My Mind Words Paper:
europe literature

Deadline: 30 May 2012

ENAR is currently seeking authors to contribute articles to an ENAR publication on the people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans. This book project started in collaboration with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, and the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) aims to raise attention to the specific situation of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.

Based on ENAR’s years of experience working at the grassroots level to counter racism in Europe, in addition to the findings of the Helsinki Commission following the first congressional hearing in history on people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans held in 2008, the following findings have emerged. First, evidence suggests that there continues to be a lack of knowledge about people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans and their contributions to Europe’s social fabric. Secondly, racism and discrimination are found to be common experiences faced by many members of Europe’s Black population. Additionally, more attention needs to be devoted to people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans as well as to present day and historical issues impacting their lives. Against this background, the collaborative partners, under the leadership of ENAR, have agreed to contribute to this under researched issue by producing a book.

This publication is part of ENAR’s progressive narrative on equality and diversity for all, as we seek to build an inclusive society free of racism and related intolerance, where each individual enjoys equal opportunities to participate fully in society. By maximising the potential of all, ENAR envisions promoting confident and strong communities, integrated and cohesive societies, as well as a stable and prosperous Europe. The publication is planned to be a mix of academic writing and accounts of personal, practical experiences. A focus on the situation in Eastern Europe should also be included. The themes in the book could include the following points, depending on the interests of the potential authors:

1. The history of Blacks in Europe and/or a specific European country;

2. The historical or present day (auto)biography of a prominent person of African descent in Europe and/or Black Europeans (e.g. Anton Wilhelm Amo; Baroness Valerie Amos, Angelo Soliman);

3. The impact of slavery and colonialism on representations of Black ethnic minority people in Europe (e.g. the role of human zoos in dehumanisation processes);

4. Experiential or empirical research on people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans (e.g. a study on housing discrimination, political participation, Afro-European websites);

5. Contributions of Blacks to Europe’s social fabric (e.g. use of images of Moors in Medieval Europe, the work of Alexander Pushkin, political rap music);

6. Equality and anti-discrimination efforts (e.g. overviews of the work of the Black European Women’s Congress or Operation Black Vote; impact of the EU Racial Equality Directive on Black communities);

7. Partnerships and cooperation between the Black Diaspora and Europe (e.g. Black History Month in Germany, the 2009 Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on Political Participation);

8. African-Americans in Europe (e.g. WEB Dubois and the meetings of the Pan-African Congress in European capitals; Paul Robeson’s views on Russia and socialism during the Jim Crow era); and/or

9. Any other related topic that may be put forth to help shed light on the situation of people of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.

Anyone interested in contributing to one of these topics is invited to respond to this call.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PUBLICATION

Overall objective:

The overall objective is to contribute to the lack of information and focus on the situation of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans by producing a publication consisting of articles related to one of the above-listed topics.

Specific objectives:

• To bring attention to and raise awareness of the varying situations of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.
• To contribute to these under-researched issues by providing informative empirical research highlighting challenges and successes of the Black minorities in Europe.
• To provide personal, experiential accounts of individuals who have experienced racism first-hand.
• To highlight and advance positive narratives by promoting the often undetected and undervalued skills and attributes of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.
• To show that people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans contribute significantly to the prosperity of European society and economy.
• To provide facts and evidence to support this line of argument.
• To contribute to ENAR’s progressive narrative on equality and diversity for all.

The articles should be based on the author’s knowledge on the topic and with the aim to cover the various themes listed. Authors must possess skills in composing either scientific writing or literary narration, and adhere to the applicable methodology. Authors are asked to structure their texts as clearly as possible to meet the objectives of the publication. Clear and easily understandable English language should be used to convey the subject matter. Each submission should not be longer than 15 normal DIN4 pages (A4), in 1.5 spaced Times New Roman. Authors are requested to identify relevant references and to provide a bibliography.

DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

The deadline for submitting an article in English is May 30, 2012. Please include a paragraph describing your expertise and experience as well as a CV, which will be used to briefly describe the authors of the publication as part of the book contents.

