Narrating the Caribbean Nation: A Celebration of Literature and Orature

Narrating the Caribbean Nation: A Celebration of Literature and Orature

Convened by Peepal Tree Press at Leeds Metropolitan University
13th – 15th April 2012

Peepal Tree Press is pleased to announce that a two-day conference, Narrating the Caribbean Nation: A Celebration of Literature and Orature, will be held on 13-15th April 2012 at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. The conference will celebrate the Silver Anniversary of Peepal Tree Press and highlight the contribution of its own authors and other Caribbean and Black British writers to contemporary world literature.

We are also delighted that Kwame Dawes has confirmed his participation as a keynote speaker. Widely recognised as one of the Caribbean’s leading writers, Kwame is also Chancellor’s Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, and Associate Poetry Editor at Peepal Tree Press.

The conference aims to bring together writers, academics, students, teachers and people with an interest in Caribbean literature to discuss the rich body of both Caribbean and Black British writing and to explore the relationship between the two. Our investigation into the ‘narration of nation’ centres around a definition of the Caribbean nation as one rooted in a rich, unique and plural community which transcends physical borders and extends across the Caribbean and the Caribbean Diaspora.

We will examine culture, politics, identities, childhood, performance and many other topics in the context of the Caribbean and its diasporas and discuss how the past 25 years of Caribbean writing connects to, and builds on, classic texts of Caribbean literature. Moreover, the conference will offer opportunities to hear the ideas of new and established writers and to watch them perform.

The conference will juxtapose academic papers with less formal presentations from activists and practitioners in the field in order to raise the profile of writers of Caribbean heritage. Over the course of the conference, Leeds-based Peepal Tree Press, which has been the home of the best in Caribbean, Black British and South Asian literature for 25 years, will showcase new and classic works in print and in performance by its authors from around the world.

Possible paper topics may include but are not limited to:

• Caribbean identities
• Diasporic Caribbean identities
• Resistance, politics, racism
• Publishing writing from the Caribbean and its diaspora
• Gender and sexuality
• Indo-Caribbean literature
• Classic Caribbean texts
• Discovering new Caribbean writers
• Oral narratives and storytelling
• Auto/biography, memoir, life writing
• Caribbean texts in translation
• Caribbean women writers
• Caribbean poetry
• Teaching Caribbean writing
• Caribbean short story
• Intersections between Caribbean literature, orature, and visual arts
• Writing for children
• Sport and pastimes in the Caribbean and its diaspora

Please send abstracts of 200 words and brief biodata (via Word attachment) to Claire Chambers, Emily Marshall, and Emma Smith on narratingnation@gmail.com with ‘Abstract’ in the subject line by 23 December 2011.

We also welcome poster presentations (for examples, see http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/presentations_poster.html)

Further details about the conference are available on http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/2458986896

Or contact Kadija George: mailto:narratingnation@gmail.com

Selected papers will be published in a journal special issue and/or an edited collection.

Understanding Canada Program

Through the Understanding Canada Program, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade fosters a greater knowledge and understanding of Canada, its values and its culture among scholars and other influential groups abroad. The Program consists of a comprehensive set of grants designed to enable foreign international academics to develop and teach courses about Canada, or to undertake research in their own discipline about an aspect of Canada, leading to publication in Canadian and foreign scholarly presses.


Grants for individuals: In programs designed for individuals, the awards assist selected academics and graduate students to undertake studies relating to Canada by contributing towards international airfare, and a flat-rate weekly or monthly allowance during their study visit in Canada, and/or research expenses within their own country and Canada.

Grants for organizations: The programs designed for organizations seek to assist foreign organizations in the promotion and development of the study of Canada (particularly through seminars, conferences, workshops and roundtables); the development of Canadian Studies programs or activities abroad; the strengthening of Canadiana library holdings in support of teaching and research about Canada; engage in research and publications about Canada and provide incentives to foreign publishing houses to publish scholarly works about Canada in the national language.

