Re-figuring the South African Empire: International Conference in Basel
9-11 September 2013
CALL FOR PAPERS
www.zasb.unibas.ch/empire
Department of History and Centre for African Studies, University of Basel (Switzerland), in collaboration with the Swiss Society for African Studies (SGAS) and the Swiss Society for History (SGG)
This conference investigates histories of imperialism, colonialism and nation-building in the Southern African region, in the context of a critical reassessment of South Africa as a state and nation. The overall aim is to understand the region's history from its margins and to shift perspectives away from the teleological narrative of the emergence and consolidation of a modern South African nation-state throughout the 20th century. The necessity and relevance of this attempt to bring into question some of the core assumptions of South African historiography is reflected in the debate about the second volume of the new Cambridge History of South Africa on the 20th century, published in 2011. This prestigious volume presents the history of South African society and its state without contextualising its regional legacies of colonialism and hegemony. It makes hardly any mention of South Africa's de facto seventy-five year-long colonial rule over Namibia. Namibia experienced colonialism for a much more extended period than many other African colonies, while South Africa acted as a colonial power much longer than, for example, Germany or Italy. Yet South Africa is rarely theorised as having been a colonial state attempting to build an empire.
The conference deepens the debate about these crucial issues and situates it in the new scholarship on empires, cultural histories of colonialism and post-colonial critique. These arguments have unsettled the simplistic notion of a centre-periphery dichotomy in relations between Europe and the wider world, and have moved the debate into transnational, entangled or shared histories of all sorts. Yet attention paid to the building of empires in the shadows of European imperialism remains scant. The Southern African example is a striking reminder of the complexities throughout the 20th century of South African regional domination amidst multiple colonialisms as well as nationalisms.
As much as our interests are directed towards a revision of some of the parameters of South African historiography, the conference will likewise explore the production of history, memory and memorialization. South African colonialism, expansion and hegemony resonate in South Africa's post-apartheid society and in the wider memory landscapes and practices of post-colonial Southern Africa. Here again the conference seeks to engage with a regional perspective, and to explore the ways in which the legacies of South Africa's imperial history continue to generate a condition of coloniality which affects the socio-political order as much as it engenders the production of knowledge in South Africa itself and throughout the entire region.
Conceptual outline
The conference does not view the South African empire as an empirical entity, let alone as a historical fact. Rather it engages with empire as a theoretical concept which unsettles some of the certainties in South African historiography and opens up productive spaces for the re-figuration of Southern African histories. We thus seek papers and presentations from and on the Southern African region and have therefore identified a number of themes, concepts and lines of inquiry with which the conference aims to engage.
Nation and Empire
New histories of empire have emerged from a critique of historiographies dominated by the category of the nation and narratives of teleological progression from empire to colony and nation-state. South African historiography has uncritically replicated the paradigm of the nation around the subjects of late 19th century British-Boer antagonism, early 20th century unification and nation-building and internal colonialism articulated through segregation and apartheid. In contrast to such self-referential historical narration, this conference seeks out papers which explore the entanglement of the emergence of a distinct idea of the South African nation with its imperialist, developmental and increasingly military outreach into its neighbouring countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
On the other hand we invite reflections on various articulations of the nation and nationalism in Southern Africa, which in one way or the other speak to the recurrence of imperialism in its metropolitan as much as regional forms.
Marxist historiographies of the 1960s and 1970s articulated strong positions on South Africa's imperialism in the region, yet their concerns seem to have fallen into oblivion. While the conference panels will link up with these discussions, their arguments will need to be tuned to more recent concerns within Southern African historiography and recent discussions in methodology and theory.
Imperial Economies
The main domain in which South African imperialism has been acknowledged in historical scholarship has been labour migration, which forced hundreds of thousands of men, and to a lesser extent, women from within South Africa itself, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Malawi into South Africa's urban centres, farming sectors and mining economies, most prominently on the Rand. These histories remain important and powerful in terms of their transnational perspective, yet the conference proposes to expand the discussion, not only to urban areas, mines and other centres of migration outside South Africa, but also beyond the dominant axes of urbanisation and mining and to consider further economies based on the trade of slaves, stock and goods, small industry, specialised skills and diverse commodities. Itinerant traders, commercial hunters, caterers or refined manufacturers as much as printers, publishers, and artisans surface here, disclosing transnational and trans-regional circuits of cloth, furniture, tools and technologies, high-priced merchandise or daily consumer goods. On another level, the large-scale operations of multinational (not only mining) companies, often based in South African metropoles, need to be conceptualised, together with issues of (economic) plunder and capital formation outside their respective areas of operation. The workings of the South African developmental state in the region, for example with regard to large-scale construction projects of dams and hydro-electric power stations, can be added here. The exploration of the complexity of such an imperial economy will enable a qualification of South Africa's hegemonic position as the centre of economic growth, industry and urbanisation, and yet complicate the directions and vectors of economic activity and practice. In particular, for this section, the conference seeks papers which address the multiple avenues and agencies of economic modernisation and transformation in the empire's hinterlands, in which migrant labourers and their return investments seem to have acted as crucial agents and brokers.
Empire Spaces
South Africa's spatial order has conventionally been explained in terms of segregation, legislation, a so-called "security complex", and changing attitudes towards nature. Indeed, the ways in which urban and rural spaces have been conceptualised, enforced and administered according to the requirements of the mining industries and the system of migrant labour, the demands of a commercial agricultural sector which maintained a privileged community of 'white' settlers, and the differences and divisions determined by segregation and apartheid throughout the 20th century, are remarkable and remain visible in the present. Papers assembled here will address a wide range of spaces, among them mining compounds, the architecture of apartheid cities, 'native townships', rural African reserves and military zones, borders and boundaries of many sorts. In contrast to conventional scholarship, these issues are to be addressed in a transnational perspective, exploring the proliferation of urban and rural design and planning, the demarcation of nature reserves and the declaration of military buffer zones from the perspective of the constitution of a South African imperial space in the sub-region.
