Most African countries have recently celebrated 50 years of independence. Yet, despite the major gains that have been witnessed in almost every segment of our societies, one can clearly argue that the specter of colonization still permeates all levels of the social, cultural, and political frameworks of African polities. It is therefore necessary to take into consideration the pervasiveness of coloniality in almost every aspect of life as we think of the possibility of a truly decolonial era. It is, in this vein, that The Dakar Institute of African Studies invites scholars, activists, and practitioners to a two day forum, to think of the possibilities to evaluate the colonial constitutions and inflections of global order and their manifestations in the development of policies, the formation of psychologies, and the occupation of minds in the African context.
The organizers of the International Conference on “Valorizing African Cultural Heritage and Thought III: Colonial Fantasies/Decolonial Futures,” convened by The Dakar Institute in collaboration with Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), and the West African Research Center (WARC) welcome papers, presentations, and performances that revisit the actual condition of Africa, Africans, and African knowledge production from a decolonial perspective. We are particularly interested in papers and performances that address possible radical transformation in African knowledge-making and pedagogies through theoretical and/or practical inquiries from any angle in the humanities and the social sciences. Papers that tackle particular issues in Africana Studies from a multidisciplinary, an interdisciplinary, or a transdisciplinary perspective, or from the particular disciplines of education, literature, sociology, history, philosophy, dance, music, linguistics, law, religion, anthropology, economics, political science, and psychology, etc., are welcome.
Submit proposals (no more than 250 words) that explore or challenge any perspective on the conference’s major theme.