Upcoming application deadlines:

November 24th, 2011:

**Note: Please consult the attached deadline calendar as certain countries have different deadline dates: http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/feptable_en.php

• Faculty Enrichment Program (FEP): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/faculty-enrichment-program.php

• Faculty Research Program (FRP): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/faculty-research-program.php

• Doctoral Student Research Award (DSRA): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/doctoral-student-research.php

• Canada-Europe Award in Canadian Studies: http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/canada-europe-awards.php

• International Research Linkages (IRL): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/international-research-linkages.php

December 1st, 2011:

• Canada Conference Grant: http://www.international.gc.ca/studies-etudes/grantconf-subconf.aspx?lang=en&view=d

February 1st, 2012:

• Student Mobility Support Program: http://www.international.gc.ca/studies-etudes/mobility-mobilite.aspx?lang=en&view=d

Applications must be submitted to the local Canadian mission as outlined in the application.

________________________________________


Par l'intermédiaire du programme Comprendre le Canada, le ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international favorise une plus grande connaissance et compréhension du Canada, de ses valeurs et de sa culture auprès des universitaires et autres groupes influents à l'étranger. Le programme offre un ensemble de subventions visant à aider les organisations et universitaires étrangers soit à développer et offrir des cours portant sur le Canada; soit à entreprendre des recherches dans leur propre discipline et s’intéressant à un ou plusieurs aspects des réalités canadiennes et menant à des publications dans la presse savante canadienne et internationale.

Subventions pour les individus: En ce qui a trait aux programmes conçus pour les individus, les subventions ont pour objet d’aider des universitaires et des étudiants au doctorat à entreprendre des études sur le Canada, en contribuant à défrayer leurs coûts de transport par avion jusqu’au Canada, en leur versant une indemnité forfaitaire hebdomadaire ou mensuelle pour la durée de leur séjour et, dans certains cas, en incluant une allocation pour leurs frais de recherche dans leur pays et/ou au Canada.

Subventions pour les organisations: Les programmes conçus pour les organisations visent à soutenir les organismes étrangers dans leurs efforts de promotion et de développement d’études sur le Canada (notamment à travers des séminaires, des conférences, ateliers et tables rondes), d’aider les établissements d’enseignement supérieur et organismes spécialisés à créer des programmes d'études canadiennes, d’augmenter leur collection de livres canadiens afin de favoriser l'enseignement et la recherche sur le Canada, de participer à des travaux de recherche et à des publications sur le Canada et d’encourager les maisons d'édition étrangère à publier des ouvrages savants sur le Canada dans leur langue nationale.

Dates limites à venir:

24 novembre 2011:

N.b. veuillez consulter le calendrier ci-joint car certains pays ont des dates limites différentes: http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/feptable_en.php

• Bourses de complément de spécialisation (BCS): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/bourses-complement-specialisation.php

• Bourses de recherche en études canadiennes (BREC): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/bourses-recherche.php

• Bourses de recherche en doctorat (BRD): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/bourses-recherche-doctorat.php

• Réseaux internationaux de recherche (PARRI): http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/reseaux-internationaux-recherche.php

• Bourses Canada-Europe: http://www.iccs-ciec.ca/bourses-canada-europe.php

1er décembre 2011:

• Programme de conféérences sur le Canada: http://www.international.gc.ca/studies-etudes/grantconf-subconf.aspx?lang=fr&view=d

1er février 2012:

• Programme d'appui à la mobilité étudiante: http://www.international.gc.ca/studies-etudes/mobility-mobilite.aspx?lang=fr&view=d

Les demandes doivent être présentées à la mission canadienne locale tel que indiqué dans la demande.

CFP: Cultures of Decolonisation, c.1945-1970

Please see below for details of a symposium entitled 'Cultures of Decolonisation' to be held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in May 2012. There is a particularly interest to receive contributions about cultures of decolonisation in emerging and newly-independent states as well as in Europe. The key-note speaker for the event will be Dr Bill Schwarz (Queen Mary University of London).