Articles should be prepared in Microsoft Word format. Articles should be marked “ENAR Publication on People of African Descent” and sent by email to:

Shannon Pfohman
ENAR Secretariat
60 rue Gallait, B-1030 Bruxelles, Belgium
Tel: 0032 2 2405723
Email: shannon@enar-eu.org

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For enquiries: questions and correspondence on this matter can also be directed to Shannon Pfohman - shannon@enar-eu.org

For submissions: shannon@enar-eu.org

Website: http://www.enar-eu.org

Deadline: 1 July 2012

Call for Papers for a special issue for the Journal of Muslims in Europe: “Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe”

Guest editors:

• Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg
• Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen

Under the headline “Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe” we aim to bring together a number of perspectives from multiple disciplinary fields such as history, religious studies, cultural anthropology, political science and sociology in an analysis of diverging accounts and notions of Europe over time and places throughout the continent, open as well to external perspectives. The initial question thereby is, what role Islam and Muslims have played and still play in the imagining of what Europe means.

This way we aim to direct our view at the nexus between constructions of Europe and developments within contemporary European Islam providing space both for a critical review of academic approaches and the development of new impulses for future research.

Besides empirical papers we strongly encourage theoretical papers that challenge current research on Islam and Muslims in Europe and reflect on the own position of the researchers and his or her contributions to the construction of Europe and the role and function of Islam and Muslims.

We invite papers that address one of the topics of two sessions described below. Deadline for sending your abstracts: July the 1st, 2012. Accepted participants will be notified by July 20, 2012. If your paper is accepted, you must submit the final paper (max 10,000 words inclusive of footnotes) by 20 October 2012.

Applications to submit a short paper should include: 1. Proposer’s name and affiliation, 2. a title for the paper, 3. a ca. 500 word abstract.

All abstracts and paper should be written in English.

Time frame:

• Deadline for abstracts (ca. 500 words) 1.July 2012
• Deadline for sending final papers 20.October 2012
• Publication 15.March 2013

1. Localizing debates connecting Europe and Islam:

In what way are debates about Europe and its identity mentioning the European past with reference to Muslim’s presence in Europe on the local, regional, national or European Union level? How do these different levels (local, regional, national, transnational) intersect?

2. Imagining Europe without Muslims:

What are the main patterns of the dominant constructions of Europe’s heritage like notions of a Judaeo-Christian heritage? Where and by whom are these narratives told? To what extent are they embedded in European integration or projects of community or nation-building?

3. Narratives of Europe inclusive of Muslims:

In what cases is the Muslim history of Europe used as counter narrative to question the construction of Europe as a Christian continent? What groups of people insist on an imagination of Europe with Muslims? How are these narratives used to strengthen a feeling of belonging and responsibility of current Muslims?

4. Contextualizing Islam debates in European history of thought:

Is it possible to make any comparison between current debates about Islam and Muslims and previous debates about ties between religions and national identities e.g. different Christian denominations in early modern Europe?

5. Imagining Europe from outside:

How is the relationship between Europe and its Muslim inhabitants viewed beyond the Mediterranean? Do accounts of European history and presentations of the contemporary Europe from within and without bear considerable differences?

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For submissions: paper proposals should be send electronically in Microsoft Word formats to Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg: goran.larsson@religion.gu.se and Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen: rsp@teol.ku.dk.

Website: http://www.brill.nl/publications/journals/journal-muslims-europe

Deadline: 30 May 2012

ENAR is currently seeking authors to contribute articles to an ENAR publication on the people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans. This book project started in collaboration with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, and the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) aims to raise attention to the specific situation of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.

Based on ENAR’s years of experience working at the grassroots level to counter racism in Europe, in addition to the findings of the Helsinki Commission following the first congressional hearing in history on people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans held in 2008, the following findings have emerged. First, evidence suggests that there continues to be a lack of knowledge about people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans and their contributions to Europe’s social fabric. Secondly, racism and discrimination are found to be common experiences faced by many members of Europe’s Black population. Additionally, more attention needs to be devoted to people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans as well as to present day and historical issues impacting their lives. Against this background, the collaborative partners, under the leadership of ENAR, have agreed to contribute to this under researched issue by producing a book.