Imperial Knowledge
One of the arenas in which South African nation-building articulated itself prominently was the realm of knowledge production. The South-Africanisation of science and of institutions associated with the production of scientific knowledge, such as universities, archives, libraries, scientific societies and museums, has long been acknowledged. In an almost emancipatory tone, the emergence of South African science has been narrated as a process through which the centres of knowledge production and expertise shifted from their metropolitan locations in Europe to the former South African colony and nation in the making. Less attention has been paid to the political economies and geopolitics of knowledge production within Southern Africa or to the significance of South Africa's hinterlands and peripheries, among them most importantly the Namibian colony, as resources and laboratories of imperial knowledge production. The conference hence invites contributions which investigate the ways in which the imperial space was constructed by economies of collecting, the operations of field sciences, the development of scientific taxonomies, the birth of scientific institutions, including museums and archives, and the development of professional scientific careers within the framework of a regional history.
Bio-politics of Empire
By the late 19th century, state institutions, metropolitan as much as colonial ones, showed growing interest in the documentation, identification and classification of their subjects. Therein the body of the citizen and/or subject emerged as the matrix around which forms and institutions of governance were enacted and specific kinds of knowledge modelled. Documentation, identification and classification of individuals and social groups in colonial Southern Africa throughout most of the 20th century was firmly grounded in essentialist notions of race and racial segregation, which hierarchically juxtaposed constructions of purified, superior forms of whiteness to the alleged degeneration of blackness and the iconic figure of the native. In as much as the organisation of society along racial lines was the raison d'être of segregation and apartheid in South Africa - and for that matter moved to the core of South African nation-building per se - racism and its underlying archives offered the idiom through which the South African state articulated and legitimised its imperialist project, pushing its frontier of white supremacy far beyond its national borders. The papers assembled here will explore how South Africa's imperial expansion complicated the problem of racial classification and difference, as much as the inconsistencies, contradictions and interstices within the expanding system of racial classification itself. Ultimately, the dynamics generated by imperial expansion and epistemological instability precisely offered the very few spaces for alternative, at times subaltern subjectivities.
Imperial Materialities, Imaginaries and Aesthetics of Empire
New histories of empire have shifted attention away from politics and economics towards 'softer' factors that made up the world of experience, the everyday, and the senses. Empires materialised, and the study of specific artefacts and objects provides a more textured sense of people's worlds and livelihoods. The conference aims at addressing experience, the everyday and the sensual through the lens of materiality and asks whether, and to what extent, specific objects and designs conveyed a sense of a social and cultural space of empire.
Papers concerned with the circulation of 'small objects', such as consumer goods, official documents, street signs, uniforms or mass produced print matters, and 'large objects', such as cars, buildings and monuments, infrastructure and public transport are invited to investigate the composition of an imperial lexicon that linked people in a shared, cultural and symbolic South African imperial space. Also important in this respect was the enactment and staging of 'the empire' through public rituals, celebrations and festivals, as such bridging the realms of the political and popular. The papers assembled here will explore these imperial imaginaries through e.g. various forms of visuality, such as photography, cartography, landscape painting, calendars, or cartoons, and they will likewise investigate diverse forms of popular culture, music, literature and art in order to elaborate on the question of the aesthetics of empire.
Abstract submission
The thematic foci presented above lay the ground for the organisation of the conference. Panels and papers will be organised accordingly. We invite participants to submit abstracts (max 1 page) and short information on authors by 4 February 2013 to afrika-tagung@unibas.ch Acceptance of abstract submissions will be notified by email by the end of March 2013. Papers need to be submitted to the conference organisers by the end of August 2013. - For all information concerning the conference see our website: www.zasb.unibas.ch/empire
Funding and Formalities:
Participants can apply for a limited amount of funding covering travel and accommodation costs. The application needs to be submitted together with the abstract submission. We privilege applicants from African countries and colleagues without permanent positions. To qualify for funding a paper has to be submitted by the given date. - Switzerland is part of the EU Schengen Visa agreement. It is the responsibility of the participants to clarify visa arrangements. Kindly approach the conference organisers for the necessary documentation required.
Publication
The organisers plan to publish the conference proceedings, and different options are being considered. A selection of the papers will be included in a special issue on the South African empire of the Journal of Southern African Studies in 2015.
Contact
For further information please contact the organisers: Lorena Rizzo: lorena.rizzo@unibas.ch Giorgio Miescher: Giorgio.miescher@unibas.ch; Dag Henrichsen: dh@baslerafrika.ch
This conference is organised on behalf of the South African Empire Research Group. Members of the group are Martha Akawa (University of Namibia), Dag Henrichsen (Basler Afrika Bibliographien & University of Basel), Luregn Lenggenhager (University of Zürich), Giorgio Miescher (University of Basel & University of the Western Cape), Ciraj Rassool (University of the Western Cape), Lorena Rizzo (University of Basel & University of the Western Cape), Jeremy Silvester (Museums Association of Namibia), Anna Vögeli (Basler Afrika Bibliographien & University of Basel), Marion Wallace (British Library).
The Research Group was supported by the Swiss South African Joint Research Project (SSJRP, University of Basel).
Monday, 21 January 2013
Lecture: Archives of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association
Senate House Library Friends: Archives of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association
06 February 2013, 18:00 - 20:00
Venue: Dr Seng T Lee Centre for Manuscript and Book Studies
Senate House Library
4th Floor, Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1
David Clover (Institute of Commonwealth Studies Librarian and Head of Research Librarians - Senate House Library): 'Preserving and Protecting Press Freedom – Insights from the archive of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association'
The 1980s and early 1990s were a time of civil and political upheaval in the post-colonial developing world. The recently catalogued archives of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association provide insights into some of the challenges of reporting within those countries, as well as progress made in supporting and encouraging the expression of an independent and free press. This talk will discuss the collection within the context of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies collections and highlight how institutional records of a pan-Commonwealth non-governmental organisation can add to our understanding of this period of a movement towards increased democracy in the post-independence period.
If you would like to attend, please contact Senate House Library office: shl.officeadmin@london.ac.uk
tel. 020 7862 8411.
06 February 2013, 18:00 - 20:00
Venue: Dr Seng T Lee Centre for Manuscript and Book Studies
Senate House Library
4th Floor, Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1
David Clover (Institute of Commonwealth Studies Librarian and Head of Research Librarians - Senate House Library): 'Preserving and Protecting Press Freedom – Insights from the archive of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association'
The 1980s and early 1990s were a time of civil and political upheaval in the post-colonial developing world. The recently catalogued archives of the Commonwealth Journalists' Association provide insights into some of the challenges of reporting within those countries, as well as progress made in supporting and encouraging the expression of an independent and free press. This talk will discuss the collection within the context of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies collections and highlight how institutional records of a pan-Commonwealth non-governmental organisation can add to our understanding of this period of a movement towards increased democracy in the post-independence period.