Please send abstracts of 250 words or expressions of interest to Dr Ruth Craggs, St Mary’s University College (craggsr@smuc.ac.uk) and Dr Claire Wintle, University of Brighton (c.wintle@brighton.ac.uk) by 30 January 2012.

Cultures of Decolonisation, c.1945-1970
Date: Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Venue: Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, Senate House
Keynote Speaker: Dr Bill Schwarz, Queen Mary, University of London

This symposium will bring together scholars with an interest in the cultural practices, performances and material cultures of decolonisation, c.1945-1970.

While the problems of ‘empire’ and ‘the postcolonial’ have come under increasing scrutiny in the humanities and social sciences in recent years, and debate about the political and economic processes of decolonisation is well established, the cultural sites, spaces and social practices of this process in the middle years of the twentieth century have often been overlooked.

Yet new scholarship is beginning to point to the attention that the literary, visual and built environment paid to political, economic and social change in this period. In addition, the roles of individuals and institutions in cultural practices and performances of decolonisation are now drawing critical attention from a variety of fields. This symposium will bring together scholars from history, art and design history, cultural geography, literature, museum studies, architecture and other cultural fields to further explore these topics with regard to decolonisation between 1945 and 1970.

We invite contributions which examine aspects of cultural engagements with decolonisation. Papers may consider the peoples, sites, materials and practices of emerging and newly independent nations, as well as the processes of decolonisation as enacted in Europe. This event will lend new insights into debates about the contested nature of decolonisation, and into the impact of cultural practices on socio-political processes.

Papers might focus on:

• Cultural institutions and their reactions to and engagements with decolonisation
• Amateurs, professionals and enthusiasts in decolonisation
• Imperial knowledges, materials and collections, and their place in a decolonising world
• Specific media as arenas for political exchange
• Cultural sites of independence and decolonisation
• Visual and performance cultures of decolonisation
• Decolonising lives
• Networks of decolonisation

Symposium Website: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/eventdetails0.html?id=10987

Supported by the Institute for Commonwealth Studies, University of London; Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton, and St Mary’s University College

CFP: Colonization and Domestic Service: historical and contemporary perspectives

CFP: Colonization and Domestic Service: historical and contemporary perspectives
16-17 July 2012, Newcastle, Australia

The aim of this symposium is to bring together scholars to share insights and to enter into a conversation about the connections between domestic service and colonization. This symposium will provide an opportunity to workshop individual papers in a collegial environment, drawing out key themes, topics and issues across different sites and times. A selection of the workshopped papers will be included as peer-reviewed chapters in a book published by an international academic press.

Scholars of domestic service from all disciplines are invited to submit proposals for papers offering specific studies, historical or contemporary, of domestic service and colonization, or broader comparative and reflective studies. Established scholars, emerging scholars, and postgraduate researchers are encouraged to submit proposals for papers to workshop, and all are welcome to attend.

Confirmed keynote speakers are Professor Mary Romero (Arizona State University) and Associate Professor Swapna Banerjee (Brooklyn College of CUNY).

Proposals should include a title, a 250-word abstract, a brief (one-page) CV and full contact details. They should be addressed no later than December 1, 2011 to:

colonization.domesticservice@newcastle.edu.au


For further information see: www.newcastle.edu.au/institute/research-institute-for-social-inclusion-and-wellbeing/activities-and-events/colonization-and-domestic-service-symposium.htm

Or contact: Associate Professor Victoria Haskins Victoria.Haskins@newcastle.edu.au
Research Institute for Social Inclusion and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, +61 2 4921 5221

Dr Claire Lowrie Claire.Lowrie@newcastle.edu.au
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Newcastle

ACAS Bulletin - The Sudans: Which Way?

