My Mind Words Paper:
call for papers

Deadline: 15 July 2012

The work of writers of African heritage, whether they hail from the “old” or the “new” diaspora, has been known for its exceptional vigour and originality, and has unsurprisingly attracted the attention of scholars from all over the world. In recent years, however, criticism focusing on the production of artists from the old diaspora, either African American or Caribbean, has often examined these authors’ displaced identity in the Americas or in Europe at the expense of their African heritage and their perception of it. Even analyses of contemporary literary texts centring on the slave trade have more readily discussed writers’ representation of history than their engagement with Africa per se – the latter topic having seemingly lost the prominence that it once enjoyed in scholarly circles, as writers themselves appear to have less frequently chosen to place the continent of their ancestors at the centre of their fiction and poetry. Yet, in many cases, this African dimension still seems to play a significant role in the overall assessment and understanding of their works, and is therefore worthy of renewed critical attention.

African cultures and settings cannot be said to suffer comparable neglect in recent discussions of works by writers of the new diaspora, a category that broadly encompasses those who were born on the continent but left it either as children or as young adults. However, perhaps because these diasporic artists provide the bulk of the canon of contemporary African literatures, their perception of the continent of their birth has rarely been assessed through the lens of their geographical position, many critics preferring instead to emphasize globalizing trends or, conversely, to position diasporic artists, such as third-generation Nigerian writers, as the unproblematic heirs to the strategies of historical and cultural retrieval implemented by older Africa-based authors. Even though recent efforts have been made to circumscribe the specificity of the new diaspora’s artistic perceptions of Africa, the question still remains under-explored.

Taking our cue from Countee Cullen’s famous line – included in his 1925 poem “Heritage” – we would like to invite participants in this conference to address the diverse critical blind spots surrounding the representation of, and engagement with, Africa in the works of contemporary writers and artists from the old and the new diasporas. The questions and topics that could be addressed (either through close readings or theoretical contributions) include, but are not limited to:

- How is Africa represented in the diasporic imagination? Is it usually metaphorized or romanticized? Or, on the contrary, does it tend to be depicted in a realistic mode? Is the continent viewed as being trapped in a past marked by slavery and exploitation, or as being marred by a present of poverty and corruption? Do some diasporic artists unwillingly contribute to the perpetuation of stereotypes about Africa as a monolithic whole?

- Is Africa still relevant to the artists of the old diaspora? Does it still shape their creative minds? Is “African diaspora” a pertinent discursive category when discussing Caribbean or African American artists?

- Conversely, is the concept of “African diaspora” established enough to provide a valid critical framework in the case of the new diaspora? Do diasporic artists from North, South, East and West Africa have a common external vantage point from which to appraise the country or continent of their birth? Or, on the contrary, does their geographical location seal their common estrangement from Africa?

- What are the differences or parallels in the representations of Africa found in the works of artists of the old and new diasporas on the one hand, and those who are based in Africa on the other?

- What is the role played by gender, class, generation and/or race in the way diasporic writers perceive the culture and the land of their ancestors?

- Are categories that include references to the African continent rather empowering or limiting? How so?

- What is the role played by academics, journalists, facilitators and publishers in the dissemination of the artistic production of the old and new diasporas? To what extent do these actors encourage strategies of (self-)exoticization? Do they favour selective canonization?

- How do new technologies, particularly the internet, shape the dialogue between artists of the old and new diasporas, and those residing in Africa? Are distinctions between writers based on the continent and overseas still relevant in the twenty-first century?

- What, if anything, does Africa expect from its diasporic writers? Are these artists entitled to criticize the continent they originate from, or are they expected to treat it with special consideration? In other words, do diasporic artists have any particular ethical duty?

We welcome proposals within the field of literature, but also film, music and visual arts. Abstracts for 20-minute papers should be about 200 words, and panel descriptions for 90-minute sessions about 700 words (overall description of the panel in about 100 words, plus three individual abstracts of about 200 words). Non-Anglophone and comparative approaches are most welcome, but all papers will be delivered in English.

Proposals should be sent by 15 July 2012 to africatomenow@gmail.com. A response will reach you by 15 August 2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: africatomenow@gmail.com

Website: http://www.l3.ulg.ac.be/africatomenow/

Deadline: 8 June 2012

Evolving African Film Cultures: Local and Global Experiences, a conference organised by the Africa Media Centre, University of Westminster

Date: Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November 2012

Venue: University of Westminster, Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW

This is the first call for papers for a two-day conference on changes in African film and television production and, of equal importance, the transformation of African film audiences in local and global contexts. African film production, distribution and consumption have been more noticeable in the West African region, as showcased by biennial exhibitions at the FESPACO festivals in Burkina Faso. Arguably, such festivals have encouraged a type of production that is admired by Europeans, but which is rarely available to, or appreciated widely by audiences in those productions’ countries of origin. Portuguese and Arab-speaking regions in Africa have also developed diverse and high quality film cultures, but their experiences need to be debated within a wider context. More recently, Anglophone regions, led by Nigeria, have developed popular commercial film models which have been enthusiastically received by African audiences. One could say that African film markets have been rapidly expanding, with many implications for film and policy makers, distributors and audiences.

Since 2000, audiences for African film elsewhere in the world have grown in size. Such expansion has implications for film content, form, production strategies, distribution mechanisms and policy frameworks. African filmmakers have to delicately negotiate widening markets, for instance, by paying more attention to the political economy of film consumption in the rapidly changing local and global contexts. The digital economy, especially the internet, has opened up huge opportunities for the wider distribution of African film. Papers may focus on, among other topics, the following:

• Production cultures and circulation of film;

• History, myth and identity in African film;

• The representation of African cultures in film;

• Audiences, reception and sites of spectatorship;

• Indigenous language films and the problems of subtitles and illiteracy.

• Morality and spirituality in African cinema;

• Exhibition, financing and distribution of African film;

• Cinema and digital technologies;

• Film festivals and the development of national cinemas in Africa;

• Revenue, business models and piracy

• Auteur, film genres and form

• Collaborative filmmaking in the global north/trans-national collaborations

• African film philosophy

• The image, sound, written and spoken word in filmic narratives

• Institutions, policies and film agencies

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS

The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday 8 June, 2012. Successful applicants will be notified by Monday 18 June, 2012. Abstracts should be 300 words long. They must include the title of the conference, presenter’s name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the title of the paper. Please ensure when saving your abstract that your name is part of the file name.

PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION

This two day conference will take place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November, 2012. The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be £140, with a concessionary rate of £60 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments and administration costs. Registration will open in September 2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: Helen Cohen, Events Administrator, at journalism@westminster.ac.uk

Website: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/a-z/africa-media-centre

Deadline: 30 June 2012

Over the last few years, ANPAS, also through the support of important European networks like Samaritan International (SAMI) and the European Center for Volunteering (CEV), has developed a particular attention to European policies in the belief that our country can be a bridge to the countries of the Mediterranean. Last year we also acceded to the Mediterranean Autonomous Network for Youth (MANY), a network of youth in the Mediterranean that wants to promote the meeting and sharing of knowledge between youth belonging to different social and cultural groups, affirming a culture of learning. ANPAS doesn’t want volunteers to remain indifferent to the grand phenomenon that the countries bordering the mare nostrum are experiencing, which have appealed to our affluent society with movements of people (migration) and socio-political upheavals (the Arab Spring). So then? So we would like to see what’s in store beyond our shores, learn new ideas, and build relationships in the Mediterranean. Through this Call for Papers, we invite the youth of society, citizens 32 years of age and younger, to share ideas to better the world, to construct a more just and united society, for the development of a culture of solidarity, for the protection of the environment and of common goods.

Do you have an idea to change the world? Share it with us!

We have chosen the National Meeting of Solidarity that will be held in Puglia, a natural bridge between Europe and the Mediterranean, where 8 youth will present their projects: 8 ideas to change the world, in particular in the area of relations between Italy and the people of the Mediterranean, presented by youth of these countries.

HOW IT WORKS

Among all the ideas received by the 30th of June 2012, only 8 will be selected, that can be presented on the occasion of the International Conference of Youth of the Euromediterranean that will be held in Bari, Saturday the 29th of September 2012.

Therefore, if your idea convinces us, you will fly to Bari and have 10 minutes to present your idea, in the most attractive mode. Are you ready?

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

The projects can be presented by youth under age 32, who can be residents in Italy or in these countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia.

We would also like to hear the ideas of immigrants that live in Italy but come from these countries: the true bridge of the Mediterranean!

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

To those who will be selected, you will be given the opportunity to participate in Bari at the entire National Meeting of Solidarity that will be held from Thursday the 27th of September to Sunday the 30th of September. ANPAS will pay the costs relative to accommodation, meals, and transfers to the headquarters of the Meeting. To promote better organization of the day, participants will make sure to specify the necessary logistics for transfers, so that we can make arrangements.

OFFICIAL RULES

These are the official rules for the Call for papers 8 ideas to change the world sponsored by Anpas.

SPONSOR

The call for papers ( the “call”) is sponsored by Anpas - Associazione Nazionale Pubbliche Assistenze located at via Pio Fedi 46/48, 50142 Firenze (FI) – Italy. Anpas telephone number is +39 055 303821 and the email address is internazionale@anpas.org. All inquiries should be directed via email.

CONTEST OVERVIEW

We have chosen the National Meeting of Solidarity that will be held in Puglia, a natural bridge between Europe and the Mediterranean, where 8 youth will present their projects: 8 ideas to change the world, in particular in the area of relations between Italy and the people of the Mediterranean, presented by youth of these countries.

Over the last few years, ANPAS, also through the support of important European networks like Samaritan International (SAMI) and the European Center for Volunteering (CEV), has developed a particular attention to European policies in the belief that our country can be a bridge to the countries of the Mediterranean. Last year we also acceded to the Mediterranean Autonomous Network for Youth (MANY), a network of youth in the Mediterranean that wants to promote the meeting and sharing of knowledge between youth belonging to different social and cultural groups, affirming a culture of learning. ANPAS doesn’t want volunteers to remain indifferent to the grand phenomenon that the countries bordering the mare nostrum are experiencing, which have appealed to our affluent society with movements of people (migration) and socio-political upheavals (the Arab Spring). So then? So we would like to see what’s in store beyond our shores, learn new ideas, and build relationships in the Mediterranean. Through this Call for Papers, we invite the youth of society, citizens 32 years of age and younger, to share ideas to better the world, to construct a more just and united society, for the development of a culture of solidarity, for the protection of the environment and of common goods.

In ANPAS, we believe that the collaboration of different worlds gives birth to better ideas: share your experience and knowledge, and together we will try to transform our ideas into a concrete project, that through intercultural dialogue can have a real impact on the territories.

PROCESS

Fill out the form in all its parts: completing your profile information and information related to your project, taking care to respect the maximum length expected. Then send the form via email to: internazionale@anpas.org The call will run from 12:00 PM(CET) May 10, 2012 to 12:00 PM(CET) June 30, 2012. Anpas has the right at anytime to terminate the Call at its sole discretion.

SELECTION CRITERIA

All action plans received will be evaluated by a Commission, composed of individual members of Anpas, which will choose the 8 most original, creative, practical and effective ideas. A complete action plan has to contain the following elements, which are the selection criteria for the Evaluation Commission.

• Summary – Give the objective of the plan, the instruments, and the anticipated results. Include how this approach is new/unique and will be more successful than other approaches.

• Needs assessment – Present an analysis of the conditions faced in the targeted area. Explain why such conditions deserve greatest concern, and why these specific challenges have hindered development in the locale.

• Necessary resources – State the financial and other resources needed for the initiative.

• Plan the execution – Describe the initiative, the target audience, the methods to achieving results and an activities schedule.

• The real impact – Indicate the results of initiative, how many people will be affected, and the anticipated time to achieve results. Among all the ideas received, only 8 will be chosen:

• One (1) will be chosen among proposals of Italian subjects;
• Six (6) among proposals of subjects coming from the Mediterranean basin: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia;
• One (1) among proposals of young migrants residing in Italy coming from countries listed above;

Each participant states and guarantees that any submission he/she posts is original, and does not violate or otherwise infringe upon any rights of any third party and that such submission will not violate agreements the participant has with any third party or otherwise.

In the event that Anpas’ use of the submission is challenged by any third party, the participant agrees at his/her own expense to provide information and cooperate including, without limitations, participating in any legal or administrative action with Anpas.

WINNERS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To those who will be selected, you will be offered the opportunity to participate at the National Meeting of Solidarity which will run from Thursday September 27,2012 to Sunday September 30,2012 in Bari.

Anpas will bear the costs of room, board and travel to reach the Meeting place. To accommodate the best organization of the days, participants will have to specify their logistic needs about travel, which we will arrange.

