Call for Papers and Panels:
African Literature Association
conference 2016
Emory University and Kennesaw State University cordially invite you to submit your proposals for seminars, roundtables, and panels at the African Literature Association 2016 Conference, “Justice and Human Dignity in Africa and the African Diaspora.”
We encourage you to share your scholarship on topics including, but not limited to:
- African and African diaspora arts, literature, and intellectual work as practices of social justice and dignity
- Re-imagining rights, law, justice, and/or dignity in Africa and the diaspora
- African & diaspora women writers, social justice, and human dignity
- The aesthetics, forms, and/or genres of justice
- African human rights systems and precursors to human rights in Africa and the diaspora
- Colonization, neo-colonization, trauma, and human rights violations
- War, peace, conflict management, and human dignity in Africa
- Ecological threats and environmental justice in Africa and beyond
- Education and human rights advocacy in Africa and the diaspora
- Civil and human rights movements in Africa and the diaspora
- Labor, migrant/immigrant experience, and human dignity
- Identity formation and inequality (gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, age, ability, socioeconomic status)
- Globalization, the digital age, justice, and human dignity
- Health systems, access, and justice
- Language politics and multilingualism in Africa and the diaspora
- Progress and human rights in Africa and the diaspora
This conference will feature three modalities for presenters to share their work: panels, roundtables, and seminars. In order to enrich the diversity of scholarship and accommodate the largest possible number of presenters, individuals will be limited to presenting in a maximum two sessions.
You must be a member of the African Literature Association in order to participate in any capacity. To become a member, visit the African Literature Association Homepage.
Paper
Individual paper proposals are welcome. We strongly encourage submissions in panels (see below). If accepted, an individual proposal will be assigned by the conveners to a panel of three-four presenters. When submitting an individual paper proposal, please include your own name, institutional affiliation, and email address, as well as an abstract of up to 250 words and an indication of any requests for A/V equipment. All individual paper proposals must be submitted by November 15th, 2015 to atlanta@ala2016.com.
Panel
We strongly encourage full panel submissions. We recommend that panels bring together scholars from multiple institutions. A full panel proposal should include a title, a description of the panel topic, the names of up to four panel participants, including their institutional affiliations and email addresses, abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper, and an indication of any requests for A/V equipment. All panel proposals must be submitted by November 15th, 2015 to atlanta@ala2016.com.
Roundtable
A roundtable will consist of a chair, who organizes the roundtable, and no less than four and no more than six presenters. To submit a proposal for a roundtable, please submit a title, a description of the roundtable topic, a brief summary of the main questions to be explored, the names of the proposed roundtable participants, including their institutional affiliations and email addresses, and an indication of any requests for A/V equipment by November 15th, 2015 to atlanta@ala2016.com.
Seminar
The ALA seminar consists of 2-3 panels on a theme or cluster of related themes. The panels will be held once a day over 2-3 days. Seminar leaders must define the seminar issue, recruit participants, and propose panels, including abstracts of all papers, by November 15th. Each seminar proposal should be submitted by two organizers and each panel should have no more than four presenters. To enhance the intellectual diversity of presentations, we strongly encourage proposals that bring together scholars from multiple institutions. While seminar leaders normally serve as panel chairs, a seminar leader who is presenting a paper cannot chair more than one panel of the seminar. Pre-circulation of papers among seminar participants is strongly encouraged; full written-up presentations are required. All seminar participants are expected to attend all panels in the seminar.
To submit a proposal for a seminar, please submit a title, a brief description of the seminar as a whole and of each panel, the names of all participants, including their institutional affiliations and email addresses, abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper, and an indication of any requests for A/V equipment by November 15th, 2015 to atlanta@ala2016.com.
Information for ALA-Approved Caucuses
ALA-Approved Caucuses are advised to write to their members a call for papers for the 2016 conference that concerns the central theme of Justice and Human Dignity in Africa and the African Diaspora. Chairs of the ALA-approved caucuses must submit full panels bringing together scholars from multiple institutions. A full panel proposal should include a title, a description of the panel topic, the names of up to four panel participants, including their institutional affiliations and email addresses, abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper, and an indication of any requests for A/V equipment by November 15th, 2015 to atlanta@ala2016.com.
Convener’s Statement on Deadlines
Due to the popularity of the ALA 2016 location and in order to provide adequate time for participants to plan to attend the conference in early April, the conveners will be unable to consider submissions received after the November 15th, 2015 deadline. Only proposals received by the deadline will be considered for acceptance.
You will be notified of the status of your submission by Jan 15th, 2016.