Call for Papers on Citizenship in Africa: ASAUK Conference 2012

Call for Papers on Citizenship in Africa

ASAUK Conference 2012

Deadline for submission of papers 27 April 2012

This is a call for papers for 4 panels: details are given below.

Submissions should be made via the conference website, not direct to the organizers: www.asauk.net/conferences/asauk12.shtml But for more details please contact Florence Brisset-Foucault (feb37@cam.ac.uk ) or Emma Hunter (elh35@cam.ac.uk)

1. "Citizen" and "subject": States, kingdoms, chiefdoms and multiple belongings

Convenor: Florence Brisset-Foucault, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

In numerous African countries since colonization, sub-national (and sometimes transnational) political entities like kingdoms and chiefdoms have or have had important political and cultural influence. This panel explores the way individuals articulate these different belongings, which should not be seen a priori as fundamentally antagonistic or exclusive. How do leaders and ordinary "citizens" (or "subjects") imagine, combine, or oppose these different belongings? What are the political and philosophical values attached to each of them? Are the categories "citizen" and "subject" appropriate to seize these sentiments and practices? How do these belongings influence each other? This panel invites both historical and present case studies to explore the articulation between these different spheres of government and belonging.



2. 'Being a true citizen': Creating political belonging through social practice in Africa past and present

Convenor: Emma Hunter, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

In contrast to the focus on the institutions of the state, such as ID cards, or educational practice in creating, challenging and sustaining modes of conceptualising citizenship and political belonging explored in other panels in this stream, this panel moves into the realm of social practice. Beyond the institutional structures which create political belonging, distinctive communities have always been created through modes of behaviour, such as dress, religious practices, gender identities, sporting or associational culture. How do individuals perform their political identity, or remake it to express political allegiance? How does social practice serve as a means of inclusion or exclusion, beyond legalistic conceptions of membership? This panel focuses on the ways in which modes of behaviour can serve to provide a space in which to reinforce or to attempt to renegotiate the boundaries of community, the relationship between individual and community or conceptions of political membership, and invites both historical and contemporary case studies which reflect on the ways in which political belonging has been defined through social practice.



3.Creating Citizens: Political Education, Political Philosophy and Practices of Citizenship in Africa

Convenor: Emma Hunter, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

A central concern of contemporary policy makers is the teaching of citizenship. This has led to a flowering of 'citizenship education'. At election time, public space is taken over not only by party election posters, but also by posters instructing citizens on their rights and duties. In some African countries, NGOs and the State encourage citizens to enrol in civic and political education workshops and training.

Historically, colonial and post-colonial states have employed didactic texts, newspaper editorials and political speeches to teach practices of citizenship. Beneath an apparent homogeneity of language and approach, didactic texts and courses often promote very specific political philosophies, for example in their view of the relationship between citizen and state or the proper role of political parties. This panel explores this phenomenon both historically and in the present, and invites case studies from across Africa which explore political education as a space in which conceptions of citizenship are developed.



4.Fixing Identities: Identity papers, history and contemporary practices of census in Africa

Convenor: Florence Brisset-Foucault, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

This panel intends to be a multi-disciplinary discussion on identity papers and census practices in past and present Africa. The way identities are processed through bureaucracy is often at the core and heart of bitter controversies and can play a direct role in fuelling violence. In several African countries, the recent introduction of identity cards has triggered heated debates on what constitutes a "proof" of identity and what is to be notified on the IDs as the fundamental characteristics of an individual.

This panel calls for contributions on the history of the registering and identification processes, criteria and techniques, deployed by the State and other actors, as well as analysis on the present debates on identification and daily uses of "papers" on the continent. Who are the actors involved in census and identification processes? According to what criteria are people classified? What kind of differences can we trace between countries on the continent? What has been the influence of the international context, such as the "war on terror" and the anti-immigration policies?

Nigerian census portal

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies has good collections of print census documents from across the Commonwealth. Increasingly governments are publishing the material only, either in PDF format, or sometimes as datasets.

We're pleased to highlight the Nigerian census portal, based on the UN DevInfo software platform.

Produced by the National Population Commission, under the authority of the Federal Government of Nigeria, this resouces presents 2006 census data at three different geographic area levels: national, state and local government area, as well as UN data from 2008 on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

Exploring the Census - an Indian Odyssey

Throughout the enormous geographical extent of British colonies, as well as the raw goods and finished products on which the Empire’s prosperity was based constantly being exchanged, information was a major commodity. Unlike most of the physical items, this information is still available to researchers, and is a resource not only for historians, but for those interested in an extraordinarily wide range of subjects.