Moreover winners can participate in the free events scheduled of the Meeting, understanding that expenses not expressly stated in the rules are an exception. The winner agrees to accept the dates and spaces established, such as hotels, airlines, trains, ships, etc. The winner agrees that the acceptance of any trip as a prize is their own initiative, risk, and responsibility. The winner needs to have a valid passport and visa if necessary. If the winner does not have a valid passport and/or visa at the time, the trip will be cancelled.

NOTIFICATION OF THE WINNERS

The winners will be contacted via email within fifteen (15) working days from the deadline. It will be requested that they complete and send to Anpas an entry form. If it is not possible to contact you within seven (7) working days from the first attempt to notify, the prize will be designated to the participant ranked immediately below.

DATES

The call will be open from 12:00 PM (CET) on May 10, 2012 until 12:00 PM (CET) on June 30, 2012. All proposals submitted during this period will be valid. Announcement of the Winners Anpas will announce the winners and publish their names on their website www.anpas.org, following the close of the call and the receipt by Anpas of the participation form and other necessary information.

USE OF WINNER’S DATA AND INFORMATION

Each winner who accepts the prize grants to Anpas the right, at any moment and from time to time, to disclose to a third party, print, publish, broadcast and use, worldwide and in any media now known or developed in the future, including through the Internet, the name, portrait, photograph, voice, and biographical information of each winner for informational purposes, publicity, and promotion, without additional consideration, except where prohibited by law.

DISQUALIFICATION

Anpas reserves the right, at its exclusive discretion, to disqualify any participant it deems ineligible to participate in the contest. Failure to comply with these rules may result in a participant’s disqualification.

COST

There is no cost to participate in the call. Each participant is responsible for his or her own costs to participate in the call.

ELIGIBILITY

The call is open to proposals presented by youth under 32, who have reached the age of maturity in their own country or who are at least 18 years old.

THE PARTICIPANTS MUST BE:

• Citizens residing in Italy;
• Citizens residing in the following countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia;
• Migrants who live in Italy, coming from the countries already mentioned.

Any person who violates a rule, obtains an advantage in a manner banned by participation in the call, or obtains the status of winner with fraudulent means, will be disqualified. Any unsportsmanlike, disruptive, harassing, or threatening behaviour is forbidden. Anpas will interpret these rules and eventually resolve controversies, conflicts, or ambiguities relating to the rules of the call, and the decisions of the Sponsor in respect of such disputes shall be final. If the conduct or outcome of the call is affected by human error, any mechanical malfunctions, or failures of any kind, intentional interference or any event beyond the control of the Sponsor, Anpas reserves the right to terminate this call, or make other such decisions regarding the outcome of the call that the Sponsor deems appropriate.

Any attempt by a participant or any other individual to deliberately disrupt or damage ordinary operation of this call, telephone systems or websites is a violation of criminal and civil laws. If an attempt is made, Anpas reserves the right to seek damages from any such participant to the fullest extent permitted.

The winners must use their true name (as it appears on their government issued ID) when participating in the call and may not participate when using a false name.

COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW

The conduct of the call is governed by the applicable laws of the Italian Republic, which take precedence over any rule contrary herein. This call is void and not offered by ANPAS in any jurisdiction where it is prohibited or limited by the applicable laws.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

If for any reason the call is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Call, ANPAS reserves the right at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the Call, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Call.

Anpas also does not assume responsibility for any errors of omission, interruption, cancellation, defection, or delay of the operation or transmission, communication line failure or destruction, or unauthorized access or changes to entries.

Anpas is not responsible for any problem or technical malfunction of the Internet or phone lines, online system, server, provider, or computer software. Anpas does not assume responsibility for technical problems or traffic congestion on any Internet site, or any combination thereof, including any damage or injury to the participant’s or any other person’s computer in connection with participation in the call.

Anpas is not responsible regarding any problem receiving the entry, which is the sole responsibility of the participants. The winners agree to hold harmless Anpas, its officials, employees, affiliates and representatives for any injury, accident, malfunction, or legal cause of action arising from, or in connection with, participation in the call. By participating in the call, all participants and winners waive all claims of liability against Anpas, its employees, the sponsors, and their respective employees, for any personal injury or loss that may arise from participation in the call or acceptance of the prize.

LIMITATION OF REMEDIES

Under no circumstances, including negligence, shall Anpas, or its officials, directors, employees, or representatives be held liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, the loss of profits, or other economic losses deriving from participation in the call, posting on or access to or downloading of any type of material or information from any web site owned by Anpas, or acceptance or usage of a payment, including but not limited to, damage to property and to the maximum extent permitted by law, damages for bodily or personal injury, even if Anpas or any affiliates, their successors or delegates or any of their respective officials, directors, employees, agents, or representatives have been advised of the possibility of such damages or loss. Some jurisdictions do not permit the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to the participant.

Each participant agrees that the limitations and exceptions contained in these rules represents an agreement between the participants and ANPAS as to the allocation of risk between them in connection with the Sponsor’s obligation under these official rules.

AMENDMENTS

Anpas reserves the unilateral right to suspend, cancel, terminate, or modify the call without advance notice and thereafter to re-commence this call, only at such times and in the terms and agreements that Anpas shall deem reasonable under the circumstances.

In the event that any term of these official rules is in conflict with the law under which these rules were construed, or if any term is considered invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such term shall be deemed to be restated to reflect, if possible, the original intention of Anpas and the participants, in accordance with the applicable law, and the remainder of the official rules will remain in full effect. In the event that such invalid provision relates to matters which constitute the essence of these official rules, and such provision cannot be restated to reflect the original intention of the parties, the call shall be deemed null and void.

SURVIVAL

Notwithstanding any expiration or other termination of this call, and except in the event that this call shall be void in its entirety, the provisions of these official rules, which by their nature survive expiration or termination of the call, will remain in full effect until each such provision expires with its respective term.

