THEME
STATEMENT
SUB-THEMES
PROPOSAL
GUIDELINES AND FORMS
| The dawn
of the 21st century finds us at a point in human history when the cliché
of the “global village” is upon us. Particularly in urban areas (which
exist, even if only in pockets, all over the world) we are bombarded with
information conveyed through various technologies almost instantaneously.
Developments in information technology (IT) have proceeded so fast, and
consideration of the implications of the technology so slowly, that educational
and legal bodies all over the world are convening to establish “acceptable”
norms, standards, rules and controls. Confusion often exists between when
technology is the goal, and when it is merely the medium. The role(s) of
technology in disseminating information have often made it more difficult
to separate perspective from fact, analysis from opinion, interpretation
from fiction. Not surprisingly those areas of the world with the greatest
access to new IT forms have been privileged in their power to represent,
to interpret, and to influence.
New information technologies create profound challenges and opportunities for Africa, both intra and extra continentally. They also create profound challenges and opportunities for those of us for whom Africa is at the center of our work, our concerns, and our lives. Despite the fact that Africa and Africans are among the most dogmatically represented subjects, the share of the world’s information devoted to Africa and Africans is small. Moreover, what is represented about and for Africa is often not the choice of Africans themselves. Of equal (or perhaps even greater) importance is the circumscribed abilities of Africans to communicate with each other in a widespread way and immediately upon a turn of events. The use of new IT forms in development is another critically important consideration. For our current purposes let us simply define development as “an improvement in the quality of people’s lives.” With such a definition we can make the broadest of connections. In health care, for instance, the role of IT in directing mobile medical equipment, educating health care professionals in new techniques and medicines, disseminating health care advisories and connecting those working in research on indigenous diseases, is obvious. The recent debate over the provision of drugs to combat AIDS to patients in South Africa at reduced (read non-inflated) prices was integrally tied to both information and technology. It was necessary to win the political as well as the legal battle to get these drugs, and much of that battle was being fought in the court of international public opinion. The representation of South Africans as unable to benefit from the drugs because they could not be trusted to take them as prescribed (“such differences in conceptions of time and in showing responsible behavior,” I was enraged to hear one commentator say), and/or their representation as sexually promiscuous, both worked to make it seem they were somehow undeserving of any special dispensation in this regard or that it would be useless in any case. The role of IT in education is a critical area. Much has been made of the “digital divide” and its ties to class, race, and even gender divisions within the United States. As well in the international arena the same divide exists between rich and poor nations. Just as with the advent of industrialization, the technological age threatens to create two camps: those who generate ideas and set agendas, who define and control discourse -- and the worker bees who carry out their directions. All those who do work in and on Africa are familiar with the differential in access to information generated outside the continent about Africa, in Africa and in the West. As well, there is much knowledge produced in Africa that is barely accessible to those outside of the continent, a situation that contributes to African voices being heard less in the discourse on world affairs. Our ability to connect with our colleagues in Africa, and for students there and here to connect, to jointly define research agendas and share information is greatly enhanced by the availability of some of the new information technologies. The role of IT in educating those in the United States (K-12, higher education, and the general public) about Africa has barely begun to be investigated and marshaled. Moreover, the digitization of libraries in the industrialized world is proceeding apace such that an incredible amount of information is available without spending one dime on a book or travel. Imagine wiring libraries on the continent of Africa and the difference this could make in the flow of information both within the continent and between the continent and the rest of the world. Some months ago a colleague e-mailed me to report how excited she was to have watched the Ghanaian presidential debates (moderated by the African American journalist Charlene Hunter Gault) on her computer in Minneapolis. She wrote: “While I was zapping messages to friends in Accra you can’t even get a phone line from Accra to Bolga.” We must also discuss how the “digital divide” has, in ironic ways, put certain classes of people in touch with one another around the world, and totally marginalized others. |
IT has profound implications
for artists as public intellectuals. The arts are often considered an international
lingua franca. As I sat with my family in Abiriba (Eastern Nigeria) this
past January (2001) and watched, via satellite and the aid of a generator,
some versions of musical videos originating somewhere in the world, I observed
my thirteen year old daughter’s reaction and those of her Nigerian cousins.
