CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

Introduction

The 21st century highlights the critical importance of global linkages between Africa and the Diaspora. It has also affirmed the new possibilities and potentials as well as challenges and opportunities offered by the myriad of global and transnational networks. Today, there is limited shared knowledge about Africa, Africans and peoples of African descent. Even less is known about the global contributions made by people of African descent worldwide. Some of the challenges and impediments to this understanding have been affected by both imposed language and distance.

With this background in mind and charged with the responsibilities of preserving, promoting and projecting the overall images of black and African peoples all over the world, the Center for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Nigeria in partnership with the Office of the International Studies and Programs at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, is organizing its 8th international Conference under the theme, Africa and the Diaspora in the new millennium. The conference to be held at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA from October 30 to November 1, 2012, will address the challenges and opportunities brought forward by the phenomenon of global linkages and transnational networks that impact and shape identities, cultural heritages and relationships between Africans and the people of African descents worldwide.

Themes:
1.      Re-assessing Pan-Africanism in the new millennium
·        The Americas and the Caribbean
·        Europe
·        The Middle East
·        Asia and the Pacific
2.      Acknowledging the contributions of African and black diaspora to modern society
3.      Reviewing transnational Crossings: Old and New Movements of Peoples
·        Migration of people
Ø                        Legal/Voluntary and illegal immigration
·        Legacy of enslavement
·        Coerced/Forced migration
Ø                        refugees
Ø                        human trafficking
4.      Recognizing Diaspora communities
·        remittance economies
·        labor flows
·        extended kinship network
·        transnational African religions
5.      Evaluating/Examining the production of Knowledge, cultural goods and market
·        Visual Arts (modern visual arts, photography and other forms like paintings, sculptures, printmaking, textile arts, fashion and architecture)
·        Video and Film Making (African film industry, narrative and documentary)
·        Performing arts (music, dance – modern and folk, drama, storytelling)
·        Literature: production and transformation of formal & informal knowledge

We kindly request all interested individuals to submit their abstract in MS Word format. The length should not exceed 250 words. Abstracts for consideration should be submitted electronically by December 31, 2011 to:

1. africanstudies@umsl.edu and
2. ibraheem_muheeb@yahoo.com

Please note that all abstract submissions should include the title of the paper, the author(s) full name, professional title, institutional affiliation, and full mailing address (including telephone numbers and email addresses). We would appreciate it highly if you could also indicate which sub-theme best fits your topic. All abstract submissions received after the deadline will not be considered unless an extension has been granted by the program committee.

The program committee will evaluate each abstract based on quality and relevance. Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be notified of the decision not later than January 31, 2012. Once the abstract has been accepted, authors are expected to submit their paper electronically by August 31, 2012.

Authors are expected to present their paper during the conference. Hence, all presenters, whose papers are accepted, will be required to register and participate in the conference. All papers presented during the conference will also be included and published as part of the conference proceeding.

If you have any questions about the conference or the submission process, please contact us at africanstudies@umsl.edu. You can also contact the program committee chair, Professor Niyi Coker at niyi@umsl.edu or ibraheem_muheeb@yahoo.com

Financial Support
Hotels and meals for all participants will be provided by the organizers. Partial support for air travels will be provided to some conference paper presenters who will be selected. Partial airfare subvention will be determined in order to provide for broad regional participation, taking into consideration affiliation with historically disadvantaged institutions.

The official languages of the conference are English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.