Download: application form

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For queries/ submissions: internazionale@anpas.org

Website: www.anpasnazionale.org/

Deadline: 30 September 2012

This panel seeks papers that address different narratives of travel (such as exile, diaspora, immigration, and colonial adventure) in Middle Eastern literatures. The topics include, but are not limited to: transnational narratives (dis)connecting East and West; travel writing; re-visioning history; cross-dressing and cross-gender dynamics in travel. Interdisciplinary approaches on popular culture and media studies are also welcome. Please send 250 word abstracts and brief bios to Eda Dedebas at eda.dedebas@uconn.edu

Please include with your abstract:

• Name and Affiliation
• Email address
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)

Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA session; however, panelists can only present one paper (panel or seminar). Convention participants may present a paper at a panel and also present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable. http://www.nemla.org/convention/2013/cfp.html

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For enquiries/submissions: eda.dedebas@uconn.edu

Website: http://www.nemla.org/convention/2013/

The Contemporary Black British Women's Poetry Panel at NeMLA 2013 in Boston seeks papers examining the poetry of black British women. This can include women writers either born in Britain or who have spent a major part of their lives in Britain. The topics of the panel include, but are not limited to : history, identity, memory, the body, nature, religion, motherhood, relationships, music and song, place, belonging and home, hybridity, language and form, creole. Please send 300-500 word abstracts and brief biographical statements to sheree.mack@gmail.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For enquiries/ submissions: sheree.mack@gmail.com

Website: http://nemla.org/convention/2013/index.html

Deadline: 31 May 2012

Theme: Transforming Middle East Media

The Arab Spring has focused attention on the role of journalism and media in Arab societies. In many Arab countries, journalists are now operating in a different media environment. Some argue that the professionalism of some journalists has fallen far short of normative goals, a phenomenon often attributed to tight governmental control of the press. Journalism educators must help provide a "new culture" of Arab journalism that benefits from newfound freedoms, but also stresses responsible reporting, based on fundamental principles of journalism, such as independence, accuracy, and verification.

The global social media revolution has also significantly impacted and essentially transformed Middle East media. With a plethora of social media outlets, such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Google Plus, journalists can now take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity to tell stories that would otherwise be ignored. In this new world, satellite channels regularly air YouTube videos shot on bystanders' cell phone cameras. What are the rules that should govern the use of this material by "mainstream" news sites? Does this "citizen journalism" help or hurt the journalism profession? Furthermore, one can only assume that we have only seen little of what the social media revolution has in store. New social media technologies and vehicles seem to arrive every day-which ones are here to stay, which will be institutionalized and which are just passing fads, soon to be forgotten?

The AUSACE 2012 theme aims to address these and other issues related to the unprecedented changes affecting the Arab media. We welcome abstract submissions for papers and panel submissions for public discussions.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For enquiries: ausace2012@gmail.com

For submissions: submit online here

Website: www.ausace2012.com

Deadline: 30 September 2012

This panel seeks papers that address the political-economic engagement of the U.S. with different parts of the world that has re-nuanced definitions of Americanness/nationhood/ national belongings in narratives by American women of color from the Caribbean Islands, Latin America, South Asia, and the Middle East. The panel encourages comparativist approaches that read together two or more texts to chime on the possibilities of understanding the notion of the nation as a relational concept.

Please send 500 word abstract to dmgomaa@uwm.

Please include with your abstract:

• Name and Affiliation
• Email address
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee with registration)

For enquiries/ submissions: dmgomaa@uwm

Website: http://www.nemla.org/

Deadline: 26 October 2012

The purpose of this conference – Examining Past/Defining Present: The Black Literary Aesthetic in the USA, Canada and Caribbean – is to highlight the centrality of literature written by people of African heritage during the 1960s and 1970s in the American, Canadian and Caribbean Literary Canons. Specifically, this conference seeks to open a revisionary aesthetic view on the literatures of Americans, Canadians, and Caribbeans of African descent.

The participants in the conference will present papers and discuss critical constructs which will produce revisionary definitions of a Black Literary Aesthetic. The work produced will move away from a mere examination of literary ideas towards a discourse that enables humans to study and critique literature written by Black Americans, Black Canadians, and Black Caribbeans as ‘beautiful’ [or not] using the full range of human emotions towards such critically aesthetic responses. A re-examination of past definitions of Black Literary Aesthetics will be central in the context of the conference.

Presentations – papers, roundtable discussions, and poster sessions – may be organized topically from [but are not limited to] the following questions:

1. Were the motivations and concerns of the literary artists (associated with Black Nationalism/Black Power Movements in the USA, Canada, and Caribbean) more monolithic or varied?

2. How were the literary expressions critiqued? What were the motivations and agents for such critiques? Was there significant ‘protest’ (during the Black Arts Movement) to the level and substance of those critiques?

3. How did gender in addition to race emerge as major or minor factors in both the creation and critique of the work, as well as the absence/presence of substantive critique?

4. What was the [space of the] divide (wide, narrow, etc.) in the critique of Black Literary production in the USA versus Canada and Caribbean? What were the reasons for such a divide and how is it reflected in the criticism?

5. How has the scholarly and critical response to a Black Literary Aesthetic evolved, increased, or decreased (for the works) in each decade: 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s?

6. What are the affects and effects of popular culture on the political and social aspects of contemporary literature written by Blacks in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean? What new terminologies and critiques are required and/or are necessary in defining a Black Literary Aesthetic?

7. How effective is the use of social media in widening both the critical response to literature from the Black Arts Movement as well as creating venues for publication and critique of contemporary Black literary artists?

8. How will work in the Digital Humanities, which interprets the cultural and social impact of the new information age, provide new ways of critiquing historical literary works as well as contextualize new works? How will tools and methodologies such as three-dimensional visualization, data-mining, network analysis, and digital mapping assist in advancing research on the Black Literary Aesthetic?

Deadline for submission of abstracts and proposals: October 26, 2012.

Microsoft word attachments or PDF format.

Proposals must include Name, Title, Institutional Affiliation, and Categories of Presenter (as follows):

1) Undergraduate students
2) Graduate students
3) Faculty
4) Independent artists and scholars/researchers

Submit proposals to akilahw@msn.com or ewilliams@paine.edu

Location of conference: Augusta, GA (USA)

Specifications on conference fees, travel and lodging will be provided upon acceptance for presentation. Fees must be paid by February 2013 for conference participation. No financial transactions will take place at the conference other than book sales.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For enquiries/ submissions: akilahw@msn.com or ewilliams@paine.edu

Deadline: 16 July 2012

Multiculturalism, and the representation of it, has long presented challenges for the medium of comics (including manga and bande dessinée). Questions surround the ways in which characters of differing cultures and/or nationalities can and should be presented; answers to which have ranged from anthropomorphism to xenophobia. Issues also exist around the diversity of creators and characters, and the (lack of) visibility for characters that do not conform to particular cultural stereotypes. At Comics Forum 2012, the fourth event in the Thought Bubble conference series, we will attempt to draw out some of the complexities of this field in order to better understand both the problems and the achievements of the medium in dealing with multiculturalism.

