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CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+2
CFA: Prize: Queer African Studies Association Prize for Best Published Scholarly Essay by a Graduate
Articles published in 2022 are eligible for the QASA prizes:
The Queer African Studies Association Prize for Best Published Scholarly Essay by a Graduate Student
The Queer African Studies Association Prize for Best Published Scholarly Essay by a Junior Scholar
To nominate, use this form https://forms.gle/X1BoufgL5R4ZkZxS6 (self-nominations are encouraged).
The full information is:
These two prizes are awarded for the best published essays (i.e., journal articles or chapters in a multi-author volume) to appear in a scholarly publication (broadly defined, including peer-reviewed journals and university press books but not limited to them) in the previous calendar year (e.g., online or in print between January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022) in the field of queer African studies (broadly defined, including essays within any discipline, on any topic, on any African region, people, culture, etc.). The prizes go to, respectively, graduate students (at the time of the essay’s publication) and junior scholars (those who are, at the time of the essay’s publication, postdocs, adjuncts, independent scholars, activists, visiting untenured professors, or untenured faculty at the time of publication). Nominees need not be QASA or ASA members. The QASA Prize Committee selects the best essay from among the nominated essays. Essays must be nominated using the authorized Google Form at https://forms.gle/YcN93ACtzEeYhEV57. The award winners will be announced at the annual African Studies Association conference every November. Award winners will receive a small cash prize.
By:
Raquel Acosta
EDUCATION
+1
CFP: AIMS Dissertation Workshop, submissions due August 1, 2023
Announcing the 2023 AIMS Graduate Student Writing Workshop
October 5th and 6th
University of Maryland - College Park
The American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) invites doctoral and masters candidates to its annual Dissertation Workshop scheduled for October 5th and 6th hosted by the Department of History at the University of Maryland - College Park.
The workshop provides the opportunity for current doctoral or master candidates to present, discuss, and receive valuable feedback on work related to North Africa. Accepted applicants will submit a piece of writing from their dissertations or theses at any stage (prospectus, dissertation chapter, or article draft). Participants will be organized into panels to present their work and read and discuss other participants’ work. Scholars working on North African studies in a variety of disciplines will offer feedback, as well as perspectives on publishing, job market conditions, and other topics germane to professional academic development. The workshop further affords the chance to meet, learn from, and develop relationships with colleagues in the field.
Graduate students from all disciplines are welcome. In the past they have included: history, political science, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, comparative literature, psychology, public health, musicology, and more. Some funding will be available for travel expenses and lodging.
Additional details:
This workshop is open only to AIMS members. To become a student member ($50) or to renew your membership, please visit www.aimsnorthafrica.org or email Terry Ryan at aims@aimsnorthafrica.org
To apply, please submit your contact information, CV, and a short (300-word) abstract on your paper via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/iYcw7HjWCY85LDrP9
The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2023.
Selected participants will be notified via email by August 15th and asked to submit a chapter, prospectus, or article draft for review by September 15th.
Please share this announcement with interested colleagues and friends!
If you have any questions, please contact Caroline Angle Maguire at cangle@umd.edu.
This event is co-sponsored by the American Institute for Maghrib Studies and the Department of History at University of Maryland - College Park.
https://aimsnorthafrica.org/annual-dissertation-workshop/
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+1
The Unilateral Proclamation of Independence of Guinea-Bissau: Fifty Years Later (1973-2023)
Call for Papers
International Conference: Online and In-Person
Lisbon, 22-23 September 2023
Venue: NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
In January 1963, the PAIGC (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde – African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde) engaged in an armed struggle against Portuguese colonial rule in Guinea-Bissau. Soon afterwards, the movement started to claim control over part of the Guinean territory, the so-called liberated areas. From 1965 onwards, liberated areas became a key concept and one of the linchpins of the PAIGC diplomacy and were linked by the movement to the attempt to establish a proto-state through state-building programs to provide health, economic, educational, technical, judiciary, and administrative assistance to the local populations. The movement conceived the liberated areas and state-building programs to fit into contemporary paradigms of statehood and to be used as means to gain the support of formal allies and informal networks of solidarity, as well as to place internationally the struggle and the demand for independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde. This becomes evident in the way the PAIGV endeavoured to delegitimize the Portuguese rule and to convince the international community that the situation in Guinea was comparable to an independent state with a portion of its territories, namely the urban areas, occupied by foreign armed forces.