They were the same as they all had been exposed to the globalization of
a particular musical culture. National Public Radio recently did a report
from the African Film Festival being hosted by Burkina Faso in which the
theme was technology. Digital imaging and other technologies have made
it cheaper to produce films thus, where they are available, easier for
African filmmakers to play on a level field with those from richer, more
industrialized areas of the world. As I now teach at a college that
specializes in the arts and communication I have become even more attuned
to the roles of the fine, visual and performing arts in representation,
the conveyance of information, and political activism. The role of IT in
the dissemination of knowledge about historical and contemporary African
arts is an under-considered question.
Last but not least in this abbreviated list of examples is the role of IT in political organizing, resistance to tyrannical rule and to neo-colonialism, democratization, conflict resolution and peacekeeping, and the management of refugees. Activists from around the world can be in touch with one another, in real time, and in large numbers. News about political events can be communicated, and responded to, in short periods of time. We must also discuss the downside of the new technologies, and there are several. Some have been mentioned in the first paragraph of this statement. Over dependence on these technologies can leave us vulnerable and paralyzed when they are unavailable to us, and they are so fragile they can often be unavailable. The ethical (and non-ethical) uses of the new technologies is also an important discussion. Not every panel or session will be focused on information and technology. This theme statement simply seeks to point out some of the disparate issues that can be considered under such a rubric, and the timeliness of devoting the attention of our annual meeting to this subject. |
| Innovations in technology,
whether developed locally or imported from elsewhere have affected the
creation of African art in all media throughout history. The current preoccupation
with Information Technology in its many manifestations is only the most
recent of a continuous stream of changes and innovations to affect the
arts. It is perhaps distinguished from earlier technological revolutions
in Africa by its rapid pace and its global reach. Indeed, one of the most
prominent features of the current technology age is the possibility for
nearly instantaneous connection with others both near and far. While this
can promote greater accessibility and wider visibility for artists and
observers with access to equipment and knowledge, it can also lead to homogenization,
marginalization, and exclusion.
We welcome panels that explore technology and the arts throughout time and from all points of view. What local and imported technologies have affected the arts of Africa? What factors have fostered or inhibited the adoption of new artistic technologies in Africa? What are the ethical, political, social, and economic dimensions of technology as it affects the arts? What are the roles of gender, class, ethnicity or other social constructs as they relate to technology and the arts? In the contemporary period, how has technology affected the relationship between African artists and their counterparts elsewhere, and between African artists on the continent and overseas? How has technology been approached in African art historical studies? Interdisciplinary panels are strongly encouraged, as are those that explore the impact of all forms of technology past and present on the arts in the African diaspora. |
| Two contradictory trends continue
to define African politics. Parts of the continent are enjoying political
stability, democratic consolidation, innovative public policy initiatives,
and economic recovery. Other parts of the continent are beset by protracted
conflicts, state collapse, secessionist movements, ethnic tensions, epidemics,
humanitarian emergencies, and marginalization. Understanding why these
divergent trends are occurring in Africa is one of the most important questions
facing students of African politics as well as policymakers in governments
and international development organizations.
This section invites papers
and panels which enrich our understanding of trends in both comparative
and international politics in contemporary Africa. We seek a collection
of research which advance our knowledge of governance and democratic consolidation,
the impact and appropriateness of political decentralization, the role
of non-state actors in governance, the political impact of debt relief
and conditionality in highly indebted poor countries, trends in ethnic
politics, the nature of contemporary conflict and state collapse in parts
of Africa, the impact of the “war on terrorism” on Africa, political economy
explanations of protracted war and resource transfers, the dynamics of
regional and international interventions in Africa, post-conflict relief
and reconstruction initiatives, advances in conflict prevention, mediation,
and peacekeeping, and the question of sovereignty and intervention in Africa’s
“failed states.” This section welcomes papers which contribute to theory-building
in these fields of inquiry and which directly engage some of the most urgent
political and public policy questions facing Africa, producing timely,
policy-relevant analyses which bridge the gap between the academic and
policy worlds.
|
D:
Imperialism, Colonialism, and Neo-Colonialism: New Perspectives and Analyses
Judith Byfield, Dartmouth
College
| At their
core imperialism, colonialism, and neo-colonialism reflect unequal relations
of power. The consequences of these processes in both the centers of power
and the peripheries varied considerably as they intersected with other
systems of inequality – gender, generation, class, and sexuality. This
section welcomes papers that reconsider the history and impact of imperialism,
colonialism, and neo-colonialism and draws on our renewed attention to
gender, sexuality, generation, and class.