Subjects for discussion may include, but are not limited to:

• Cultural diversity (or lack thereof) in comics, manga and bande dessinée
• Ways in which multiculturalism has been represented, visually and/or linguistically in comics
• Moves towards increasing the representation of particular cultural groups in comics, either as creators or characters (e.g. Milestone Comics)
• The modification of existing comics and properties to address new markets (e.g. Spider-Man: India)
• Controversial representations of cultures and relations between cultures (e.g. Tintin au Congo)
• The modification of existing works in new-media representations (e.g. the omission of Ebony White in the film version of The Spirit; the controversies surrounding Idris Elba’s role as Heimdal in Thor)

Proposals of 250 words are invited for talks of 15-20 minutes in length, and should be emailed along with a short biography (around 100 words) to Ian Hague (Department of History, University of Chichester) at: I.Hague@chi.ac.uk. The deadline for submission is 16/07/2012 and notification of acceptance or rejection will be emailed by or before 30/07/2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For enquiries/ submissions: I.Hague@chi.ac.uk

Website: http://comicsforum.org/

Deadline: 28 June 2012

The Drama for Life Africa Research Conference constitutes one of the foremost platforms for Applied drama/theatre research and practice on the African continent. The DFL conference has grown in international stature since 2008 to create an inter-continental and international dialogue about the significant role applied drama and theatre can play in social regeneration. The conference will provide opportunities for Applied Drama, Drama in Education, Drama Therapy, Psychology, and Social Work scholars, researchers, practitioners, activists, Government and NGO trainers and community workers to engage in compelling and critical dialogue regarding their work.

The focus of the conference is to engage with the growing trends of global intolerance, conflict and violence with a view of forging innovative artistic interventions as a form of social activism. The conference will reflect on, and interrogate, the relationship between applied drama and the potential of the intersection of these fields of study in facing the challenge of trauma in post-conflict communities and social contexts. It will explore applied drama/theatre-based pedagogies as pedagogies that build critical reflective practice toward social change and social cohesion.

Papers and workshops on the following topics are invited:

• In what ways has applied drama responded to conflict contexts?
• How has applied drama reflected violence and trauma emanating from conflict?
• How can applied drama be used as an effective pedagogy to address the inherent contributing factors toward conflict?
• In what ways can applied drama be used as an effective conflict management strategy?
• What role can indigenous cultural performances and rituals play in post-conflict contexts?
• How can applied drama contribute toward notions of peace building and social transformation in post-conflict contexts?
• In what ways can applied drama contribute toward the development of socially responsible artists?

All interested parties are invited to submit a proposal. Application forms will be uploaded shortly. The deadline for proposals is 28 June 2012.

(We will update this listing when the application forms have been uploaded on the source website and when the submissions details are already available.)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Website: http://www.dramaforlife.co.za

Deadline: 30 May 2012

Savanna Trust in collaboration with the University of Zimbabwe Theatre Arts Department invites artists, media experts, civic society leaders, academics and human rights activist to submit abstracts and performance/exhibition/film/workshop proposals for the 4th protest Arts International Festival. The theme for this year is “Protest Arts, Culture and Democracy: Imagining and inventing the future.”

Festival symposium sub-theme:

· Crisis protest arts and democratic engagement

· Imagining alternative spaces, venues and audiences for protest arts

· Protest arts, innovation and aesthetic excellence for the 21st Century

· The media and protest arts: prospects and challenges for the future

· Aesthetics of protest and the politics of transition and constitution-making process

· Protest arts and the struggle of the everyday: gender, race, ethnicity and classism.

· Artistic/aesthetic dimensions of protest marches and demonstrations: Prospects and challenges

· Globalisation and Protest Arts: The present and the future

· Arts, culture, religion and the prophetic voice for democracy

Submission of abstracts of performance/workshop/exhibition proposals

Abstracts and proposals of between 200 and 350 words should be e-mailed, not later than 30 May 2012 to paifst@gmail.com

Note: Due to overwhelming interest in the festival the organisers are unable to fund travel and accommodation for all successful regional and international participants. However, the festival will assist prospective participants who want support letters etc. to secure own funding.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries/ submissions: paifst@gmail.com

Website: http://www.savannatrust.org/

Deadline: 30 August 2012

Among the hottest topics of discussion in the Middle East media circles is the proliferation of universities and training centers that offer journalism and mass communication programs. Thousands of young communicators are graduated every year into an uncertain job market, possessing various skills levels, and lacking career focus. Communications programs are among the most popular majors at universities, especially for women, and are often the largest program in schools. But what are the realities of the marketplace, and what attributes of graduates are professional media outlets seeking? To help answer these questions, the American University of Sharjah is sponsoring a two-day conference in English and Arabic for educators, media professionals, and students.

Papers and panel proposals in English or Arabic are being solicited that address, among other topics:

· Best practices in mass communication research and teaching

· Preparing students for the world of work in mass communication

· Status of ethics and law courses in the region: How important are they?

· Teaching students international standards of reporting and news writing

· The carrying capacity of the job market: Are we churning out too many students?

· Teaching broadcast students to write for print, and print students to broadcast: what’s the status of convergence media programs and multi-platform news centers?

· Fighting the last war: Are we teaching journalism conflict studies properly?

· Strategic communication: it’s not just advertising and public relations any more.

· Graduate school for mass communication students: go abroad and study at home

· What do they want from us? The people who hire our students speak out.

· What’s new? Changing curricula to reflect changing interests and trends in communication.

· Social networking in classes: good, bad or just ugly.

· Is a university j-school degree necessary to work in mass communication? Professionals and educators continue the debate.

· It’s what you know not who you know: changes in traditional hiring practices.

Deadlines: Paper abstracts and Panel Proposals, August 30, 2012

Completed papers in English or Arabic November 1, 2012 (for publication in Spring/Summer issue of Global Media Journal—Arabian Edition)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: contact Dr. Ralph D. Berenger, conference coordinator, American University of Sharjah via e-mail at rberenger@aus.edu

Website: http://www.aus.edu/

Deadline: 2 April 2012

A special academic meeting presenting a flag-ship cultural practice and celebration for University scholars, researchers and lovers of culture interested in studying and experiencing unique rural/small urban communal festivals as a part of the global conversation on cultural renaissance

Organised by the League of Ogori Professors (LOP) as a Prelude to the 2012 Annual Ovia-Osese Festival

Facilitated by the Association of African Universities (AAU) and The Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan Ogori, Kogi State of Nigeria . Friday, 20 April, 2012.