Claiming that Portugal was no longer capable of ruling over most of the Guinean territory, the PAIGC leader, Amílcar Cabral, started in May 1968 to contemplate the unilateral proclamation of independence as part of his strategy to win the war. The proclamation was postponed several times and only in the early 1970s the idea came to fruition. The progress of the armed struggle coupled with the United Nations (UN) visiting mission to Guinea, held between 2 and 8 April 1972, became a strong stimulus to the intention of unilaterally proclaiming independence. After securing recognition by the UN as the sole and authentic representative of the Guinean population, the PAIGC held elections to the People’s National Assembly and established the Republic of Guinea-Bissau on 24 September 1973. Soon, many countries recognized the unilateral declaration of independence, and 50 UN member states requested a General Assembly debate on the situation in the territory. From the beginning, the intention behind the request was clear since the wording of the issue in the agenda reproduced the PAIGC rhetoric of “illegal occupation by Portuguese military forces of certain sectors of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and acts of aggression committed by them against the people of the Republic.”
Resolution 3061 (XXVIII), of 2 November 1973, approved by the General Assembly took the independence of Guinea-Bissau for granted, although Portugal denied the existence of the Republic and argued that it did not meet the criteria of a nation. Nevertheless, the resolution only welcomed the accession of the people of Guinea-Bissau to independence, failing to recognize the formation of a new sovereign state. This was a symptom of how divisive the recognition of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau was for member states, with the United States and the United Kingdom threatening to use the veto power in case of a request for admission at the UN. No attempt was made for the membership of the Republic at the UN, but resolution 3061 (XXVIII) deeply influenced the future of the independence struggle in Guinea-Bissau. The document established that since the PAIGC held control over part of the territory, a unilateral proclamation of independence was a legitimate action. Moreover, the resolution refused Portugal’s claim to represent the colony, branding the country as an aggressor that was violating the sovereignty and integrity of an independent state.
The proclamation of independence significantly increased the international notoriety of the PAIGC and of Guinea-Bissau. The event played a crucial role in the process of recognition by Portugal of the independence of Guinea-Bissau that occurred on 10 September 1974. Overall, the Guinean anticolonial liberation struggle transformed the face of the world politics: it worked as a catalyst for the regime change in Portugal. It was one the driving forces behind the Carnation Revolution (25 April 1974), that brought the Estado Novo dictatorship to an end. The Guinean anticolonial struggle also influenced the whole Portuguese decolonization in Africa and opened pathways to establish state partnerships and placed Guinea-Bissau as a global political actor. This is why, as a local historical fact, the proclamation of Guinea independence should be scrutinized through the lens of connected histories, to consider its local, regional, international and transnational dimensions and scopes in order to shed light on the multiple aspects, dynamics, impacts and ramifications the event generated in Africa and elsewhere.
Although the unilateral proclamation of independence has been highlighted in the scholarship regarding the struggle for the independence of Guinea-Bissau, there is a need to explore the subject in greater depth. To expand the parameters of inquiry on the Guinea-Bissau rise to statehood (and taking into account the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Unilateral Proclamation of Independence), the Institute of Contemporary History–NOVA University of Lisbon and the CEIS 20–University of Coimbra will organize an international conference to be held online and in-person on 22 and 23 September 2023.
Proposals for 20-minute presentations on issues related to the unilateral proclamation of independence will be accepted, including but not limited to the following topics:
-comparison with other cases of unilateral declarations of independence;
-the PAIGC’s strategies for internal legitimacy and international recognition of the unilateral declaration;
-the recognition of the state of Guinea-Bissau by other countries around the globe;
-how the proclamation impacted the work of networks of international solidarity with the PAIGC;
-the intersection of the unilateral proclamation with the Cold War and the Third-Worldism dynamics;
-the narratives about the proclamation of the state of Guinea-Bissau created by different actors (journalists, filmmakers, writers, artists, diplomats, and so on);
-the reactions of Portuguese authorities;
-how the Guinea-Bissau’s unilateral proclamation contributed to the Carnation Revolution and to the end of Portuguese colonial rule;
-the recognition of the proclamation by Portugal after 25 April 1974;
-the transfer of powers after the recognition and the relations of Guinea-Bissau with neighboring countries, namely Senegal and Guinea-Conakry;
-the impacts of the proclamation on the negotiations for the independence of Cabo Verde and the other Portuguese African colonies.
