Decolonization and its Critics
MISR X PASR X CAS
Junior Scholars' Workshop
May 27th and 28th, Kampala, Uganda
The Program on African Social Research (PASR), the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), and the Centre for African Studies (UCT) invite proposals to participate in a Junior Scholars Workshop on “Decolonization and its Critics,” May 27th and 28th in Kampala, Uganda. PASR will cover all travel-related expenses, including food and lodging during the workshop.
Discourses on decolonization and related concepts such as decoloniality, settler colonialism, neocolonialism, and indigeneity have reemerged as significant theoretical and analytical frameworks for understanding politics in Africa, the Global South and beyond. Whether championed by scholars, students, activists and even policy makers, the resurgence of decolonization discourses raises substantive questions about both the nature of the domestic political arena in Africa as well as the shifting global order.
We seek proposals examining decolonization in relation to a wide variety of political shifts and contestations. These can include decolonization as a lens to understand ongoing military coups, militarization, economic policies, as well as concerns about social policies and their implications for the livelihoods of ordinary Africans. We are also interested in how the decolonization discourse has been deployed by student activists, intellectuals, feminist and LGBTQ organizers, as well as its limits in advancing emancipatory projects across the continent and beyond.
The workshop will be transregional and open to all disciplines, including but not limited to political science, history, anthropology, sociology, religion and cultural studies.
This workshop aims to showcase the research of junior scholars (defined as PhD students and pre-tenure assistant professors or the equivalent). Preference will be given to scholars based at African institutions, but all proposals will be considered for inclusion. Participants are required to contribute original papers of approximately 2500-3000 words that will be discussed at the workshop and then revised and edited for publication in our open access journal African Social Research.
To apply, please send a 300-word proposal including your current affiliation and academic level to africansocialresearch@gmail.com by January 26th, 2024