Announcing a new issue of ACAS Bulletin – The Sudans: Which Way?


http://concernedafricascholars.org/bulletin/issue86/

Although a Commonwealth member, South Sudan has expresed some interest in exploring the idea of joining the Commonwealth.

South Sudan gained its independence on July 9, 2011. The new situation in the South and in the North requires close examination and rethinking of old categories. Six different perspectives on possible paths for the peoples of the Sudan are outlined, and placed in the context of complex, burning issues of citizenship, race, democracy, gender, international relations, and peace.

The Sudans: Which Way? BULLETIN N°86 – NOVEMBER 2011

Table of Contents

Introduction
Horace Campbell and Peter Limb, Issue editors

Articles:

The Republic of South Sudan and the Meaning of Independence
Horace Campbell

Citizenship and Identity in Post-Secession Northern Sudan
Ahmad A. Sikainga

Gendering War and Peace in South Sudan: The Elision and Emergence of Women
Caroline Faria

Genealogies of Racial Relations: The Independence of South Sudan, Citizenship & the Racial State in the Modern History of Sudan
Elena Vezzadini

The State of South Sudan: The Change is about the New Sudan
Abdullahi Gallab

South Sudan Looks East: Between the CPA and Independence

British Library Scholarship PhD Project: Narratives and depictions of slaves and former slaves in Canada: 1800 - 1900

British Library Scholarship PhD Project


Narratives and depictions of slaves and former slaves in Canada: 1800 - 1900

Supervisors: Dr Jane Hodson (School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics) and Dr Philip Hatfield (British Library)

The British Library Scholarships arise from the special relationship the University has with the British Library. They support projects that draw significantly on both the holdings and expertise of the British Library.

Project description

The aim of this research project is to explore narratives which describe experiences of slavery which took place in Canada. Canada has a positive popular reputation regarding slavery, being seen as one of the safest end points of a journey via the ‘underground railroad’. However, it also has a darker history, having witnessed both the enslavement of many Native Americans and the use of African origin slaves prior to abolition. A significant body of nineteenth-century literature by and about slaves and former slaves in Canada exists but it has been poorly researched, not least because it has often been overshadowed by American slave narratives (Clarke, 2005).

This project will work from the British Library collections to develop a database of Canadian slave narratives. The database will record information about the authoring, editing and publication of the narratives, plus a brief description and classification of the contents. Particular attention will be paid to the way in which the slave's voice, experience and perspective are handled.

The database will then be used to explore both what might be specifically Canadian about these narratives, and how these narratives relate to wider social, literary and political networks. This is of particular significance as it seems that some Caribbean narratives, such as that of Mary Prince, were sponsored and edited by prominent Canadian literary figures, in Prince’s case Susanna Moodie.

The project aims to address some of the following questions:

• To what extent do Canadian slave narratives constitute a specifically Canadian experience/depiction of slavery?
• How do these Canadian narratives connect to other nineteenth century discourses about slavery?
• In particular, how do these Canadian narratives align with key American and Caribbean narratives such as The History of Mary Prince (1831)?

Relevant Library Holdings

The British Library provides a uniquely centralised resource for considering the representation of slaves, former slaves and their narratives in Canada. The British Library collections hold the vast majority of texts published in North America which bear reference to African slave experiences. Materials published in Canada are extensively present in either original form (some of which are very rare) or reproductions. Further, and very significantly, the Library holds an extensive collection of newspapers from eastern Canada running from the mid 18th century. It has been noted that the majority of slave narratives (especially early ones) published in Canada would have been in these papers, as opposed to in monographs, and that this area requires more critical attention (Clarke, 2005).

Award details

The scholarship will cover the cost of UK/EU tuition fees and provides an annual, tax-free maintenance stipend at the standard Research Council rate (£13,590 in 2011-12). The recipient will also receive a Research Training Support Grant of £500 per year. International applicants will need to pay the difference between the UK/EU and Overseas tuition fees.