If you would like to attend, please contact Senate House Library office: shl.officeadmin@london.ac.uk
tel. 020 7862 8411.
Friday, 18 January 2013
New books - December 2012
A selection of new books added to the library collections and catalogue in December. Themes include women and gender, ethnicity and identity and settler colonialism:
Harman, Kristyn. Aboriginal convicts : Aborigines, Khoisan and Maori exiles in the Australian penal colonies, Sydney : NewSouth Publishing, 2012.
Tilley, Helen. Africa as a living laboratory : empire, development, and the problem of scientific knowledge, 1870-1950, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Grant, Sandy. Botswana : an historical anthology, Ely : Melrose Books, c2012.
Newton, Melanie J. The children of Africa in the colonies : free people of color in Barbados in the age of emancipation, Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, c2008.
Jackson, Shona N. Creole indigeneity : between myth and nation in the Caribbean, Minneapolis, Minn ; Bristol : University of Minnesota Press, 2012.
Peterson, Derek R. Ethnic patriotism and the East African Revival : a history of dissent, c. 1935-1972, Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2012, ©2012.
Msindo, Enocent. Ethnicity in Zimbabwe : transformations in Kalanga and Ndebele societies, 1860-1990, Rochester, NY : University of Rochester Press, 2012.
McKenna, Mark. An eye for eternity : the life of Manning Clark, Carlton, Vic. : Miegunyah Press, 2011.
MacKenzie, Megan H. Female soldiers in Sierra Leone : sex, security, and post-conflict development, New York : New York University Press, 2012
Bennett, Huw C. Fighting the Mau Mau : the British Army and counter-insurgency in the Kenya Emergency, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Frost, Diane. From the pit to the market : politics and the diamond economy in Sierra Leone, Oxford : James Currey, 2012.
M'Cormack-Hale, Fredline A. O. Gender, peace and security : women's advocacy and conflict resolution, London : Commonwealth Secretariat, c2012.
Vubo, Emmanuel Yenshu (ed). Gender relations in Cameroon : multidisciplinary perspectives, Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon : Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, c2012.
Forde, Fiona. An inconvenient youth : Julius Malema and the 'new' ANC, London : Portobello Books, 2012.
Williams, Carol. Indigenous women and work : from labor to activism, Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2012.
Kea, Pamela J. Land, labour and entrustment : West African female farmers and the politics of difference, Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2010.
Palenski, Ron. The making of New Zealanders, Auckland, N.Z. : Auckland University Press, 2012.
Tremblay, Manon, David Paternotte and Carol Johnson (eds). The lesbian and gay movement and the state : comparative insights into a transformed relationship, Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2011.
Hogg, Robert. Men and manliness on the frontier : Queensland and British Columbia in the mid-nineteenth century, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Paul, Erik. Neoliberal Australia and US imperialism in East Asia, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Younger, Paul. New homelands : Hindu communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa, Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Commonwealth Symposium on Teacher Mobility, Recruitment and Migration (6th : 2011 : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). Next steps in managing teacher migration : papers of the Sixth Commonwealth Research Symposium on Teacher Mobility, Recruitment and Migration : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8-9 June 2011, London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2012.
Jimu, Ignasio Malizani. Peri-urban land transactions : everyday practices and relations in peri-urban Blantyre, Malawi, Mankon, Bamenda : Langaa Research & Pub. CIG, 2012.
Kumarasingham, Harshan. A political legacy of the British Empire : power and the Westminster system in post-colonial India and Sri Lanka, London : I.B. Tauris, 2012.
Boucher, Leigh, Jane Carey, and Katherine Ellinghaus (eds). Re-orienting whiteness, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Veracini, Lorenzo. Settler colonialism : a theoretical overview, Houndmills, Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, c2010.
McCulloch, Jock. South Africa's gold mines and the politics of silicosis, Oxford : James Currey, 2012.
Bateman, Fiona and Lionel Pilkington. Studies in settler colonialism : politics, identity and culture, Houndmills, Basingstoke, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Lubbe, Hendrik J. Successive and additional measures to the TRC amnesty scheme in South Africa : prosecutions and presidential pardons, Mortsel : Intersentia , 2012.
James, Paul et al. Sustainable communities, sustainable development : other paths for Papua New Guinea, Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, c2012.
Brennan, James R. Taifa : making nation and race in urban Tanzania, Athens : Ohio University Press, c2012.
Nathan, S. R. An unexpected journey : path to the presidency, Singapore : Editions Didier Millet, [2011]
Wright, Donald R. The world and a very small place in Africa : a history of globalization in Niumi, the Gambia, Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c2010.
Lahire, Nathalie, Richard Johanson, and Ryoko Tomita Wilcox. Youth employment and skills development in The Gambia, Washington DC : International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2011.
Harman, Kristyn. Aboriginal convicts : Aborigines, Khoisan and Maori exiles in the Australian penal colonies, Sydney : NewSouth Publishing, 2012.
Tilley, Helen. Africa as a living laboratory : empire, development, and the problem of scientific knowledge, 1870-1950, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Grant, Sandy. Botswana : an historical anthology, Ely : Melrose Books, c2012.
Newton, Melanie J. The children of Africa in the colonies : free people of color in Barbados in the age of emancipation, Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, c2008.
Jackson, Shona N. Creole indigeneity : between myth and nation in the Caribbean, Minneapolis, Minn ; Bristol : University of Minnesota Press, 2012.
Peterson, Derek R. Ethnic patriotism and the East African Revival : a history of dissent, c. 1935-1972, Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2012, ©2012.
Msindo, Enocent. Ethnicity in Zimbabwe : transformations in Kalanga and Ndebele societies, 1860-1990, Rochester, NY : University of Rochester Press, 2012.
McKenna, Mark. An eye for eternity : the life of Manning Clark, Carlton, Vic. : Miegunyah Press, 2011.