Abstracts of presentations (300 words) and biographical notes (250 words) should be sent to: unilateralindependence@gmail.com
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 June
Notification of acceptance: 30 July
Working language: Portuguese, English and French.
The organizers foresee the publication of the communications.
Organizing Committee
Aurora Almada e Santos – IHC-IN2PAST-NOVA University of Lisbon
Julião Soares Sousa – CEIS 20-University of Coimbra
Víctor Barros – École des Hautes Études Hispanique et Ibérique–Casa de Velázquez and IHC- IN2PAST-NOVA University of Lisbon
Scientific Committee
Carlos Cardoso – Center of Social Studies Amílcar Cabral
Rui Jorge Semedo – National Institute of Studies and Research
Odete Semedo – National Institute of Studies and Research
Miguel de Barros – Center of Social Studies Amílcar Cabral
Patrícia Godinho – Federal University of Bahia
P. Khalil Saucier – Bucknell University
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By:
Raquel Acosta
AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS
+1
Apply Now: VALUE4HER WOMEN AGRIPRENEURS OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Applications are now open!
#VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards - WAYA 2023 The VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAY) recognizes African female agripreneurs who have excelled in the agricultural value chains and have demonstrated remarkable innovation by contributing positively towards food security, climate resilience, women and youth empowerment.The awards aim to create visibility for successful women and promote them as positive role models, trigge innovation, ana spur ambition among women agripreneurs
Award Categories
1. Young Female Agripreneur (Rising Star)
recognizes high potential young females <35 years demonstrating innovation and leadership in agribusiness
2. Female Ag-Tech Innovator
ReRecognizesemale agripreneurs championing technological advancement in agrousiness.
3. Outstanding Value-Adding Enterprise
Recognizes female-owned agribusinesses that are increasing the economic value and/or consumer appeal to agricultural products.
The winners will each receive a cash prize of
USD 20,000 at the AGRF Summit in September 2023.
The DEADLINE for Application is
Wednesdav 31. Mav 2023.
Begin Application: Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (awardsplatform.com)
By:
Raquel Acosta
OTHER
Creatives for Our Future Grant Program 2023
Deadline: Jun 27, 2023
Donor: Swarovski Foundation
Grant Type: Grant
Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000
Countries/Regions: All Countries
Area: Archaeology, Arts & Culture, Leadership, Sustainable Development, Youth & Adolescents
The Swarovski Foundation has launched an open call for the Creatives for Our Future, a global mentorship and grant program designed with advisor the United Nations Office for Partnerships to identify and accelerate the next generation of creative leaders in sustainability.
For more information, visit https://www.sfcreatives.org/
Premium Link: https://grants.fundsforngospremium.com/opportunity/op/Creatives-for-Our-Future-Grant-Program-2023
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+2
Call for Paper, Panel and Roundtable Proposals: ‘‘New Theories of Africa: Diversities, Divergences,
Call for Paper, Panel and Roundtable Proposals
(On-site and Virtual)
July 16-20, 2023
Faculty of Arts
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Confirmed Speakers
Prof. Karin Barber
University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Prof. Carole Boyce Davies
Cornell University, USA
Prof. Tunde Bewaji
University of West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
‘‘New Theories of Africa: Diversities, Divergences, Dreams"
How has theory advanced critical discourse in Africa? Is a unified theory of Africa possible or desirable? Should the reticence toward theory in African Studies be validated now that the age of theory is receding? These are some of the questions that have prompted and necessitated this conference. Theoretical approaches to understanding Africa have ranged from the holistic to the metonymic, seeking knowledge as a whole or partially and incrementally. Perhaps, the significance of Mudimbe’s The Invention of Africa was identifying precisely how anthropology functioned as the first producer of systematic and totalizing grand récits of Africa. Anticolonial discourses had dispensed critiques of anthropological and ethnological truths by this time. In the decades since its less acclaimed sequel, The Idea of Africa, a long and eminent list of scholars, have attempted to compress and capture Africa as an object of knowledge outside the “idea” constructed by the Western world.