Venue: National Open University of Nigeria Community Study Centre, Ogori

TARGET PARTICIPANTS

• Scholars and researchers in African Studies, history, language and linguistics, anthropology, cultural studies, women studies, African-American studies, and sociology of rural and communal studies.
• Institutes/Centres/Faculties of African/Cultural/African-American/Afro-Caribbean history Studies.
• Federal and State Government Ministries/Departments of Tourism and Culture especially senior officials involved in internationalisation of cultural activities of rural and small urban communities.
• All those interested in cultural music, dance and folklores, socialization of women and puberty development and celebrations.
• Cultural tourists.

The registration fee of USD$50 for participants from outside of Africa or Naira5,000 from within Africa includes

• Attendance at the Symposium
• Symposium bag
• Copy of the Symposium programme and book of abstracts
• Lunch and morning/afternoon coffee breaks

Language/linguistics; cultural, African, Women Studies and other invited expert speakers from the USA, UK, Africa and the Caribbean.

SYNOPSIS

Nestled snugly at the foot of three magnificent hills which rise steeply into the sky, crested sometimes by the cool and refreshing morning mist, the sleepy town of Ogori has a long and distinguished history. It lies roughly at the intersection of longitude 6° 7” E and latitude 7° 30”N. It is located at the extreme south-west region of Kogi State and shares a border with Edo State. Its uniqueness has tripartite intersections: its culture; its language, called Oko which Ogori and Magongo are the only communities on this planet who speak and understand it and; the importance of education. The Ogori people’s precocious affinity for education has produced, in relation to its size and population, the largest number of professors by square kilometre in Nigeria. (Askari, 1969; Apata, 1986; Adegbija, 1994; Atoyebi, 2010).

One of the cultural icons of Ogori is the Ovia-Osese festival, an annual celebration of the attainment of womanhood by girls whose parents, peers, friends, clans, community and well wishers celebrate this significant cultural and moral attainment. It was a taboo for a girl to get pregnant, let alone marry before her Ovia-Osese. In the olden days, if this occurred the family is ostracized and the girl loses her respect and integrity in the community (Sofola, 1986; Adegoke, 2001). The celebration is accompanied by a week-long activities which include lessons in homemaking, motherhood, music, drumming, dancing, feasting and thanksgiving services at the various mosques and churches in Ogoriland.

Over the years, the Ovia-Osese has become the flagship of the Ogori people and a major mark of the identity of Ogoriland in the global scene. The ceremony and festival have become an international event having attracted tourists from the Unites States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany and South America. Many Nigerians have made it a tourist Mecca and the MTN has supported and participated in the Ovia-Osese festival for several years now.

As their own contributions to the Ovia-Osese festival, the League of Ogori Professors (LOP) made a pronouncement at the 2011 festival that they would add and integrate an academic dimension through an international Symposium to further expose Ogori culture to the world. The first International Symposium on Ogori Culture and People marks a part of the 2012 Ovia-Osese Festival with a view to making it an annual event for scholars, researchers and lovers of culture to form a seamless blend with the community celebrations of an identity of a people whose culture has become a household of knowledge generation, teaching and learning in many parts of the world.

SYMPOSIUM PROGRAMME

International expert speakers and researchers will address the uniqueness of culture as an identity of peoples all over the world. Researchers and teachers of Ogori culture and language will present vital information about the special nature of the Ogori community and people, in relation to the visibility of the culture and language in a global context. Emerging needs and issues of honorary citizenships for Africans in diapora and Afro American and Afro-Caribbean relatives and, their impact on cultural studies worldwide will be of interest to the Symposium.

Symposium Theme: Culture: An Indispensable and Enduring Identity of a People

• Sub-Theme1: History, Sociology and Anthropology
• Sub-Theme2: Language, Literature, Women Studies
• Sub-Theme3: Music, Dance and Folklores

• Strategic development and use of culture an identity
• Achieving cultural renaissance through branding of unique festivals in rural and small urban communities in Africa
• Building partnerships with other researchers and workers in the field of cultural, women and African studies
• Enhancing the role of research and knowledge generation in the perpetuation of cultures whose existence and language are threatened by Western cultures and assimilation.
• Attracting international scholars, researchers, faculty and students.

Very limited, but excellent papers, selected by an international panel of assessors, will be invited for presentation. All those interested should send their papers, to reach the under listed, on or before Monday, 2nd of April, 2012. A turn-around time of no more than 72hrs will apply on the assessment of each paper from date of receipt. The Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria will publish a special edition of their international journal, African Notes, based on the papers presented at the Symposium.

It will be a case of first come, first accepted.

INVITATION TO ATTEND AND PRESENT PAPERS

The general public is invited to express interest in attendance and or presenting papers at the One-day Symposium. Please send your expression of interest or full paper to any of the under listed. The full Symposium programme will be sent to confirmed participants by Monday, April 9, 2012.

Participants may wish to consider attending and participating in the Ovia-Osese Festival and Dance of the Maidens on Saturday, April 21, 2012. Information on accommodation will be sent to those who are interested.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: secgen@aau.org, tellohio@yahoo.com, alexodaibo@yahoo.com

For submissions: secgen@aau.org, tellohio@yahoo.com, alexodaibo@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.aau.org

Deadline: 13 April 2012

South African Translators’ Institute
Triennial Conference
The Role of Translation and Interpreting
in Language Development
Date: Saturday 29 September 2012
Venue: University of Johannesburg
Second Call for Papers

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Professor Sihawu Ngubane
Chairperson: Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB)
“The Role of Translation and Interpreting in Language Development”

PLENARY SPEAKERS:

Ms Landela Nyangintsimbi
Tshwane Metro Language Division
The role of local government in language development
Professor Nathi Ngcobo
Department of Linguistics, University of South Africa

The conference, which also celebrates International Translation Day 2012, includes the presentation of the prestigious SATI Prizes for Outstanding Translation and Dictionaries for 2012. These awards were introduced by SATI in 2000 as a means of promoting the publication of translated works in the South African official languages.

We are delighted to announce that world renowned expert on editing Brian Mossop will run a workshop as part of the day’s proceedings.

Parallel sessions will be held following the plenary addresses.

We are most encouraged by the range of abstracts already received. Proposals will be accepted until 13 April 2012. Possible subjects include:

♦ How statutory requirements influence language development
♦ Government initiatives and support for language development
♦ Translation as an ideological tool
♦ The political dimensions of translation
♦ The practical intent of translation and interpreting
♦ Educational interpreting
♦ Translation in publishing
♦ Language development: The role of terminology and lexicography
♦ The marginalisation of translation and interpreting in contemporary South Africa

Prospective contributors should submit their abstracts (500 words) (include contact details, a 150- word bio of the presenters, and the knowledge level of the participants you wish to address: basic, advanced or all participants) to seminar@translators.org.za. The conference language is English. The following formats are possible: Presentations (30 minutes, including time for questions) | Panel discussions (90 minutes) | Seminars (90 or 180 minutes) | Workshops (90 or 180 minutes).