This publication is part of ENAR’s progressive narrative on equality and diversity for all, as we seek to build an inclusive society free of racism and related intolerance, where each individual enjoys equal opportunities to participate fully in society. By maximising the potential of all, ENAR envisions promoting confident and strong communities, integrated and cohesive societies, as well as a stable and prosperous Europe. The publication is planned to be a mix of academic writing and accounts of personal, practical experiences. A focus on the situation in Eastern Europe should also be included. The themes in the book could include the following points, depending on the interests of the potential authors:

1. The history of Blacks in Europe and/or a specific European country;

2. The historical or present day (auto)biography of a prominent person of African descent in Europe and/or Black Europeans (e.g. Anton Wilhelm Amo; Baroness Valerie Amos, Angelo Soliman);

3. The impact of slavery and colonialism on representations of Black ethnic minority people in Europe (e.g. the role of human zoos in dehumanisation processes);

4. Experiential or empirical research on people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans (e.g. a study on housing discrimination, political participation, Afro-European websites);

5. Contributions of Blacks to Europe’s social fabric (e.g. use of images of Moors in Medieval Europe, the work of Alexander Pushkin, political rap music);

6. Equality and anti-discrimination efforts (e.g. overviews of the work of the Black European Women’s Congress or Operation Black Vote; impact of the EU Racial Equality Directive on Black communities);

7. Partnerships and cooperation between the Black Diaspora and Europe (e.g. Black History Month in Germany, the 2009 Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on Political Participation);

8. African-Americans in Europe (e.g. WEB Dubois and the meetings of the Pan-African Congress in European capitals; Paul Robeson’s views on Russia and socialism during the Jim Crow era); and/or

9. Any other related topic that may be put forth to help shed light on the situation of people of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.

Anyone interested in contributing to one of these topics is invited to respond to this call.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PUBLICATION

Overall objective:

The overall objective is to contribute to the lack of information and focus on the situation of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans by producing a publication consisting of articles related to one of the above-listed topics.

Specific objectives:

• To bring attention to and raise awareness of the varying situations of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.
• To contribute to these under-researched issues by providing informative empirical research highlighting challenges and successes of the Black minorities in Europe.
• To provide personal, experiential accounts of individuals who have experienced racism first-hand.
• To highlight and advance positive narratives by promoting the often undetected and undervalued skills and attributes of people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans.
• To show that people of African descent in Europe and Black Europeans contribute significantly to the prosperity of European society and economy.
• To provide facts and evidence to support this line of argument.
• To contribute to ENAR’s progressive narrative on equality and diversity for all.

The articles should be based on the author’s knowledge on the topic and with the aim to cover the various themes listed. Authors must possess skills in composing either scientific writing or literary narration, and adhere to the applicable methodology. Authors are asked to structure their texts as clearly as possible to meet the objectives of the publication. Clear and easily understandable English language should be used to convey the subject matter. Each submission should not be longer than 15 normal DIN4 pages (A4), in 1.5 spaced Times New Roman. Authors are requested to identify relevant references and to provide a bibliography.

DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

The deadline for submitting an article in English is May 30, 2012. Please include a paragraph describing your expertise and experience as well as a CV, which will be used to briefly describe the authors of the publication as part of the book contents.

Articles should be prepared in Microsoft Word format. Articles should be marked “ENAR Publication on People of African Descent” and sent by email to:

Shannon Pfohman
ENAR Secretariat
60 rue Gallait, B-1030 Bruxelles, Belgium
Tel: 0032 2 2405723
Email: shannon@enar-eu.org

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: questions and correspondence on this matter can also be directed to Shannon Pfohman - shannon@enar-eu.org

For submissions: shannon@enar-eu.org

Website: http://www.enar-eu.org