Imperialism, colonialism, and neo-colonialism also remain important terms in our vocabulary as we move into the twenty-first century for the unequal power relations they describe are still deeply embedded in the structure of our global economy. Therefore, this section welcomes papers which consider how the recent advances in technology whether in communication, medicine, or arms reinforce these unequal relationships. New technologies also provide new networks as well as new methods to challenge the centers of power. We also welcome papers that consider new forms of resistance and new ways to transform the uneven relations of power. |
| This sub-theme seeks proposals
from a variety of disciplinary approaches that assume a historical perspective
on technologies, their development and ways that they are invented by and/or
are incorporated into African societies. Papers may also look at the ways
technologies impact upon, or reflect, class, gender, race and ethnic identities.
We are looking for papers that open new ways of examining innovations in
local technologies, as well as innovative ways of using new and imported
technologies.
Papers may raise new questions about the history of technology and innovation in Africa. They can consider a broad range of areas in which technologies have proven effective: craft production [i.e. new dyes for textiles, the sewing machine], agriculture [i.e. local remedies for destructive pests or the use of pesticides], local medicine production [both of indigenous medicines as well as local use and production of foreign medicines], the graphic and performing arts [i.e. the amplification of musical instruments, emerging video industries], industrial production, learning and information technologies. Additional topics could include new tools and innovative ways artists use local resources to create new art forms i.e. 'wire' art from Zimbabwe, use of car body repair materials to make sculptures in the Republic of Benin, guns in Mozambique] Papers can focus on the processing of local products into new forms [i.e. shea butter into boxed bar soaps], the development of industries and their spill over into the broader economy [i.e. vulcanizers, mechanics] and small machine technology. |
| Interestingly and problematically,
the African Diaspora has always been global and in many ways involved in
the transmission of information, culture and technology. Did Thomas Jefferson
not utter that American slaves were among the first in the US Republic
to know of the Haitian Revolution? Did African men and women not transfer
their abundant technical skills in metallurgy, crop production, sailing
and the manufacturing trades, among others, to the Americas? Did Africans
in the America's not bring music, transform it, and exchange it? Of course
they knew (of Haiti), of course they did (bring technical know-how), and
of course they created (brought, made and cross-fertilized) cultures. So
the question, for this section, is what makes this "new" information age
similar to and different than past ages.
Clearly information technology has completely changed from a network of oral and print mechanisms to one that is largely visual and computer-generated. And the speed with which one can get information has been reduced from months and days to nano-seconds. Yet what does this mean to peoples lives in the Diaspora? Are they smarter faster? Do they have more power over their lives? Who is able to access such information and technology and who is not? Who controls it and how is access classed and gendered? And for what purposes are people obtaining information? Clearly, in the past, issues of power, space, struggle and solidarity were at the core of why Black peoples sought information and knowledge of others in the Black world. They wanted to better their lives, advance the struggle for freedom and social justice and develop allies. Why are they seeking information today? And what are they finding? Internet Cafes are more predominant in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia than in Europe, Canada and the US. We know that economics drive this, but how does this difference impact those issues of power, space, struggle and solidarity, especially in terms of sense of community and identity. Pan Africanism and transnational Black identities emerged as a result of previous information sharing. Is this, or something similar, likely today? Why or why not? And how is culture navigated and shared and at what speed and in whose interests? In addition, there are now web sites focused on the Diaspora. Many of those are being generated in the West. What are we to make of such Internet interventions? Has it connected Black Asians in new ways to a western centered Diaspora as many list serves indicate? All of these are questions and
problems generated by this new "Information Age" in the African Diaspora
and we are seeking essays which explore these issues and more.
|
| The evolving
character of the African environment, real and imagined, has long been
a subject of debate among scholars and practitioners. At the dawn of the
new century, we find a segment of the research community concerned that
the continent is ever-engaged in a downward spiral of environmental destruction,
poverty, and population expansion. Other scholars suggest that we have
inappropriately blamed local people for environmental problems that are
better understood within the broader context of globalization, national
versus local interests, and excessive consumption in Northern countries.