In his charge against Conrad, Achebe teased an imperative that aims “[to] suggest from my privileged position in African and Western cultures some advantages the West might derive… to look at Africa [with open minds].” More recently, about a decade into the twenty-first century, Wole Soyinka stated in Of Africa that Africa is a “continent yet waiting to be truly discovered.” How could Africa be so familiar but yet unknown? As Christopher Miller posits in Theories of Africans, can we have theories, philosophies, and representations of Africa that do not appreciate or are not entangled by the question of Africa’s opacity, différance, and differences? The relationship between difference and knowledge on the one hand and difference, otherness, and alterity on the other constituted a basis for the dispute between Ken Harrow and Simon Gikandi in the aftermath of Miller’s provocation. This conference attempts to resurrect these debates taking into account the daunting and elusive nature of theorizing Africa. We ask delegates to ponder these challenges from historical, ethical, and futuristic perspectives. What are the current attempts to characterize intellectual trends, name practices, define identities, produce understandings, rediscover genealogies, and enunciate African futures?
Suggested topics include but are not limited to the following:
The theory question in African studies
• African Gnosis and sacred knowledges
• Divination, Fractals, and the new computer age
• Demographic change, youth population, and the future of Africa
• The resurgence of theories of Decolonization
• Conflict and African humanism
• Epidemiology and global narratives of Africa
• Deviant skills, cyber warfare, and criminality
• Africa in the age of disinformation
• African Political economy in the 21st century
• Impact of the rise of global neo-nationalism and ultranationalism in Africa
• Englishness, Francophonie, and other specters of colonialism
• Afrobarometer: the pendulum of democracy vs. autocracy
• The form vs. content, theory vs. practice dichotomy
• New Fusion energy and climate change: the post-fossil fuel ecology and African economies
We invite scholars and graduate students to submit abstracts for individual paper presentations, panels or round tables. Panels and roundtables are to accommodate a maximum of four participants and those proposing them are to make proposals after constituting them. Panel and round table abstracts are not to exceed 350 words, while individual paper abstracts are not to exceed 250 words.
Send all proposals to: artsconference@oauife.edu.ng by May 13, 2023. The covering letter should state the institutional affiliation and contact email of the scholar making the proposal.
The conference organisers plan to publish selected papers from the conference, some in special issues of Scopus-indexed journals and others as chapters in a book.
Conference Registration Fees:
Participants from Nigeria – N25,000.00 (Early bird: N20,000.00)
Graduate students from Nigeria – N15,000.00 (Early bird: N12,500.00)
Participants from Africa – $80.00 (Early bird: $75.00)
International participants - $120.00 (Early bird: $100.00)
For enquiries, contact: artsconference@oauife.edu.ng
‘
Contact Info:
Obafemi Awolowo University Faculty of Arts, , Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria
Contact Email:
Oyeniyi Okunoye - ookunoye@oauife.edu.ng
Professor of English & Dean of Arts
Department of English
Obafemi Awolowo University
Ile-Ife, 220005
Osun State, Nigeria
Editor, Nigerian Journal of Oral Literatures
Section Editor, Anglophone African Literature, Postcolonial Text
Alternate emails:
ookunoye@yahoo.com, ookunoye@gmail.com
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+1
CALL FOR APPLICANTS: Sport, Leisure, and the Body in African History Writing Workshop
Publishing in highly ranked international academic journals is increasingly seen as a marker in personal career advancement and development, as is citation, which is more common from higher ranked journals. These journals are usually linked to institutions in, and normally dominated by scholars from, the Global North, resulting in significant barriers to publication for scholars from the Global South. This intentional and unintentional silencing of scholars and perspectives from the Global South perpetuates the dominance of outlooks and understandings grounded in the Global North across most subject areas.
With a goal to increase publication of African sports histories by scholars in Africa within The International Journal of the History of Sport and Sport in History, the editors of the two journals, with support from the British Academy, are organizing a writing workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. The writing workshop on History of Sport, Leisure, and the Body in Africa would take place over two years. This writing workshop invites Early Career Scholars based in Central and Southern Africa who are working on sport history broadly conceived to transform their research into articles that will be published in special issues of The International Journal of the History of Sport and Sport in History. Individuals selected will participate in a series of three workshops held in November 2023, April 2024, and January 2025.
The workshop aims to bring the emerging African sport historians together, have their articles workshopped, prepare scholarship for English-language publications in top sport history journals, and build potential collaborations among an engaging group of sports scholars. The workshop is intended to be practice-based with a view to developing high quality outputs and facilitate publication. It is our hoped that this will provide the basis of an enduring scholarly network.