BACKGROUND TO THE CONFERENCE

South Africa's multilingual dispensation is supported by language provisions in the Constitution, language legislation such as the Pan South African Language Board Act (1995), and government policy statements such as the Language-in-Education Policy (1997), the Language Policy for Higher Education (2002) and the National Language Policy Framework and its Implementation Plan (2003). Against this backdrop of enabling policy and statutory measures language development is clearly an important imperative for both government and the language professions and industry.

The South African Translators’ Institute (SATI) is a well-established association that has been serving the translation and interpreting profession for more than 50 years. It has a code of conduct, self-regulation through a voluntary system of accreditation (in a broad range of languages), development projects (a bursary scheme to assist translation and interpreting students working in African languages; a prestigious translation prize awarded for outstanding published translations in the official languages) and involvement in forums and projects at national and international level such as the International Federation of Translators (the only translation association from Africa to serve on its governing body).

SATI is still the only comprehensive non-profit professional organisation for language practitioners in South Africa, with some 800 members across the spectrum of language mediation activities such as translation, interpreting, text editing, terminology and lexicography. Also, whereas initially SATI’s members were translators working almost exclusively in English and Afrikaans, its focus has now shifted significantly and as a result its members are now representative of activities in some 50 languages, including all the official African languages and South African Sign Language, as well as other languages such as French, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin.

The role of translation in the development of languages and literatures has been well documented by, among others, Toury (1995), Cronin (1995) and Woodsworth (1996). However, the same does not apply to the South African context, notwithstanding that the translation and interpreting profession has made and will undoubtedly continue to make important contributions in these areas. In addition to being tools to facilitate communication, translation and interpreting also serve as pivotal language development tools in the sense that they create ‘discursive space’ and grow socio-cultural domains for ‘lesser used’ languages. The developmental capacity of translation and interpreting manifests, among other things, in the growth and elaboration of corpora by introducing new registers and linguistic items (also through the labour of terminologists and lexicographers) and ultimately the introduction of new genres (both literary and non-literary) and discourses. Since language development is essentially a transformational activity, translation and interpreting are also important reconciliatory tools in promoting tolerance, understanding and mutual respect in expanding and consolidating democracy.

Much work is being done in this field, but much remains to be done. As regards government’s obligations, the conspicuous absence of the proposed South African Languages Act and the South African Language Practitioners’ Council Act is of particular concern to stakeholders across the board. It has been argued that language policy implementation has become trapped in the gap between ‘intention’ and ‘performance’, also as far as the provision of translation and interpreting infrastructure is concerned. It seems as if the translation and interpreting profession has been marginalised and its beneficial language development and empowering role ignored.

The SA Translators’ Institute, as one of the key actors in the language professions and industries in South Africa, invites researchers and members of these and related disciplines and industries to submit proposals for presentations, panel discussions, seminars or workshops on the conference theme. There will be several parallel sessions following the plenary presentations, with the themes dependent on the proposals submitted.

Questions and queries? Contact the SATI Office at seminar@translators.org.za or 011 803 2681.

Late submissions will be accepted up to 13 April 2012. Submit abstracts (500 words) to seminar@translators.org.za. The conference language is English. The following formats are possible:

♦ Presentations (30 minutes, including time for questions)
♦ Panel discussions (90 minutes)
♦ Seminars (90 or 180 minutes)
♦ Workshops (90 or 180 minutes)

KEY DATES:

• Deadline for submissions: 13 April 2012
• Submissions informed of acceptance: 30 April
• Provisional programme published: 31 May 2012
• Early Bird registrations open: 1 May 2012
• Late registrations open: 1 July 2012
• Submission of full version of papers for inclusion
• in conference proceedings: 31 August 2012
• Final programme published: 1 September 2012

For inquiries: seminar@translators.org.za

For submissions: seminar@translators.org.za

Website: http://translators.org.za

Deadline: 5 April 2012

ICTs, New Media and Social Change in Africa

Conference organised by the Africa Media Centre

In Africa, as in many societies, new technologies increasingly play a prominent role in the production and exchange of information. In spite of their limited penetration on the continent, new information technologies are beginning to have a noticeable effect on politics, activism, culture, entertainment and many other facets of public and private life. There is frequent usage of the Internet and of mobile devices, the rise of influential blogs and news sites, evidence of social media that are more than tools for self-presentation together with the overreliance of major newspapers, radio and television on websites for a broader and more diverse reach in ways that suggest a paradigm shift and the alteration of social values in communication practices today. Evolving media policies, attitudes and use patterns in Africa and the Global South remarkably indicate that the benefits of ICTs and New Media are not confined to the Global North alone.

Key questions, however, relate to how new forms of communication technologies have advanced or subverted social change in Africa. The purpose of this one-day conference is to bring together African scholars from diverse disciplines to collectively explore the thematic issue of the transforming role of ICTs and new media. We are concerned to bring to the fore sub-themes of changing production environments, shifts in funding mechanisms, the role of audiences/users, regulation debates and the ICTs’ potential for human development. Wikileaks have, for example, shown how African governments have struggled to maintain transparency and uphold their citizens’ right to information.

The Arab Spring and other manifestations of tension and struggle among governments, citizens and terrorists, call for debates on social transformation in the context of new media and ICTs. To address these and similar issues relating to the theorisation of the role and influence of new media technologies in Africa, we invite scholars to submit panel proposals and/ or abstracts in the following and related areas:

• Theoretical and Conceptual Issues on New Media and Social Change
• Citizen empowerment, Diasporas and new media
• Social media for Social Change in Africa
• Mediating history in a digital era
• Human development and new ICTs
• New media tools in politics, persuasion and electioneering
• ICTs and Anti-Corruption Campaigns in Africa
• Health Communication, ICTs and New Media in Africa
• Old Media and New Media in Africa
• Regulation of ICTs and new Media in Africa
• Resistance, Activism and New Media Cultures in Africa
• New Media Practices and Organisations in Africa
• Journalism and Media Education in the Digital Age
• From Audiences to Consumer-Producers
• Mobile Phone Revolutions in Africa

The conference organizers welcome abstracts that feature high quality conceptual papers, as well as qualitative and quantitative empirical research papers. Abstracts from individuals including graduate students are welcome.

