---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 14:43:09 -0500
From: Funwi Ayuninjam <[log in to unmask]>
To: Funwi Ayuninjam <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: Egbunam Amadife <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Call for Papers, Abstracts, & Panel Proposals
WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CROSS-POSTINGS.
*********************************************************************
Dear scholars, students, and friends of African Studies:
Below is a call for papers for the next Southern Interdisciplinary
Roundtable on African Studies (SIRAS), built for March 25-27, 2004 at
Kentucky State University. You are invited to address the theme below,
but you are equally welcome to explore and celebrate the connectedness
of peoples of African descent and to write and talk about practically
any aspect of black culture and civilization. Please join in the
celebratory "conversation."
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Abstracts/panels: 200-250 words (plus title); panel proposals: at least
three panelists; deadline for submission: 31 January 2004. Select
conference papers will be published. Send paper abstracts and/or panel
proposals to Funwi Ayuninjam (conference co-organizer). Other general
inquiries should be directed to Egbunam Amadife (conference
co-organizer). English and French equally welcome!
THE THEME
"Globalization and the New World Order: Challenges and Opportunities
for Africa and the African Diaspora"
The 2004 SIRAS conference invites participants to address the concerns
posed by Globalization and the New World Order for Africa and the
African Diaspora. Africa's past and present history is riddled with
countless major events, including the Atlantic Slave Trade, Colonialism,
and Neo-Colonialism, which have greatly impacted its peoples--both on
the continent and in the Diaspora. Currently, Africa faces acute
problems of underdevelopment, increasing poverty, mounting foreign debt,
and the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic. The final decade of the 20th century,
however, added a new threat for the 21st century: Globalization and the
New World Order. Globalization, generally considered an economic
phenomenon, seeks to shrink international space by tightly linking
national economies and rendering their borders--geographic or
otherwise--porous. It is argued that globalization is good for
Africa--to help the continent to gain access to the global markets,
capital, and technology; yet issues of nationality, culture,
territoriality, race, and imperialism seem to have lost their unique
definitions in the globalization process.
The New World Order, a consequence of globalization, reinforces
the international status quo: the North-South dichotomy of injustice and
inequity. It offers a new world in which dominant Western countries
pursue their self-interests through the promotion of science and
technology. How does the New World Order impact Africa and its Diaspora
given that Slavery, Colonialism, and Neo-colonialism have rendered their
societies dependent on the economies of the developed nations of the
West? In the face of rapid technological advancements, particularly in
the field of biotechnology, how does the New World Order impact
Africa's leverage as the world's chief producer and exporter of
raw materials for Western industries? Furthermore, how will African
societies generate and access conventional technology to compete in the
new international economy?
Answers to these questions are the responsibility primarily of
African leaders, but Africans in the Diaspora, especially African
Americans, will also play a key role. But what role is it? Indeed,
African Americans have been fully engaged in matters of African
development for a long time, as demonstrated by organizations like the
Leon Sullivan Foundation, Good Works International, and TransAfrica.
Africa has been a major beneficiary of the Foundation's Opportunities
Industrialization Centers (OIC) and the International Foundation for
Education and Self-Help (IFESH). The ongoing talks among peoples of
African descent regarding reparations for slavery have further united
black peoples.
Globalization is, thus, a multi-faceted concept with social,
economic, cultural, political, and philosophical dimensions offering
different meanings to different groups: economists, feminists,
environmentalists, educators, health experts, pacifists, and scientists.
More importantly, globalization could be considered a period of the
convergence of human societies--the coming together of nations, peoples,
groups, and cultures signifying the removal of boundaries of racism,
ethnicity, sexism, religious differences, and the notions of the
developed-developing societies. It is a metaphor for global democracy,
equality, social justice, unity, and peace building. Africans and
peoples of the African Diaspora could gain in the New World Order by
recognizing the urgent need to come together as one people, to reinvent
themselves, redefine their future, and to devise effective strategies to
counter-penetrate the challenges posed by Globalization and the New
World Order.
Conference presenters are encouraged to submit proposals that
address any of the sub-themes but are also free to address any other
areas of the social, economic, political, and cultural concerns of
Africa and the African Diaspora for the 21st century.
REGISTRATION FEE
The conference registration fee is $75.00. The fee includes all program
materials, refreshments, transportation, and the Friday night banquet.
The student registration fee is $15.00 (with proper identification).
Please make checks payable to KSU-African Studies Conference.
INVITED SPEAKERS
Ambassador Robin R. Sanders, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Dept. of
State
Dr. Ronald Walters, Director, Afrian American Leadership Institute and
Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College
Park
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
All hotels are located within two miles of the university. Bus service
to and from the hotels will be provided to conference participants. When
you book your reservation, please mention African Studies Conference for
our special rates. There are other smaller hotels in Frankfort, but
these are our preferences: Hampton Inn: 502/223-7600 ($65); Holiday Inn:
502/227-5100 ($65); Best Western: 502/695-6111 ($65); and Fairfield Inn:
502-695-8881 ($55) NB: The banquet will be at the Holiday Inn.
TRAVEL & AIRPORT PICK-UP
Vans will be available to pick up and return conference attendees who
come in and depart through Lexington (Blue Grass) Airport.
KSU
Kentucky State University is a small public liberal studies institution
located in northwestern Kentucky, c. 26 miles west of Lexington, c. 52
miles east of Louisville, and c. 96 miles south of Cincinnati. From each
respective city's airport, KSU is c. 20 minutes', one hour's, and 90
minutes' drive.
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REGISTRATION FORM
Paper Title: _______________________________________________________
Name: ___________________________________________________________
Position or Title: ___________________________________________________
Department: ______________________________________________________
Address of Institution:
_______________________________________________
Work Phone: ____________________ Home Phone: ______________________
Fax: _____________________ E-mail: _________________________________
Home Address: ____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Preferred Mailing Address: Work ______ Home ______
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Funwi F. Ayuninjam, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English and Linguistics
Director, Office of Global Education & Programs
Academic Services Building, Suite 303
Kentucky State University
Frankfort, KY 40601
Tel.: 502-597-6361 or 5084; Fax: 597-6953
[log in to unmask]
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