Call for Papers: Multimedia Research and Documentation of Oral
Genres in Africa, 12/09
CALL FOR PAPERS
Multimedia Research and Documentation of Oral Genres in Africa: the Step
Forward.
December 17-19, 2009, Leiden University, The Netherlands
The conference theme relates to the issue how to deal with oral genres
in a world where new technologies have become available not only for the
researchers, but also for the local populations as well as the groups
(of local non-academic scholars of local lore) that mediate between
academic scholars, the performers and their audiences. Therefore, a
systematic analysis of the concept of 'authorship' should be made. The
study of oral genres shifted from the recording session (and academic
publishing process) to the interaction of the participants - from the
performers to the researchers - in the performance. In particular thanks
to the possibilities offered by new technologies the recording has
nowadays a social life in dynamic networks in which often not well
defined groups of stakeholders either appropriate and represent the
recording or want others to bear responsibility for the recording. The
classical anthropological goal of 'giving voice to' informants thus has
become highly problematic. All these groups need to be incorporated when
assessing 'authorship'.
The organizers look for contributions related to these issues produced
by the increased presence of multimedia technologies in the process of
documenting oral genres in Africa. The organizers aim to publish all
papers that meet general academic standards.
Confirmed keynotes: Paulo de Moraes Farias, University of Birmingham
(UK), Russell Kashula, Rhodes University (SA)
Abstracts (300 words): deadline August 31, 2009
Conference Papers (20 minutes, 2500 words): deadline November 20, 2009
Essays for publication (max. 8.000 words): deadline 30 March, 2010
There will be about 50 Euro fees for coffee/drinks/lunches (dinners and
hotels not included) - Please check updates at
http://www.hum.leiden.edu/research/africanliteratures/africaloralliterat
ures/conferences-and-meetings.html
Convenors:
- Jan Jansen, Institute of Cultural Anthropology, Leiden University.
- Daniela Merolla, Department of Languages and Cultures of Africa,
Leiden University
Address all questions and submissions to Jan Jansen at
jansenj@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
This conference is included in the project: African Oral Literatures,
New Media, and Technologies: Challenges for Research and Communication -
an initiative of Leiden University, INALCO (Paris), SOAS (London),
University of Hamburg, University of Naples, and the Netherlands
Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.