How to best manage the environment for the benefit of local people is,
and will continue to be, a contentious nut to crack. Elucidating this conundrum
is likely to require, among other things, closer collaboration between
biophysical and social scientists (an underdeveloped facet of a yet, truly
interdisciplinary African studies). The increasingly global nature of environmental
discourse will also impact, and be influenced by, African practice and
scholarship. One example of this is the Rio+10 conference (to be held in
Johannesburg, South Africa, September 2002) that will again focus global
attention on the theory and practice of sustainable development, an approach
closely associated with contemporary environmental policy and programs
in Africa.
This sub-theme welcomes proposals
for papers, panels, and round tables addressing a wide array of environmental
topics (e.g., water resources, biodiversity, wildlife and forest conservation,
ecotourism, sustainable agriculture, urban environments, and land degradation)
and employing a range of analytical approaches (e.g., political ecology,
cultural ecology, political economy, cartographic and biophysical analysis,
etc.). Given the overall conference theme of "Africa in the Information
and Technology Age," submissions regarding social, technical, and managerial
aspects of the use, or abuse, of technologies (e.g., geographic information
systems, remote sensing) in the environmental realm are especially encouraged.
|
| Over the past twenty-five years, the study of women and, more recently, of women and men as gendered beings, has transformed vast expanses of the humanities and social sciences. Production, reproduction, migration, sexualities, conversion, development, chronology, power, associations, belief, dress, environment, memory, politics, nation, education, space – the list of areas of inquiry informed by gendered analyses is rich and impressive. Yet clearly there is still much to be done. Perhaps we are now at a point where we can begin to draw meaningful comparative insights into the ways in which gender has been produced, reproduced and transformed and can explore trans-national or trans-colonial processes, including the shifting impact of globalizing forces on Africa’s past and present. One of the more salient and probably least understood of those global but uneven processes – one that has been rapidly unfolding over the past decade or more – is Information Technology. In what ways has IT reshaped gender relations within African societies? In what ways has it reinforced or challenged gendered systems of power? How have women and members of other subaltern groups utilized IT to access resources both internally and externally? Has that access served to level certain playing fields, or only to produce and reinforce new kinds of gendered power differentials, especially between urban and rural areas? This conference section welcomes paper and panel proposals concerned with any aspect of women and gender studies in Africa. Papers which are comparative or panels which are organized comparatively and across disciplines are especially welcome, as are those which seek to grapple with the gendered dynamics of information, communication, and technology. |
| Medicine and science are two
sites where the intense utilization of technology and communication have
contributed to the transformation of practices relating to the body be
it the body politic, the social body, or the individual body. While
the ways that the practice of medicine are related to the health of an
individual or nation is quite clear, the underlying causes of illness experiences
that undermine people’s health are also intricately tied to science and
technology transfer. The recent devastation of Ongoni communities in the
Niger Delta for the purposes of oil extraction is one just one example
of the ways that technology transfer has undermined the health and welfare
of African men, women, and children. The science and technology of mineral
and oil exploration and extraction in Africa starkly reveals the unequal
relations of power between local populations, states, and multinationals
and the human rights abuses that can emerge. In contrast, the transfer
of sustainable scientific technology like solar power, the move towards
more collaborative scientific work, and the development of fellowship and
training opportunities for African scientists points to the beginnings
of the work necessary to bridge the gaps in power, knowledge, and technology.
The need for debt relief, the transfer of information and technology for the local production of many products (including antiretroviral drugs), and state economies that can provide meaningful access to social services to its citizens in one sense holds African countries hostage to the global centers of power and wealth that through various mechanisms control communication and technology. Individuals, however, always find a way to circumvent the problems and constraints they face. The ways that people draw on, experience, and respond to information and technology in their everyday lives has transformed the strategies they produce as they redefine their relationships and everyday practices in response to dynamic environmental and disease threats. AIDS testing and counseling represent one way that some youth and adults are using technology and communication to respond to larger threats facing their community, family and households. Drugs are not only being scientifically tested by the biomedical community, local healers are using scientific methods to test their herbal remedies as well. People’s reduced economic circumstances throughout Africa are forcing them to create new strategies to protect the well-being of their families and communities. This section welcomes all papers
focusing on health, science, and technology whether they are focused on
specific topics or broadly conceived. Papers and panels that focus
on local experiences and demonstrate how it is tied to translocal processes
are preferred.