MacKenzie, Megan H. Female soldiers in Sierra Leone : sex, security, and post-conflict development, New York : New York University Press, 2012
Bennett, Huw C. Fighting the Mau Mau : the British Army and counter-insurgency in the Kenya Emergency, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Frost, Diane. From the pit to the market : politics and the diamond economy in Sierra Leone, Oxford : James Currey, 2012.
M'Cormack-Hale, Fredline A. O. Gender, peace and security : women's advocacy and conflict resolution, London : Commonwealth Secretariat, c2012.
Vubo, Emmanuel Yenshu (ed). Gender relations in Cameroon : multidisciplinary perspectives, Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon : Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, c2012.
Forde, Fiona. An inconvenient youth : Julius Malema and the 'new' ANC, London : Portobello Books, 2012.
Williams, Carol. Indigenous women and work : from labor to activism, Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2012.
Kea, Pamela J. Land, labour and entrustment : West African female farmers and the politics of difference, Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2010.
Palenski, Ron. The making of New Zealanders, Auckland, N.Z. : Auckland University Press, 2012.
Tremblay, Manon, David Paternotte and Carol Johnson (eds). The lesbian and gay movement and the state : comparative insights into a transformed relationship, Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2011.
Hogg, Robert. Men and manliness on the frontier : Queensland and British Columbia in the mid-nineteenth century, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Paul, Erik. Neoliberal Australia and US imperialism in East Asia, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Younger, Paul. New homelands : Hindu communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa, Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
Commonwealth Symposium on Teacher Mobility, Recruitment and Migration (6th : 2011 : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). Next steps in managing teacher migration : papers of the Sixth Commonwealth Research Symposium on Teacher Mobility, Recruitment and Migration : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8-9 June 2011, London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2012.
Jimu, Ignasio Malizani. Peri-urban land transactions : everyday practices and relations in peri-urban Blantyre, Malawi, Mankon, Bamenda : Langaa Research & Pub. CIG, 2012.
Kumarasingham, Harshan. A political legacy of the British Empire : power and the Westminster system in post-colonial India and Sri Lanka, London : I.B. Tauris, 2012.
Boucher, Leigh, Jane Carey, and Katherine Ellinghaus (eds). Re-orienting whiteness, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Veracini, Lorenzo. Settler colonialism : a theoretical overview, Houndmills, Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, c2010.
McCulloch, Jock. South Africa's gold mines and the politics of silicosis, Oxford : James Currey, 2012.
Bateman, Fiona and Lionel Pilkington. Studies in settler colonialism : politics, identity and culture, Houndmills, Basingstoke, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Lubbe, Hendrik J. Successive and additional measures to the TRC amnesty scheme in South Africa : prosecutions and presidential pardons, Mortsel : Intersentia , 2012.
James, Paul et al. Sustainable communities, sustainable development : other paths for Papua New Guinea, Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, c2012.
Brennan, James R. Taifa : making nation and race in urban Tanzania, Athens : Ohio University Press, c2012.
Nathan, S. R. An unexpected journey : path to the presidency, Singapore : Editions Didier Millet, [2011]
Wright, Donald R. The world and a very small place in Africa : a history of globalization in Niumi, the Gambia, Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c2010.
Lahire, Nathalie, Richard Johanson, and Ryoko Tomita Wilcox. Youth employment and skills development in The Gambia, Washington DC : International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2011.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Africa Review of Books
Africa Review of Books
The Africa Review of Books (ISSN 0851-7592) is published by CODESRIA twice yearly in English and in French. The editorial production of the Africa Review of Books is led by the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the active support of the Centre national de recherche en anthropologie sociale et culturelle (CRASC), based in Oran, Algeria.
The initiative for the publication of the Africa Review of Books (ISSN 0851–7592) dates back to about a decade and it "emerged out of a shared concern in the African social research community that considered it expedient to create a forum for a critical presentation of books produced on Africa within and outside the continent."
The CODESRIA website provides links to past issues of the Review, and is a very useful source for in depth reviews and analysis of recent titles published about and across Africa.
The Africa Review of Books (ISSN 0851-7592) is published by CODESRIA twice yearly in English and in French. The editorial production of the Africa Review of Books is led by the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the active support of the Centre national de recherche en anthropologie sociale et culturelle (CRASC), based in Oran, Algeria.
The initiative for the publication of the Africa Review of Books (ISSN 0851–7592) dates back to about a decade and it "emerged out of a shared concern in the African social research community that considered it expedient to create a forum for a critical presentation of books produced on Africa within and outside the continent."
The CODESRIA website provides links to past issues of the Review, and is a very useful source for in depth reviews and analysis of recent titles published about and across Africa.
Monday, 7 January 2013
‘A charred and battered peninsula’: artistic reflections on the Dardanelles and other sites of memory
New Zealand Studies Network presents:
Professor Paul Gough
‘A charred and battered peninsula’: artistic reflections on the Dardanelles and other sites of memory
6.00 to 8.00 p.m. Friday 18th January
Birkbeck, University of London (Room Malet St 254)
To book: please email info.nzsn@gmail.com
In an illustrated lecture Paul Gough will reflect upon his sojourns in the 1990s in the memory-scapes of Gallipoli, exploring the charred headlands of the Dardanelles Peninsula, the once-hidden trenches and dug-outs of New Zealand troops; and then in France, Belgium and Salonika. The resulting drawings and paintings were shown at New Zealand House in London and at the National War Memorial in Wellington. Gough has also written about the way war artists learned to describe emptiness and abandonment. His lecture will focus on how New Zealand artists have articulated their vision of war and peace.
Professor Paul Gough, painter, broadcaster and writer, has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad, most recently in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and is represented in several permanent art collections. His research interests lie in the processes and iconography of commemoration, the cultural geographies of battlefields, and the representation of peace and conflict in the 20th/21st century. Paul Gough has worked for ITV, BBC and C4 on creative arts programmes ranging from dance to drama, poetry to painting. He is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at UWE, Bristol
Please reply to info.nzsn@gmail.com if you wish to attend.
Friday, 4 January 2013
CFP: Public Service Broadcasting in Africa: Continuity and Change in the 21st Century
CALL FOR PAPERS: Public Service Broadcasting in Africa: Continuity and Change in the 21st Century
Conference organised by Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster, with support from UNESCO and BBC Media Action
Saturday 2nd March 2013
University of Westminster,
Regent Campus
309 Regent Street,
London, W1B 2UW
The Future of Public Service Broadcasting in Africa
Public service broadcasting is still important for Africa and other developing regions. There are, however, questions about the next generation of public service broadcasting and issues about the continued relevance of the public service broadcasting model. Are we witnessing the disappearance of BBC-type of public service broadcasting in Africa? There is increasing evidence that this may be so.