This workshop will support up to 12 scholars who reside in the 23 countries of Central and Southern Africa (please see the list of eligible countries below) who work on sport history conceived broadly, including the histories of physical education, leisure, and the body.
Selected participants will be expected to submit a 5,000-word draft of an article by 1 October, 2023. The draft will be workshopped at the three-day workshop in Johannesburg in November 2023, with participants reading another participant’s article prior to the workshop. The organisers will work with the participants to develop their articles at this workshop with time allocated to discuss, reflect, write, and revise with their peers. The organisers will also devote time to developing future publication and funding opportunities for participants to further advance their careers.
The second workshop will be a one-day online event in April 2024 will present their near complete manuscripts and will receive comments on how to get them ready to submit to the journals in the summer of 2024. The final event will be a 1.5-day workshop in Johannesburg to discuss the writing, editing, peer-review and publication process and future publication opportunities for participants.
All travel, accommodation, subsistence, and visa costs for the two trips to Johannesburg will be covered for all participants. To support scholars with caring responsibilities, the organisers are also able to pay for childcare (either in the participant’s home country or on site in Johannesburg) for up to five participants. The organisers are also able to support up to two scholars for whom English is not their primary working language with the full editing service from Taylor and Francis.
Applicant requirements:--must be late stage doctoral student or have received the PhD within the previous five years (from 2018-2023)--must reside in one of the following countries: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Applicants should email the following by 15 June 2023:• 1 page abstract of research for proposed article• 2 page curriculum vitae• if residing outside of South Africa, please note the passport held and whether a visa for South Africa is required, along with the preferred airport departure• please note in application if childcare is needed
Timeline:Application submission deadline: 15 June 2023Announcement of selection: late June 20235000 words First Draft due: 1 October 2023Workshop #1 (Johannesburg): 20-23 November 2023Workshop #2 (online): April 2024 (date tbc)Workshop #3 (Johannesburg): January 2025 (dates tbc)
Any questions should be directed to Dr. Heather Dichter at heather.dichter@dmu.ac.uk
Organisers:Dr. Heather Dichter, De Montfort UniversityDr. Tarminder Kaur, University of JohannesburgDr. Malcolm MacLean, University of Gibraltar and De Montfort UniversityProfessor Kay Schiller, Durham University
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+1
Publication in AFA column in Anthropology News
We hope this email finds you all well. We are writing to remind you of the opportunity to publish your writing through the Association for Feminist Anthropology in Anthropology News. We are looking for essays, interviews, or photo essays for our section's column in AN from all subfields of anthropology written in an accessible, journalistic style that draw on your scholarly sensibility and expertise as feminist anthropologists. Pieces may focus on, but certainly be not limited to, interesting research, fieldwork experiences, current events, career advice, or hot topics in the profession. Essays and interviews should have a maximum length of 1,600 words and be accompanied by 1-3 images. Photo essays should have a maximum length of 750 words for the introductory text and be accompanied by 6-8 images.
We publish four columns per calendar year, one per quarter. We will accept pieces from current AFA members on a first come, first serve basis by the following deadlines:
Submission deadline for publication in Quarter #3 2023 (July-September): May 1st 2023
Submission deadline for publication in Quarter #4 2023 (October-December): August 1st 2023
Submission deadline for publication in Quarter #1 2024 (January-March): January 7th 2024
Please send us your pitch for your piece at least 1 month prior to the deadline for the quarter in which you intend to publish with us at mlbaiocchi@flacso.org.ar or at lsavloff@elon.edu. For more information about publishing with us, please refer to the AN Guidelines for Section Authors.
We look forward to receiving your ideas for contributions to our section's column in AN.
Thank you for your consideration and best wishes,
María Lis Baiocchi and Leyla Savloff
--
Dra. María Lis Baiocchi
Becaria Postdoctoral
Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de América Latina
Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Tucumán 1966 (C1050AAN)
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Argentina
(+ 54 11) 5238-9300 – Interno: 441
mlbaiocchi@flacso.org.ar
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+1
Call for Papers: Edited Volume of Zimbabwean Political Biographies
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
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+2
Call For Papers Ghana Studies Special Issue Ghana’s Long 1970s: Reconsidering the Lost Decade
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).
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+2
CFP: French Colonial Historical Society Annual Meeting in Martinique
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.
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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.
By:
Raquel Acosta
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
+2
Call for Paper: Using ICTs to Preserve African Indigenous Knowledge Management Systems
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
By:
Raquel Acosta
