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About the Journal Siyabonana: The Journal of Africana Studies is an open access online peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes original research and creative intellectual work on key issues within the discipline of Africana Studies and across the global African world. Pan-African in scope, the journal publishes research articles, essays, commentaries, institutional reports, book reviews, oral histories/interviews, and other creative work that utilizes African-centered theories, methodologies, and approaches to not only examine critical issues, but to present solutions within all areas of Africana Studies, including the humanities, arts, and sciences. It simultaneously provides intellectual space for discourse about community social justice activist work and liberation struggles on the continent and within African world communities.   The Special Issue Through These Eyes: Views of the African Continent                                                                                                      All photography takes place somewhere, but only some photography makes that place the focal point. “Through These Eyes: Views of the Continent” is a special photojournalism edition of Siyabonana that elicits images and reflective essays regarding photos of the continent of Africa. This special edition of the journal calls for scholarship that uses photography as a medium in conjunction with short personal reflections to document, transform, and expand our imaginings and visualization of the African continent.  By investigating photography’s relation to place, this issue explores photography as a medium and tool for placemaking that shapes our understanding of the physical, social, and cultural landscapes of the continent. We seek to loosen categories such as “photojournalism,” or “snapshot,” in favor of broader considerations about the multiple ways photographs function. The goal of the conversation is to expand histories; explore new methodologies; identify repositories; and build scholarly community. This special edition welcomes proposals from all disciplines with photographs of and reflections on the African world that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes:  Historical representations of place; Time and temporality in place-based photography; Negotiations of myth, fiction, and reality in place-based photography; Tensions between site-specific, regional, national, and global representations of place; Photographic responses and remediations of places from other media, including film, literature, and video games; Interdisciplinary practices and theories in the study of place-based photography; Ethical considerations and responsibilities of photographing place; Memory, nostalgia, imagery, and place; Place, imagery, and spirituality; Gendered spaces and place; and (Dis)connections between imagery and space.    Special Issue Editor  Dr. Keisha A. Brown is Associate Professor of History at Tennessee State University in the Department of History, Political Science, Geography, and Africana Studies, and serves on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Africana Studies. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame; earned her doctorate from the University of Southern California; in 2018–2019, she served as postdoctoral fellow at the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University; and was a National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Public Intellectual fellow. Dr. Brown is an Asian Studies scholar with a regional focus on East Asia, and specializing in modern Chinese history. Her research centers on Sino-Black relations, and examines networks of difference in China used to understand the “Black foreign other.” In 2020, she co-founded the Black China Caucus, a non-profit organization dedicated to amplifying Black voices in the China space.   Submission Guidelines* For this special issue, the editor is asking for authors to submit a 250- 300 word abstract for initial consideration before submitting a longer work. The abstract should include the tentative title, author(s), affiliation(s), detailed summary of the proposed submission, associated photograph(s), and representative sources. All visuals and photos must be taken by the author or creative; the journal is unable to publish photos that have been published elsewhere or that have a previous copyright. AI generated photographs will not be accepted.  Abstracts are due no later than August 31, 2026, and decisions on acceptance will occur no later than October 15, 2026. The selection criteria will involve relevance to the theme, clarity of the paper, intellectual significance, and originality.  After the editor accepts the abstracts, authors must submit completed work by January 31, 2027. The guidelines for submission include a title page with the submission title; the type of submission (research article, interview, etc.); the author's name(s); affiliation(s); and contact email.  Manuscripts must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document, double spaced, written in Times New Roman, size 12 font, and comply with the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, APA Publication Manual, or MLA Handbook in terms of format and citation. The final paper submission should not exceed 25 pages via MS word, including notes and citations.    Submission Timeline Abstracts Due: August 31, 2026 Notifications to Authors: October 15, 2026 Completed Articles Due for Initial Review: January 31, 2027 Final Submission Date: May 31, 2027 Special Issue Publication Date: Fall 2027    Abstract Submission: All abstracts and final submissions should be submitted to the special issue editor, Dr. Keisha Brown: keishab241@gmail.com. For inquiries directly to the journal, please contact us at https://www.journalofafricanastudies.com/contact. Contact Email keishab241@gmail.com URL https://www.journalofafricanastudies.com/call-for-papers Read more or reply Repost