The growing dominance of community, private and commercial broadcasting in countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana is calling for a rethink of a license-fee funded broadcasting model and a switch of ads to these broadcasters, damaging the financial base for public service broadcasters, and more and more closures.
As for TV, the younger generation is switching to viewing on platforms other than the TV set. As license fees are mostly based on the TV set within a household, this reduces willingness to pay the license fee. Additionally, as more and more channels appear, the audiences for PSBs are eroding in many African countries.
Public Service radio is still strong in countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya but in others it has evolved into commercial models, with little informational content.
In many parts of Africa, state broadcasters still have public service broadcasting aspirations, but the reality is all too often government control.
Nonetheless, the need for trusted information about national and local developments is as crucial as ever, as is the need for programming to celebrate national cultures, explain social change projects, and to offer relevant, quality entertainment for all ages and ethnic groups.
For all these reasons, new thinking on public service broadcasting in Africa is urgently needed. This is why the University of Westminster is inviting students, researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers and thinkers to look ahead and identify how public service broadcasting can be helped to survive and develop in the years ahead.
The themes explored in the one-day workshop are likely to include:
Please send a 300-word abstract by 24 January, 2013. Successful applicants will be notified by 31 January, 2013. They must include the presenter's name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the paper’s title. Please send abstracts to Helen Cohen at journalism@westminster.ac.uk
The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be £99, with a concessionary rate of £49 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments, lunch and administration costs. Registration will open at the end of January 2013.
Confirmed Speakers Include:
Akinori Hashimoto,Head of News Production Division, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Conference organised by Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster, with support from UNESCO and BBC Media Action
Regent Campus
309 Regent Street,
London, W1B 2UW
The growing dominance of community, private and commercial broadcasting in countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana is calling for a rethink of a license-fee funded broadcasting model and a switch of ads to these broadcasters, damaging the financial base for public service broadcasters, and more and more closures.
- The concept of public service broadcasting in a changing Africa
- New funding models for public service broadcasting in Africa
- Public service broadcasting and censorship in Africa
- Public service broadcasting funding models in Africa and sustainability
- Audiences for public service broadcasting in Africa
- Political pressures on public service broadcasting news in Africa
- Regulation of public service broadcasting in Africa
- New formats for Public service broadcasting in Africa
- Young African audiences, new ICTs and public service broadcasting
- Politics of managing public service broadcasting stations in Africa
- Alternative models to public service broadcasting in Africa
- Political, social and cultural roles of public broadcasting in Africa
Abstract Submission
Programme and Registration
Related Event
Please note that the above event is preceded by a related one-day workshop on “New Thinking on Public Service Broadcasting for the Next Generation” that is also organised by Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster, with support from UNESCO and BBC Media Action. It will be held at the University of Westminster, Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London, W1B 2UW, UK, on Friday 1 March 2013, 9am-6.30pm.
Akinori Hashimoto,Head of News Production Division, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Deane James,Director of Policy and Learning, BBC Media Action
Elizabeth Smith,former Secretary General, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
Greg Dyke,former BBC Director General (keynote speaker)
Ingrid Deltenre,Director General, European Broadcasting Union
Kip Meek,Special Adviser, Everything, Everywhere and ex Ofcom
Sally-Ann Wilson,Secretary General, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA)
For more information contact Helen Cohen, Events Administrator H.cohen02@westminster.ac.uk Registration will open at the end of January 2013.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
CFP: 14th Annual Researching Africa Day Workshop
Call For Papers: 14th Annual Researching Africa Day Workshop
Saturday, 23rd February 2013
St Antony’s College, Oxford
Researching Africa Day provides graduate students with the opportunity to network with fellow researchers, exchange information, discuss research strategies and develop ideas in a constructive, stimulating and engaging environment. The workshop is open to all graduates working on Africa within the disciplines of history, politics, economics, development studies, literature, anthropology, social policy, geography, public health and the natural sciences.
The title of this year’s workshop is:
Researching Africa: The Flow of Research?
This year's workshop interrogates the process of researching Africa. We hope to explore how research progresses, as well as examine the issues and obstacles that confront researchers at various stages. We aim to question the idea that research always follows a sequence that begins in the library and ends on the word processor. We have divided the workshop into four panels that follow the accepted chronology of research, and we invite papers that either investigate these stages (from the acquisition of material to its presentation), or challenge their relationship to one another, in order to understand the 'flow' of research as it actually is.
The four panels are outlined as follows:
1) Accessing
How do we access material? From gaining ethical clearance, to finding our ‘field sites’ and negotiating ‘gatekeepers’, what issues and difficulties do we experience as researchers in Africa?
2) Acquiring
How do we acquire material? From archives and life histories, to images and data-sets, what choices does the researcher make in the process of collection?
3) Interrogating
How do we interrogate our material? From grounding personal experience to the application of theory, how do we make sense of what we have gathered during fieldwork?
4) Presenting
How do we present our material? From the format to the content, what dilemmas are faced and what impact do we make as researchers?
We invite papers on the panels outlined above. Presentations should be between 12 and 15 minutes, followed by a discussion between the panelists and the audience. Please send a title and abstract of your paper of 200 words by 25th January 2013.
We welcome participation from students beyond Oxford. While the cost of travel is not normally reimbursed, appeals for assistance with travel expenses will be considered in exceptional circumstances. We have limited funding and encourage speakers to pursue funding opportunities at their home institutions first. Accommodation for those who wish to stay the night may be available at certain colleges at your own expense.
Contact: edward.teversham@stx.ox.ac.uk
Saturday, 23rd February 2013
St Antony’s College, Oxford
Researching Africa Day provides graduate students with the opportunity to network with fellow researchers, exchange information, discuss research strategies and develop ideas in a constructive, stimulating and engaging environment. The workshop is open to all graduates working on Africa within the disciplines of history, politics, economics, development studies, literature, anthropology, social policy, geography, public health and the natural sciences.
