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Religion and Politics in Africa
GAEC X PASR X WARC
Junior Scholars' Workshop
June 27th and 28th, Dakar, Senegal
The Program on African Social Research (PASR) invites proposals to participate in a junior scholars workshop on religion and politics in Africa to be held in partnership with GAEC Africa and the West African Research Center in Dakar, Senegal on June 27-28, 2023. PASR will cover all travel-related expenses, including food and lodging during the workshop.
Scholarship on religion and politics in Africa tends to focus on northern Africa, looking at Islamist movements and state policies towards Islamist groups. Yet, in the decades ahead, the population of "sub-Saharan Africa," is projected to grow faster than other parts of the continent, with Christianity and Islam doubling their number of adherents. What types of religious politics are we seeing emerge in Africa? This workshop will examine the politics of religion in Africa cross-regionally, looking at monotheistic religions, traditional faiths and other religious traditions.
We are interested in scholarship engaging questions related to all aspects of religion's role in political life across the continent. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: the role of religious parties in elections; violent non-state religious actors and movements; transnational and transregional religious networks; the place of religion in mass media or online public spheres; the role of religion in decolonization struggles and postcolonial state building; the social and cultural role of evangelical and proselytizing religious movements; and survey research on religious affiliations, beliefs, and practice. 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 the range between ABD PhD student and pre-tenure assistant professor) who are working on all aspects of religion and politics in Africa. Preference will be given to scholars based at African institutions, but all proposals will be considered for inclusion. Participants will 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 March 10, 2023.
