Call for Papers: Cultures in Motion, the African Connection, 02/03

CALL FOR PAPERS

Cultures in Motion: The Africa Connection International and Interdisciplinary Conference

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Feb. 6-9, 2003

During the spring semester 2003, the University of Tennessee will engage in a multitude of Africa related activities and events that range from an African Art Exhibit and scholar residencies on campus to a host of outreach and cultural events, including the North-American premiere of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka's play "Oyedipo at Kolhuni," a modern adaptation of Sophocles' "Oedipus at Colonus." Performance dates are Feb. 7-22, 2003, and conference participants will have the opportunity to reserve tickets for the premiere on Friday, Feb. 7, or the performance on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003.

The overall theme for the Africa-Semester at the University of Tennessee is "At Home in Africa - Africa at Home: Celebrating African Art, Literature and Performance," and it is one of our goals to focus on the interrelatedness of African and non-African cultures world-wide and over time.

As part of the Africa Semester at the University of Tennessee, we will hold an interdisciplinary and international conference entitled "Cultures in Motion: The Africa Connection."

During the conference we plan to focus on:

* How Africans and African elements have influenced the cultural production in the Diaspora world-wide,

* How African musicians, writers, performers, and artists reflect non-African (cultural) influences in their works,

* How processes of cultural contact and influence are perceived and interpreted: as an enrichment or as a development that will ultimately lead to the erosion of unique and distinct cultural traditions.

We invite proposals for papers that explore these themes in their historical and/or contemporaneous contexts from all areas in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and we especially welcome interdisciplinary and non-traditional approaches.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

* Interacting to Understand / Understanding to Interact * Cultural Memories - Memorized Cultures * Ethnicity, Tribalism and Cultural Identity in the Age of Globalization * Politics of (Self)Representation in Print, the Media, and on the Internet * Historicizing Gender and Race * A Closer Look at the 'Contact Zone' * (Re)Defining Cultural Interconnectedness * Dealing with 'Otherness' in Travel Accounts and Ethnographic Sketches * Analyzing Collections (e.g. Postcards, Souvenirs, Sound Recordings, Photographs, Art and Artifacts ...) * (Un)Intended Colonial Legacies * Forced and Voluntary Migrations and Contacts * Visualizing 'Cultures in Motion'

Deadline for Proposals: Sept. 15, 2002

Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words for a presentation of approximately 20 minutes and a short biographical sketch to each of the conference organizers listed below. Submissions via e-mail are preferred! Please do not forget to include your telephone number, fax number, and email address.You should also let us know of any necessary audio-visual needs.

Carolyn R. Hodges chodges@utk.edu (865) 974-2312

Stefanie Ohnesorg ohnesorg@utk.edu (865) 974-7098

Mailing address:

Department of Modern Foreign Languages & Literatures University of Tennessee 701 McClung Tower Knoxville, TN 37996-0470, U.S.A.

A panel of scholars from various fields will select papers after the closing date and notify presenters by October 5, 2002. A selection of papers will be published in a monograph.