The deadline for abstracts is Thursday 5 April 2012. Successful applicants will be notified by Monday 16 April 2012. Abstracts should be 300 words long. They must include the presenter's name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the title of the paper. Please send abstracts to Helen Cohen at journalism@westminster.ac.uk

PROGRAMMES AND REGISTRATION

This one day conference will take place on Friday 15 June 2012. The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be £95 with a concessionary rate of £45 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments and administration costs. Registration will open in April 2012.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: journalism@westminster.ac.uk

For submissions: journalism@westminster.ac.uk

Website: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/a-z/africa-media-centre

Deadline: 30 March 2012

Call for submission of abstracts for a panel on Arabic literature at the SCMLA conference to be held in San Antonio, Texas November 8-10, 2012. Abstracts should be 500 words in length, and they could be related to any period (pre-modern or modern) in Arabic literature. Please send abstracts by March 30th to Mona El- sherif at Mona.elsherif – at – coloradocollege – dot – edu.

Via: arablit

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: Mona.elsherif – at – coloradocollege – dot – edu

For submissions: Mona.elsherif – at – coloradocollege – dot – edu

Website: http://arablit.wordpress.com/

October 19-21, PAMLA, Seattle University

Following Sheree Thomas's collection Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora (2000), the academy has witnessed widespread critical interest in African American science fiction. This panel extends this critical interest by presenting new scholarship on African American science fiction. Although we welcome work on any U.S. historical period, we are particularly interested in papers that examine writers from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: softmachine@gmail.com

For submissions: softmachine@gmail.com

Website: http://www.pamla.org/

Deadline: 15 March 2012

Female madness is well represented within European and Anglo-American literature, letters, and scholarly endeavors. From Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s inaugural The Madwoman in the Attic (1979) to Elaine Showalter’s The Female Malady (1987) and more recent forays into madness as a trope of female (dis)empowerment, mental illness has been largely feminized and reified into a space of literary whiteness. Nevertheless, this is paradoxical, considering the multiplicity of female writers of the black diaspora who incorporate mental illness into their work.

This panel will focus on twentieth and twenty-first century novels by black women authors writing from Africa, the Americas, and Europe, who incorporate madness as a site of political, cultural, and artistic resistance, particularly as embodied in the use of experimental writing practices. This panel thus creates a conversation at the crossroads where aesthetic praxis morphs into political engagement. Interdisciplinary scholarship is welcomed. There is the potential for an edited volume.

Submit a 300 word abstract to Caroline Brown (at caroline.brown@umontreal.ca) by March 15, 2012. Please note, special sessions must be approved by the MLA.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: caroline.brown@umontreal.ca

For submissions: caroline.brown@umontreal.ca

Website: http://www.mla.org/convention

Deadline: 30 March 2011

International Conference on Nollywood, Women, and Cultural Identity

May 8th – 11th 2012 at the Benue State University Theatre Arts Complex, Makurdi, Nigeria

The Nigerian movie industry is fast growing and its global reach is quite phenomenal. It is speculated that Nollywood has become the third largest movie industry in the world after Hollywood and Bollywood. Despite this reach and growth, this growing and vibrant industry is inundated with challenges, some of which are presumed to be technological, professional, ethical, and cultural among others. Intersecting these challenges is the critical question of the place and representation of women. Nollywood and its films may have short-changed women, thereby creating not only a lopsided picture of the human resource, but the limitation of women’s participation and contribution to national identity and development. In this regard, the movie industry has a major role in reversing the hitherto challenging issues of exclusive practices, negative portrayal, cultural, and gender stereotypes. With Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary, the current wave of the rebranding project, the clamour for 35% affirmative action for women, as well as the concerted efforts at achieving the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it has become necessary to create a critical forum to discuss issues relating to the status and role of women in one of the nations most productive spheres. To negotiate these challenges and problematic, this conference is designed to afford scholars, researchers, professionals, and stakeholders the opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas. Possible themes to consider for your individual or panel presentation include, but not limited to, the following:

• Women and the Nollywood Industry
• Women Directors in Nollywood
• Women Producers in Nollywood
• Female Stars in Nollywood
• Women and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
• Gender and Interculturalism in Nollywood
• Women, Cultural and Religious Taboos in Nollywood Films
• Nollywood, Women and Globalization
• Motherhood in Nollywood Films
• Gendered Language Codes in Nollywood Films
• Gender and Cultural Identity
• Women and Violence in Nollywood
• Gender and Politics in Nollywood Films
• Gender and Film Genres in Nollywood Films
• Gender and Performance in Nollywood Films
• Gender and Race in Nollywood Films
• Queer Nollywood
• Gender and Fashion in Nollywood Films
• Sexuality in Nollywood Films

Keynote Presenter: Professor Maureen Eke, of Central Michigan University

Please send a titled abstract between 200-250 words (for a 20-minute paper presentation), your technical needs, and a brief bio to bsunollywomen@gmail.com by March 30, 2012.

Registration Fee: $125 for international participants, N15,000 for local participants and $50 for international graduate students, and N5,000 for local post grad students.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: bsunollywomen@gmail.com

For submissions: bsunollywomen@gmail.com

Website: http://www.bsum.edu.ng/

Deadline: 31 May 2012

Theme: Transforming Middle East Media

The Arab Spring has focused attention on the role of journalism and media in Arab societies. In many Arab countries, journalists are now operating in a different media environment. Some argue that the professionalism of some journalists has fallen far short of normative goals, a phenomenon often attributed to tight governmental control of the press. Journalism educators must help provide a "new culture" of Arab journalism that benefits from newfound freedoms, but also stresses responsible reporting, based on fundamental principles of journalism, such as independence, accuracy, and verification.

The global social media revolution has also significantly impacted and essentially transformed Middle East media. With a plethora of social media outlets, such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Google Plus, journalists can now take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity to tell stories that would otherwise be ignored. In this new world, satellite channels regularly air YouTube videos shot on bystanders' cell phone cameras. What are the rules that should govern the use of this material by "mainstream" news sites? Does this "citizen journalism" help or hurt the journalism profession? Furthermore, one can only assume that we have only seen little of what the social media revolution has in store. New social media technologies and vehicles seem to arrive every day-which ones are here to stay, which will be institutionalized and which are just passing fads, soon to be forgotten?

The AUSACE 2012 theme aims to address these and other issues related to the unprecedented changes affecting the Arab media. We welcome abstract submissions for papers and panel submissions for public discussions.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: ausace2012@gmail.com

For submissions: submit online here

Website: www.ausace2012.com