A common perception is that the Population Census is simply a head count of the people of the country. It is much more than that. Censuses collect reliable data on essential characteristics, such as, population, economy activity, social and cultural aspects, migration and demography and present them at the lowest administrative level. Census data demonstrates where the nation is positioned at a particular point in respect of various social and economic characteristics in the world. The ten yearly census data is very useful for planning for the future, as well as for reflecting on trends and change from the past.

The first Indian national census was contemplated in the mid 1850's but had a number of precedents, The earliest literature 'Rig-Veda' reveals that some kind of population count was maintained in the period 800-600 BC in India. The celebrated 'Arthashastr' by 'Kautilya' written in the 3rd Century BC prescribed the collection of population statistics as a measure of state policy for taxation. During the regime of the Mughal king Akbar, the administrative report 'Ain-e-Akbari' included comprehensive data pertaining to population, industry, wealth and many other characteristics.

A systematic and modern population census was conducted non synchronously between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country. This effort, building on methods used in previous colonial tabulations, culminated in 1872 and has been popularly labelled as the first population census of India. The first synchronous census in India was held in 1881. Since then, censuses have been undertaken uninterruptedly once every ten year.

There are problems in inherent in the collection of census data and statistics – these include both operational or logistical factors, including omissions and undercounting, and conceptual issues. For the Indian census historically there has been some degree of subjectivity in relation to how villages and towns and how families have been defined. One other issue that has been the subject of scholarly debate revolves around the way in which caste was conceptualised by the Indian census and the impact of this. Caste was included in censuses until 1931, and its use related to British theories of race. The introduction of a notion of social precedence has been claimed by some scholars to have had a significant role in the production of modern caste identities in India.
The Census of India 2001 was the fourteenth census in the continuous series and the sixth since independence. The gigantic task of census taking was completed in two phases. In the first phase, the House -listing Operation, all building and structures, residential, partly residential or non- residential were identified and listed and the uses to which they were put recorded. Information on houses, household amenities and assets were also collected. In the second phase, the Population Enumeration, more detailed information on each individual residing in the country, Indian national or otherwise, during the enumeration period was collected. At the Census 2001, more than 2 million (or 20 lakh) enumerators were deployed to collect the information by visiting every household. The Indian Census is one of the largest administrative exercises undertaken in the world.

The modern census is notable for the large number of publications produced and the range of depth of information that it contains. Assistance from library staff is available for students and researchers at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library.

As well as print holdings of census reports and tables electronic sopies are also available. The official Indian Government Census website http://www.censusindia.gov.in/  contains data from the latest 2001 census, and also old census reports and tables, from 1881, 1911, 1921, 1931, and 1941.

Commonwealth Studies Library Workshops

Our programme of free workshops offer short practical sessions to help you discover and make use of the wealth of information available at the Commonwealth Studies Library. Book your place by emailing icommlib@sas.ac.uk (please indicate any particular areas of interest so workshops can be tailored to your needs)

Colonial Blue Books and Annual Reports: Discover the wealth of statistical and social data contained in these annual reports, full of rich information on all aspects of colonial administration and life in the colonies.
Thursday January 14th, 2.00pm, NG14, Ground Floor Library, Senate House.

Maps: Explore the Senate House Library and Commonwealth Studies map collections and discover how to find maps in other libraries, and hidden in books and reports.
Friday January 29th, 2.00pm, Map Library, Ground Floor Library, Senate House

Finding and using census data for historical research: What information is contained in census reports? What can they tell us about people’s lives? How reliable are census reports and what questions should we ask when using these?
Friday February 12th, 2.00pm, NG14, Ground Floor Library.

Workshops are usually held in the Ground Floor Library, North Block, Senate House, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU. Workshops start at 2.00 and last for approximately an hour. Further details for each workshop will be available closer to the time. Places are limited so please pre-book in advance.

We can also arrange workshops for specific research groups or groups of students. For advice or assistance, telephone David Clover, Commonwealth Studies Librarian, 020 7862 8840 or email icommlib@sas.ac.uk

Research Training at Commonwealth Studies Library

This year we're in the initial planning stages of a planned series of short (no more than two hours) hands-on workshops aimed at small groups of Masters and Postgraduate Research students, looking at the use of various resources for ‘Commonwealth studies’ in both electronic and print format. Suggestions so far include
• the use of census material
• colonial blue books and annual reports from the colonies
• the Confidential Print
• maps and geographical sources
• and finding biographical information.

We would welcome your feedback as to whether you think such an idea would be of use to you or your students, whether the length is appropriate, what time of day may best suit students and what resources or topics may meet their needs.

We would also welcome any general comments on information training needs and how we could contribute to meet these needs; as well as any other general comments and feedback.

Please respond by email to david.clover@sas.ac.uk

We are also happy to arrange tours for groups of students, if you are interested, please do get in touch.