coloniality emerging within decolonization movements? What are the limits of decolonization, and who should set these parameters? How are movements and ideologies of decolonization introducing new paradigms that need to be decolonized?   This short conceptual note does not claim to fully espouse the contradictions in decolonization discourses and praxis of the 21st century. Nevertheless, we anticipate unpretentious and bold contributions that engage with decolonization both as a living reality of the past and the present and as a way of knowing. We ask for empirically grounded contributions that take conceptual and theoretical issues seriously. We anticipate contributions that are not afraid to problematize decolonization in any framework. We seek new ways of thinking about the decolonization of knowledges, ideologies, and practices in 21st-century Africa. Submission Rules Individual Submission: Individual proposals should include a 250-word abstract, a short bio, and the email and phone contacts of presenters. Please do not submit more than one abstract. Abstracts cannot have more than two presenters. You cannot present more than one paper, either solo or joint. Submit your abstract here: https://forms.gle/qziEGvJMV3eybGRCA   Group Submission: Panel, roundtable, and workshop proposals should comprise a 250-word summary, and the email and phone contacts of all panelists. Please email panel proposals to LSA at lagosstudiesassociation@gmail.com Submission Deadline: December 1, 2022. Notification of acceptance of abstracts by January 15, 2023. Registration fees covers nine full meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) throughout the conference. Everyone listed on abstracts must pre-register by paying the registration fee after acceptance of abstract. For full information on fees please visit Lagosstudies.org.   If you have any questions about the conference, contact LSA at:   Email Address: lagosstudiesassociation@gmail.com    Website: Lagosstudies.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/205111409881162/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LagosStudies Read more

GUEST EDITORSAdam Calo, Assistant Professor of Environmental Governance and Politics, Radboud UniversityColine Perrin, Senior Researcher in Geography, INRAEKirsteen Shields, Senior Lecturer in International Law and Food Systems, University of EdinburghSylvia Kay, Researcher, The Transnational InstituteSarah Ruth Sippel, Professor of Economic Geography and Globalization Studies, University of Münster This Elementa special feature invites articles exploring the role of land in sustainable food transformations. The forthcoming collection provides new understandings on how governance of land (property relations, land access, land tenure, landscape policy) mediates the potential for food system transformations. The special issue goes beyond understanding dynamics of the land food nexus to ask how land relations can be reformed to create favorable conditions for more just and sustainable food systems to emerge. A complete call for proposals can be found here.   Land relations—property, access, tenure, landscape—are a central underlying driver of the material form of food systems, from farm to distribution. Despite their fluidity and historical and geographical diversity, land relations have a tendency to become “normalized” through law, custom, and practice. In particular, the exclusionary private ownership model of property has come to be deeply entrenched in legal systems worldwide, particularly in the Global North. The power of this normalization is evidenced, for example, in how research and practice aimed at reshaping food systems from grassroots movement, policy-level, or biophysical perspectives often omit the role of land relations in bringing about agricultural sustainability and agrarian change. Understanding land relations as “static” thus  potentially constrains or directs the kinds of sustainable agriculture and food transformations that can take place. We thus invite contributions on characterizing the role of land relations in sustainable food production, critiques of existing sustainability interventions in the food system from a perspective of land relations, and socio-legal analysis of pathways to reforming or reimagining synergized land and food system transformations. We aim to highlight the role of land relations and property regimes in a ‘Global North Context’. We call for insights on the power relations embedded in land in both the dominant land regimes that underly the industrial food system but also in the alternative counter movements bubbling up to contest the status quo of the land food nexus. Articles in this special symposium might examine the following topics or other related issues: The role of power relations in assembling land for food production of differing forms; Discourses that shape the legitimacy of strong property regimes and the resulting material influence in institutions, actors, social movements, resources, and technologies; Cross disciplinary learning from other domains such as housing justice, intellectual property debates, and antitrust applied to understand food system transformations; Global South—North food system co-learning on alternative land governance for food systems change; Empirical evidence of the relationship between alternative property regimes and  alternative food system practices such as agroecology, diversified or organic farming, local food processing, and/or food sovereignty; Dominant food system technocratic “solutions” or interventions (such as vertical farming, regenerative agriculture, agricultural easements, payments for ecosystem services, crop biotechnology, alt-proteins and sustainable intensification) and the way they either entrench, challenge, rely upon, or overlook the role of property regimes; Dominant food system social “solutions” or interventions (such as farmer training programs, capacity building, empowerment campaigns, dietary nudging, microfinance) and the way they either entrench, challenge, rely upon, or overlook the role of property regimes; Politics of land reform in (seemingly) stable statutory institutions (such as liberal sovereign states in industrialized economies);  Creative imagined or practiced legal or social pathways to reform the norms of property on farmland or other nodes of the food system; Advancements on access theory with regards to food system transformations; The above themes relate to questions of how land politics influence food system transformation pathways. If you wish to submit a paper to the special issue, please submit a 500-word abstract detailing your article’s title, type, purpose, methodology, key findings, and significance to the guest editors at adam.calo@ru.nl by 14th January. Elementa accepts original research articles, reviews, policy bridges, commentary, and other creative multi-media formats such as interviews and podcasts. and discussion papers. All paper formats will be considered although original research articles are preferred. More information about submission criteria can be found here: https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/pages/submissionguidelines   Deadlines: Abstracts: 14th January 2023 Authors notified of invitation to submit a paper:  1st February 2023Complete first drafts due to editors: April 28th 2023 (Spring 2023)Reviews sent to authors: Summer 2023 Read more