The title of this year’s workshop is:
Researching Africa: The Flow of Research?
This year's workshop interrogates the process of researching Africa. We hope to explore how research progresses, as well as examine the issues and obstacles that confront researchers at various stages. We aim to question the idea that research always follows a sequence that begins in the library and ends on the word processor. We have divided the workshop into four panels that follow the accepted chronology of research, and we invite papers that either investigate these stages (from the acquisition of material to its presentation), or challenge their relationship to one another, in order to understand the 'flow' of research as it actually is.
The four panels are outlined as follows:
1) Accessing
How do we access material? From gaining ethical clearance, to finding our ‘field sites’ and negotiating ‘gatekeepers’, what issues and difficulties do we experience as researchers in Africa?
2) Acquiring
How do we acquire material? From archives and life histories, to images and data-sets, what choices does the researcher make in the process of collection?
3) Interrogating
How do we interrogate our material? From grounding personal experience to the application of theory, how do we make sense of what we have gathered during fieldwork?
4) Presenting
How do we present our material? From the format to the content, what dilemmas are faced and what impact do we make as researchers?
We invite papers on the panels outlined above. Presentations should be between 12 and 15 minutes, followed by a discussion between the panelists and the audience. Please send a title and abstract of your paper of 200 words by 25th January 2013.
We welcome participation from students beyond Oxford. While the cost of travel is not normally reimbursed, appeals for assistance with travel expenses will be considered in exceptional circumstances. We have limited funding and encourage speakers to pursue funding opportunities at their home institutions first. Accommodation for those who wish to stay the night may be available at certain colleges at your own expense.
Contact: edward.teversham@stx.ox.ac.uk
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Training for Research on Postcolonialism and Creolization
NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: TRAINING FOR RESEARCH ON POSTCOLONIALISM AND CREOLIZATION
The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Program of the Social Science Research Council, in conjunction with the University of Warwick, is pleased to announce the following research and training opportunity for early to mid-stage doctoral students within the U.S. and United Kingdom:
Postcolonial Identities and Decolonial Struggles: Creolization and Colored Cosmopolitanism
DPDF Student Fellowship Competition 2013
This workshop addresses the production of contestatory cultures from the age of enslavement and colonization to that of decolonization. It is concerned with the continuing resonance across social, cultural and political fields of the emancipatory struggles of those times. We will focus, in particular, on the historical and contemporary dimensions of creolization and colored cosmopolitanism. Creolization refers to the mutually constituting processes of identity construction, such as cultural syncretism, hybridity, or mestisaje that oppressed peoples create in their struggles against injustice, most usually in contexts of colonialism, settlement, and enslavement. It is a frame through which researchers can recognize these difficult histories, not to diminish the inhumane conditions of the time, but rather to acknowledge the creative capacity of human endeavour to cope with and overcome such conditions. The idea of ‘colored cosmopolitanism’ is one such product that points to movements of socio-cultural engagement and solidarity across racial and national lines
Selected fellows will work with faculty research directors Professor Gurminder Bhambra (Sociology, University of Warwick) and Professor Nico Slate (History, Carnegie Mellon University) to enhance their dissertation research plans within the context of this multidisciplinary research field.
The Spring Workshop will be held May 28-June 2, 2013 in Coventry, England on the campus of the University of Warwick and the Fall Workshop will be held September 18-22, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
APPLY BY JANUARY 31, 2013 5PM ET.
Fellows attend workshops in the spring and fall of the fellowship cycle, which provide a framework for pre-dissertation research and guide dissertation research plans. In the summer months between workshops, DPDF fellows carry out exploratory field research on their topics to evaluate issues of feasibility and methods of investigation. The DPDF program covers necessary costs for workshop participation and up to $5,000 for summer research.
ELIGIBILITY
The “Postcolonial Identities and Decolonial Struggles” research field is open to second and third year doctoral students in all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences who are enrolled full time in PhD programs at accredited universities in the United States, as well as 1st year doctoral students based at universities within the United Kingdom.
PROGRAM CONTACTS
For further information regarding the program and how to apply, please visit our website at www.ssrc.org/programs/dpdf/
Program staff are available at dpdf@ssrc.org to answer additional questions.
The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Program of the Social Science Research Council, in conjunction with the University of Warwick, is pleased to announce the following research and training opportunity for early to mid-stage doctoral students within the U.S. and United Kingdom:
Postcolonial Identities and Decolonial Struggles: Creolization and Colored Cosmopolitanism
DPDF Student Fellowship Competition 2013
This workshop addresses the production of contestatory cultures from the age of enslavement and colonization to that of decolonization. It is concerned with the continuing resonance across social, cultural and political fields of the emancipatory struggles of those times. We will focus, in particular, on the historical and contemporary dimensions of creolization and colored cosmopolitanism. Creolization refers to the mutually constituting processes of identity construction, such as cultural syncretism, hybridity, or mestisaje that oppressed peoples create in their struggles against injustice, most usually in contexts of colonialism, settlement, and enslavement. It is a frame through which researchers can recognize these difficult histories, not to diminish the inhumane conditions of the time, but rather to acknowledge the creative capacity of human endeavour to cope with and overcome such conditions. The idea of ‘colored cosmopolitanism’ is one such product that points to movements of socio-cultural engagement and solidarity across racial and national lines
Selected fellows will work with faculty research directors Professor Gurminder Bhambra (Sociology, University of Warwick) and Professor Nico Slate (History, Carnegie Mellon University) to enhance their dissertation research plans within the context of this multidisciplinary research field.
The Spring Workshop will be held May 28-June 2, 2013 in Coventry, England on the campus of the University of Warwick and the Fall Workshop will be held September 18-22, 2013 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
APPLY BY JANUARY 31, 2013 5PM ET.
Fellows attend workshops in the spring and fall of the fellowship cycle, which provide a framework for pre-dissertation research and guide dissertation research plans. In the summer months between workshops, DPDF fellows carry out exploratory field research on their topics to evaluate issues of feasibility and methods of investigation. The DPDF program covers necessary costs for workshop participation and up to $5,000 for summer research.
ELIGIBILITY
The “Postcolonial Identities and Decolonial Struggles” research field is open to second and third year doctoral students in all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences who are enrolled full time in PhD programs at accredited universities in the United States, as well as 1st year doctoral students based at universities within the United Kingdom.