|
L:
Libraries: Closing the Digital Divide and New Research Methodologies
Gretchen Walsh, Boston University
| The rapid
developments in information technology in the last two decades have changed
the way that students and scholars approach research, the nature of scholarly
communication and publishing, and the ways that libraries support the academic
missions of their universities. These changes affect all libraries and
all scholars worldwide. The "digital divide" – the imbalanced access to
information technology and its benefits, due to disparity in economic capacity
- puts Africa at risk of an "information famine," even as information technology
seems to offer equal access and opportunity to all. Are the changes in
research techniques wrought by information technology all good? Are developments
meeting the needs of scholars or just creating markets for entrepreneurs?
How can we address the hazards of these new technologies? Can we assure
that rural villages in Africa – and the U.S. – are not left on the wrong
side of the "digital divide"?
It is a good time for academics and librarians to confer, to share their observations, to assess research in the Information Age, and to explore ways to use these new research tools. It is also a good time for scholars of all nations to examine access to these tools and to address inequalities. Many questions come to mind – by no means all that might be considered. Students tend to gravitate to online resources rather than print – are they really learning about Africa? How well is Africa represented in online information? Is the information online accurate? Are students more likely to be misled by hidden agendas and propaganda online? African academic journals are poorly covered by electronic indexes – is African scholarship thus marginalized? Electronic resources are expensive; U.S. libraries are hard pressed to keep up – how can African libraries manage? How are academic discussion lists such as H-Africa changing the nature of scholarly communication? How permanent is electronic information? Can a reader go to the Web site named in a footnote and actually find the source? Are electronic journals and newspapers archived for future use? Are we losing the record of events and scholarship? These questions may be moot if information technology is not available to all. What is – and can be – done to bridge the digital divide? And does bridging that divide enhance or erode the cultural basis of African societies, and the foundations of indigenous knowledge, oral history, and beliefs that form identities and communities? |
| In a context of globalization and intercultural communication, African literatures because of their diasporic and transcultural dimensions, constitute a site for the study of crosscurrent communication, circulation of people and of cultural trends. The major question then is: How to maintain the particular and, at the same time, participate into the global? We invite panels in regard to that major question, with topics such as: translation of orality into the written, or persistence of the orality in the context of new media; the interference of the written and the visual; African cinema; how do the new media impact the teaching of African literatures. |
N: Mass Media and Popular Culture: Representation, Interpretation, and Influence of the New Information Technologies, Charles Okigbo, North Dakota State University
| Within the boundaries of the mass media and popular culture, we welcome abstracts and proposals for papers, panels, and roundtables that focus on any of the following topics: Mass media in Africa; Media's role in popular culture; The mass media as social institutions; Communication, education, and development; Media content and media effects; The new information technologies; Mass media and politics; Media, entertainment, and popular culture; Traditional communication (oramedia) in Africa; Towards a theory of African communication; or Africa and the new information technologies. |
O:
Publishing and Information Technology: New Directions, Dee Mortensen of
Indiana University Press
| With the rise of instant global
networking as a standard means of transmitting information, the role of
publishers and the purpose of publishing are increasingly being called
into question. Traditional publishers who produce ink-and-paper books and
journals are in danger of being caught up in seismic shifts of technological
innovation that now threaten to rock the foundations of the industry. Publishers
are facing unforeseen challenges to systems of communication, intellectual
property rights and copyright law, and networks of information distribution.
While data and information may flow freely, access to intellectual content
and scholarly research may become more circumscribed as the IT revolution
privileges some socio-economic groups and geographical areas over others.