Eligibility

• Academic requirements – applicants should have, or expect to achieve, a first or upper second class UK honours degree or equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK in an appropriate area of study.
• Allowed study options – applicants should be registering on their first year of study with the University for 2012-13.
• Residency restrictions – awards are open to UK, EU and international applicants.

How to apply

• Applicants are advised to contact both supervisors (Jane Hodson j.hodson@sheffield.ac.uk; Philip Hatfield Philip.Hatfield@bl.uk) to discuss their application in the first instance.
• Complete an application for admission as a postgraduate student - http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/apply
• On the application form please state you are applying for this project and briefly outline (in less than 500 words) your reasons for doing so.

Applicants may be asked to attend an interview.
Closing date 3 February 2012.

CFP: Contemporary Developments in Aboriginal Issues - 1st February 2012, University of Leeds, Centre for Canadian Studies

Contemporary Developments in Aboriginal Issues

British Association of Canadian Studies' Aboriginal Studies Circle

at the University of Leeds Centre for Canadian Studies, Leeds (UK)
1st February 2012
The British Association of Canadian Studies is pleased to announce a one day colloquium of its Aboriginal Studies Circle. Many diverse indigenous populations around the globe have been the victims of marginalization as they confront the vast array of issues resulting from both historical injustices and contemporary global challenges. This colloquium seeks to bring together academics and other professionals with an interest in indigenous studies to discuss the broad issues that affect indigenous peoples both in Canada and elsewhere. Through building an interdisciplinary network, it is hoped that discussions of the challenges facing indigenous peoples can be drawn from the periphery of contemporary political, social, cultural, and legal discourses and brought into the mainstream.

Keynote Speakers:

• Prof. Joy Hendry (Anthropology, Oxford Brookes University)
• Dr. Colin Samson (Sociology, University of Essex)
• Dr. David Stirrup (Literature, University of Kent)
• Dr. Roy Todd (Sociology, University of Leeds)

Call for Papers:

Proposals for 20-minute papers, to be presented in either English or French, are invited from any single disciplinary or multidisciplinary perspective including those which offer an informed view of Canada in comparative contexts. Broader possible approaches might include papers on:

* Indigenous peoples and a new history?
* Methodological and theoretical approaches.
* Self-determination and indigenous politics.
* Indigenous economic self-sufficiency.
* Indigenous law/ law and Indigenous peoples.
* Indigenous resource management & land claims.
* Environmental pressures on indigenous populations
* Indigenous languages.
* Indigenous health.
* Visual culture/film & Indigenous literature, art & culture.

This should not, however, be taken as an exhaustive list, and we welcome proposals for papers dealing with all varied interpretations of the theme.

Email abstract(s) of 200-300 words; and brief CV(s) (must include title, institutional affiliation & address(es) by 30 November 2011.

The Idea Exchange:

The Idea Exchange Session will consist of individuals at a table who are willing to spend 5 minutes to share experiences of something they are passionate about in terms of research or teaching and learning. Like a 'show and tell' but with a small group of people (2/3 max) sat a table listening to how you use a research or teaching and learning methodology/software/hardware/resource and giving them the chance to sign up/have a go/ask questions. We hope to have as many Idea Exchanges as possible running concurrently during this Session so as to maximise coverage and allow people to personalise their teaching, learning and research. This is an ideal opportunity for people who do not wish to present a full conference paper to share something that they are particularly passionate about and to gain constructive feedback. If you wish to sign-up to present an idea then you will be acting as a facilitator in order to get people engaged and familiar with your topic within 5 minutes - think guide on the side rather than sage on the stage! To register to present an idea exchanges please send a title for your session to the e-mail address below.

Registration: You can register to attend the colloquium as an audience member.

Enquiries and proposals to: c/o Thomas Snell, Tel: 44 (0) 191 222 6379. Address: rm 2.32, School of Modern Languages, Old Library Building, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU. thomas.snell@newcastle.ac.uk