PROGRAM CONTACTS
For further information regarding the program and how to apply, please visit our website at www.ssrc.org/programs/dpdf/
Program staff are available at dpdf@ssrc.org to answer additional questions.
Monday, 17 December 2012
Warwick Transatlantic Fellowships
Warwick Transatlantic Fellowships launched
The University of Warwick's Humanities Research Centre has launched a new scheme aiming to deepen and broaden research links between Warwick and universities in the US and the Caribbean.
Five Warwick Transatlantic Fellowships worth $2,000 will be available for US and Caribbean-based post-doctoral fellows who wish to spend a short period at the University of Warwick, working with a Warwick-based academic.
One Fellowship is reserved for Caribbean-based scholars and applications from the region are strongly encouraged.
The Fellowships are jointly funded by the Humanities Research Centre, the Institute of Advanced Study, the EPSRC, and the Yesu Persuad Cantre for Caribbean Studies.
The deadline for applications is 15 January 2013.
For further information: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/hrc/events/wtf
The University of Warwick's Humanities Research Centre has launched a new scheme aiming to deepen and broaden research links between Warwick and universities in the US and the Caribbean.
Five Warwick Transatlantic Fellowships worth $2,000 will be available for US and Caribbean-based post-doctoral fellows who wish to spend a short period at the University of Warwick, working with a Warwick-based academic.
One Fellowship is reserved for Caribbean-based scholars and applications from the region are strongly encouraged.
The Fellowships are jointly funded by the Humanities Research Centre, the Institute of Advanced Study, the EPSRC, and the Yesu Persuad Cantre for Caribbean Studies.
The deadline for applications is 15 January 2013.
For further information: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/hrc/events/wtf
Friday, 14 December 2012
Newly listed Namibian archive collection
A detailed handlist is now available for a collection of material largely on Namibia donated to the Library by journalist, Sue Cullinan, ICS153.
The collection includes unpublished reports, papers, speeches and articles on Namibia including the National Union of Mineworkers 1986 Wage Negotiation; a report from the Detainee’s Parents Support Committee April 1986; the Keynote Address National Education Crisis Committee, Second National Consultative Conference 1986; South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) Combatants – various papers, including reports of activities made by combatants and copies of The Combatant; the Memorandum of the SWA Bar Council Acting on Behalf of the Society of Advocates in Regard to the Commission of Enquiry into Security Legislation; unpublished speeches and conference papers produced by SWAPO; reports and conferences from bodies including: UN Council for Namibia, UN Institute for Namibia, United Nations, World Council of Churches, South African Institute of International Affairs, Worldwatch, Christian Resistance Group of South Africa, Fund for Free Expression and International Defence & Aid Fund for Southern Africa; and reports into the Windhoek Observer (Afrikaans) and into mining in South West Africa.
The collection is described on the Senate House Libraries archives catalogue which includes a link to the PDF list.
The collection includes unpublished reports, papers, speeches and articles on Namibia including the National Union of Mineworkers 1986 Wage Negotiation; a report from the Detainee’s Parents Support Committee April 1986; the Keynote Address National Education Crisis Committee, Second National Consultative Conference 1986; South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) Combatants – various papers, including reports of activities made by combatants and copies of The Combatant; the Memorandum of the SWA Bar Council Acting on Behalf of the Society of Advocates in Regard to the Commission of Enquiry into Security Legislation; unpublished speeches and conference papers produced by SWAPO; reports and conferences from bodies including: UN Council for Namibia, UN Institute for Namibia, United Nations, World Council of Churches, South African Institute of International Affairs, Worldwatch, Christian Resistance Group of South Africa, Fund for Free Expression and International Defence & Aid Fund for Southern Africa; and reports into the Windhoek Observer (Afrikaans) and into mining in South West Africa.
The collection is described on the Senate House Libraries archives catalogue which includes a link to the PDF list.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Call for applications: Bridget Jones Travel Award
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Arts researchers or practitioners living and working in the Caribbean are eligible to apply for the Bridget Jones Travel Award, the deadline for which is the 14th January 2013. The winner of the award will present their work at the 37th Society for Caribbean Studies Annual Conference, which is scheduled to be held at the University of Warwick from the 3rd - 5th July 2013.
Eligibility
If you are an arts practitioner living and working in any region of the Anglophone, Hispanic, Francophone or Dutch speaking Caribbean, you may apply for the Award. The successful recipient will receive £650 towards travel expenses and, in addition, a full bursary to cover conference fees and accommodation. Applications are especially welcome from individuals with no institutional affiliations. We encourage applications from across the arts: from visual artists, performers, creative writers, film-makers, folklorists, playwrights etc.
How To Apply
To apply for the Award you must submit the following:
(a) A proposal for a presentation of your work in the areas of film, literature, visual or performing arts.
Presentations normally last for up to one hour, including time for questions from the audience. The most important part of your application will therefore be a full description of the proposed presentation detailing the themes and rationale behind the presentation, as well as how the presentation will be organised and any props required (e.g. if intending to screen clips of films; show slides of artwork; incorporate live performance etc).
Completed applications must be received by 14th January 2013. A decision will be made by the committee in late January.
For more information on the Bridget Jones Travel Award and the Society for Caribbean Studies, visit the Society website on www.caribbeanstudies.org.uk
- A covering letter
- Curriculum vitae (no more than 4 sides of A4)
- Statements from 2 referees who are able to comment on your work
or
(b) A proposal for a reading of original creative work.
Applications and enquiries should be sent by e-mail to Eva Sansavior Eva.Sansavior@ul.ie
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Prizes - Canadian Studies
Prix du Québec 2013
The Prix du Québec consists of two awards of £1,000 (each) offered by the Québec Government Office in London and administered by BACS.
It is designed to assist researchers who are permanent UK residents to carry out research related to Québec by facilitating a research visit to Québec. Projects that incorporate Québec in a comparative approach (at least 50% of the focus must be on Québec) are also eligible.
One award will be given in each of the following categories:
• Masters and doctoral students
• Researchers and academic staff
Applications should be made by email to arrive by 1 February 2013. Full details are on the BACS website.