We seek thought-provoking proposals for papers, panels, and roundtable discussions to probe critical issues and future directions in publishing and information technology as it involves Africa and Africans. Questions to be considered might include, but will certainly not be limited to, the following: What does it mean "to publish" in an electronic environment? How has the production of scholarly research changed with the advent of electronic publishing? What is the role of a publisher in a wired world? Has the publisher's role been fundamentally altered by information technology? How do the costs of electronic publishing compare to those of traditional publishing methods? Have new publishing strategies perpetuated the digital divide? What kinds of books, journals, electronic resources, or other products should be published? In what formats should these resources be published? What products facilitate access to intellectual content? What new publishing strategies and methods could be successfully employed in Africa and the diaspora? What channels of distribution exist now, which ones require development? Where will the resources come from? What can be done to encourage information exchange with Africa? What can be done to make publishing a truly global enterprise? What benefits do we realize from global publishing? |
P:
Information and Communication Technology in Africa and in African Studies,
Simon Akindes, University
of Wisconsin Parkside, and Michael Leslie, University of Florida
| “Information and Communications Technologies in Africa” will encompass papers, panels, or roundtables which are organized around two major sub-themes: ‘Theoretical and historical dimensions of ICTs’ and ‘Applied ICTs in the field: national and international initiatives’. (1) Theoretical and Historical Dimensions of ICTs in Africa' purports to address theoretical issues related to ICTs in Africa with a view to tracing the role that ICTs, which were initially invented in the ‘West’ (Europe and the United States), have historically played in African societies. It will also focus on the possible roles they have assumed in the transformation of African societies. (2) ‘Applied ICTs in the Field: the Impact of National and International Initiatives’ will be concerned specifically with the current initiatives by governments, non-governmental organizations, private institutions, and corporations to promote the use of ICTs in Africa. Priority will be given to presentations seeking to: assess the nature and rationale of such initiatives, analyze how they are connected, and critically determine their impact on the societies in which they are carried out. |
Q: Teaching about Africa in the 21st Century and the Use of New Information Technologies, Brenda Randolph, Africa Access
| New information technologies
are appearing at a rapid rate and will become increasingly important in
coming decades. Virtual universities and distance learning technologies
permit far-flung students to take courses on Africa. Web radio, video clips,
and online newspapers are dramatically increasing the amount of information
available on Africa electronically. Data management tools like Filemaker
Pro permit web display of book reviews and annotations. Flash and Dream
Weaver enable novices who lack HTML skills to create web pages. CD burners
and scanners can transform treasured photographs and slides into stimulating
teaching tools. Power point and LCD projectors provide seamless ways of
presenting information to classes. Assignments can be posted on the web
with Blackboard and students can be quizzed with Test Pilot. E-mail remains
a fast and efficient global communication tool. These and other electronic
technologies present a range of opportunities and challenges for those
who teach about Africa in schools, universities and other educational settings.
We welcome panels that demonstrate the successful use of new technologies
in resource-rich and resource-challenged environments. We are particularly
interested in collaborative models that link people in different disciplines,
countries and educational environments. We also invite panels that raise
critical questions about information technology and explore solutions to
the challenges educators face in the electronic age.
Who is creating most of the
online courses about Africa? Are Africans involved in course design? Who
is invited into online discussions? Do Africans have a place at the cyber-table?
What funding sources are available to support collaborative efforts between
Africans and others? What are the lessons learned from cross-cultural collaboration?
How can content generated in Africa be made available electronically within
the continent? What educational role can cyber-cafes play? Can easy-to-do
web pages and interactive web tutorials be viewed and used globally? Do
user-friendly web construction tools really obviate the need to learn HTML?
Are efforts by students and staff to create graphically attractive web
pages diverting energy that should be put into content analysis and thoughtful
contemplation of scholarly issues? How can we avoid spending precious funds
on research tools that quickly become obsolete? Which magazine databases
and search engines facilitate research on Africa? How can users identify
the best web sites on Africa? How are expensive LCD projection devices
shared within and between institutions? Is the lack of equity and access
to state-of-the-art equipment causing tension between faculty members and
impeding scholarly collaboration? When are low-tech, tried and true methods
of instruction better than the new tools on the block? As content mushrooms
on the web, how are we equipping teachers and students with the information
literacy skills they need to filter and find relevant information? Who
should teach information skills, information specialists or all of us?
How can academics successfully integrate information skills into their
classes? What instructional strategies will help students transform retrieved
information into real knowledge and practical solutions to problems? We
invite panels, roundtable suggestions and papers from educators in a variety
of educational settings and at all instructional levels.
|