Call for papers for the International Conference “Conceptualizing and understanding the role of the African diaspora(s) in Europe and in Africa”, organized by the University of Bucharest

On Friday, April 8, 2022, The University of Bucharest, through its Faculty of Political Science and Institute of African Studies, organizes the conference “Conceptualizing and understanding the role of the African diaspora(s) in Europe and in Africa”.

The event, organized under the aegis of CIVIS, awaits for contributions until 20 March 2022.

The proposals, sent to domnica.gorovei@unibuc.ro, must include: a title; a 250-words abstract of the paper to be presented and a ½ page-presentation of the author (or a CV in English or in French). Notifications will be sent to authors about the acceptance/rejection of their papers by March 30, 2022.

The working languages of the conference will be English and French (with powerpoint in English) and the conference will be held online, on Zoom.

Following the perspective of Jayne Ifekwunigwe (2010), that “any comparative interrogations of African diasporas must be interdisciplinary, historically grounded, ethnographically situated, and mindful of institutional hierarchies and infrastructural deficits that contribute to the perpetuation of hegemonic discourses”, the conference is articulated around three axes:

1. From a theoretical and historical perspective, how do social sciences define and study the socio-economic, cultural and ethnic actors to be integrated under the concept of “diaspora” – and more precisely “African/black diasporas” [the plural being appropriate when dealing with such a diversity of countries and communities]?
2. From the social, political, economic approaches, or those belonging to cultural studies, what are the historical evolutions and contemporary dynamics of the Black diasporas in Europe and in Africa?
3. What differences can be quantified between the configurations inherent to diasporas and those connected to large groups of people on the move, linked to migration and displacement, resulting in the concept of the ”refugee”, in the aftermath of humanitarian crises, economic and institutional collapse, and conflicts?

More details regarding the call for papers and the topics of the conference “Conceptualizing and understanding the role of the African diaspora(s) in Europe and in Africa” are available here.

The conference is part of the project Conceptualizing and understanding the role of the African diaspora in Europe and in Africa, financed by the Hub 2 CIVIS (Society, Culture and Heritage). Furthering the European students’ understanding of this matter via the CIVIS project constitutes one of the goals of the project.