Seminars and Conferences

11th Annual African, African American, and Diaspora Studies (AAAD) Interdisciplinary Conference,

11th Annual African, African American, and Diaspora Studies (AAAD) Interdisciplinary Conference,
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Feb 17-20, 2021

The African, African American, and Diaspora Studies program at James Madison University invites proposals for its annual interdisciplinary conference, to be held virtually as a webinar series from Wednesday, February 17, to Saturday, February 20, 2021. This year’s theme is “Movement(s), Collectives, and Collectivity.” Ranging across topics from archival practices to Black Lives Matter, the conference will bring together a group of scholars and archivists from a wide variety of overlapping and intersecting fields. The conference will feature a keynote presentation by poetand scholar-activist Claudia Rankine,co-founder of The Racial Imaginary Institute and author of Citizen:An American Lyric and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (claudiarankine.com, theracialimaginary.org).

We welcome proposals from scholars in all relevant disciplines at any point in their scholarly careers. Proposals for 20-minute presentations or 60-minute panels could address topics such as these:

  • Black Lives Matter
  • Political,artistic, literary, and environmentalist movements
  • Pan-Africanism
  • Black Power
  • Indian Ocean Studies
  • Wakanda
  • Afrofuturism
  • Ubuntu
  • #Blacktwitter
  • Liberation theology
  • The Divine and divination systems
  • Black periodicals and publishing histories
  • Queer collectives/Queering collectivity
  • Feminist collectives
  • Collecting and preserving Black history
  • Museums
  • Virtual collectives and collections
  • Families
  • Motherhoods and Maternalities
  • Informal economies
  • Prisons
  • Transport systems
  • Architecture and housing
  • Black humanisms, anti-humanisms, and post-humanisms
  • Indigenous sciences and technologies
  • Black communities and environmental justice
  • African, African American, and Diaspora Studies

Please send any questions and/or 300-word presentation proposals (or 1000-word panel proposals) to aaadstudies@jmu.edu by November 1, 2020. Proposals should include a presentation and/or panel title, along with each presenter’s name, institutional affiliation, email address, and a brief bio. Panel proposals must include at least three panelists.

For more information visit: https://sites.lib.jmu.edu/aaadjmu/