The Michael J. Hellyer Prize
This prize is awarded annually by the British Association for Canadian Studies at its annual conference for the best paper by an early career scholar. The prize will be judged on the written version of the paper submitted, which may not necessarily be the delivery version. Entries should be submitted no later than 15 March, preceding the annual conference in April. The full version of the paper must be submitted by this date and late entries will not be accepted. The delivery of the paper will not form part of the assessment but candidates for the award must attend and deliver the paper at the conference.
The prize for the best paper will be awarded at the conference dinner. In addition, the paper will automatically be considered for publication in the British Journal of Canadian Studies providing that it has not been submitted elsewhere.
The prize will consist of £100 in book tokens
Early career scholar is defined as: a PhD student; anyone within 3 years of having been awarded a PhD; anyone who has a full-time appointment at a recognised higher education institution, but has not held the post for more than 3 years and does not fall into the doctoral category.
Papers should be submitted to BACS by 15 March 2013 for the annual conference on 3-5 April 2013. bacs@canadian-studies.org
The Prix du Québec consists of two awards of £1,000 (each) offered by the Québec Government Office in London and administered by BACS.
It is designed to assist researchers who are permanent UK residents to carry out research related to Québec by facilitating a research visit to Québec. Projects that incorporate Québec in a comparative approach (at least 50% of the focus must be on Québec) are also eligible.
One award will be given in each of the following categories:
• Masters and doctoral students
• Researchers and academic staff
Applications should be made by email to arrive by 1 February 2013. Full details are on the BACS website.
The Michael J. Hellyer Prize
This prize is awarded annually by the British Association for Canadian Studies at its annual conference for the best paper by an early career scholar. The prize will be judged on the written version of the paper submitted, which may not necessarily be the delivery version. Entries should be submitted no later than 15 March, preceding the annual conference in April. The full version of the paper must be submitted by this date and late entries will not be accepted. The delivery of the paper will not form part of the assessment but candidates for the award must attend and deliver the paper at the conference.
The prize for the best paper will be awarded at the conference dinner. In addition, the paper will automatically be considered for publication in the British Journal of Canadian Studies providing that it has not been submitted elsewhere.
The prize will consist of £100 in book tokens
Early career scholar is defined as: a PhD student; anyone within 3 years of having been awarded a PhD; anyone who has a full-time appointment at a recognised higher education institution, but has not held the post for more than 3 years and does not fall into the doctoral category.
Papers should be submitted to BACS by 15 March 2013 for the annual conference on 3-5 April 2013. bacs@canadian-studies.org
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Christmas Opening Hours
With the end of term and Christmas holidays approaching some advance notice of changes to opening hours in the next few weeks:
For Monday 17th December to Friday 21st December, Vacation hours, opening hours: 09.00 - 18.00
CLOSED from 22nd December to 1st January, inclusive
From 2nd January - 5th January 2013, Vacation hours, opening hours: Wed to Fri: 09.00 - 18.00 Sat: 09.45 - 17.30
Normal term hours start on 7th January 2013
For Monday 17th December to Friday 21st December, Vacation hours, opening hours: 09.00 - 18.00
CLOSED from 22nd December to 1st January, inclusive
From 2nd January - 5th January 2013, Vacation hours, opening hours: Wed to Fri: 09.00 - 18.00 Sat: 09.45 - 17.30
Normal term hours start on 7th January 2013
Monday, 10 December 2012
CFP: Children, Childhood and Youth in the British World: Historical Perspectives
Call for Papers: Children, Childhood and Youth in the British World: Historical Perspectives
Friday 19 July 2013 at King's College London
Hosted by Menzies Centre for Australian Studies and Department of History, King's College London
Convenors: Dr Shirleene Robinson and Dr Simon Sleight
Symposium Aims and Themes
Although it is a comparatively recent field of study, the history of young people is a burgeoning field of inquiry, with the potential to illuminate many social and cultural aspects of the past. Children, Childhood and Youth in the British World will provide a scholarly forum for discussion of the lived experiences of children and the construction of modes of childhood in the context of the British World. We are particularly interested in locating children, childhood and youth in a broader social context and in acknowledging young people as active historical agents.
Children, Childhood and Youth in the British World takes place on 19 July 2013. The symposium's London location provides an ideal site to reflect on the historical reach and limitations of the British World and to place young people's experiences into transnational context. It is hoped the symposium will establish research networks and a basis for further investigation and discussion. The conference organisers will aim to publish a selection of conference papers in 2014.
While other submissions are welcome, papers might potentially address themes such as:
* Regulation and childhood
* Children's spaces
* Ego histoire and archives of childhood
* Interdisciplinary approaches to the history of young people
* Images of children
* Literary childhoods
* Violence and childhood
* Urban and rural childhoods
* Intersections between race and childhood
* Indigenous childhoods
* Gender and childhood
* Childhood and trauma
* Narratives of childhood
* Parent-child relations
Submission Guidelines
Proposals should include:
- Paper title
- 250-word abstract
- Biography of 50-100 words
- 2-page CV
Deadline: 31 December 2012; notification of acceptance: 14 January 2013
Submissions should be sent to:
shirleene.robinson@mq.edu.au and simon.sleight@kcl.ac.uk
Friday 19 July 2013 at King's College London
Hosted by Menzies Centre for Australian Studies and Department of History, King's College London
Convenors: Dr Shirleene Robinson and Dr Simon Sleight
Symposium Aims and Themes
Although it is a comparatively recent field of study, the history of young people is a burgeoning field of inquiry, with the potential to illuminate many social and cultural aspects of the past. Children, Childhood and Youth in the British World will provide a scholarly forum for discussion of the lived experiences of children and the construction of modes of childhood in the context of the British World. We are particularly interested in locating children, childhood and youth in a broader social context and in acknowledging young people as active historical agents.
Children, Childhood and Youth in the British World takes place on 19 July 2013. The symposium's London location provides an ideal site to reflect on the historical reach and limitations of the British World and to place young people's experiences into transnational context. It is hoped the symposium will establish research networks and a basis for further investigation and discussion. The conference organisers will aim to publish a selection of conference papers in 2014.
While other submissions are welcome, papers might potentially address themes such as:
* Regulation and childhood
* Children's spaces
* Ego histoire and archives of childhood
* Interdisciplinary approaches to the history of young people
* Images of children
* Literary childhoods
* Violence and childhood
* Urban and rural childhoods
* Intersections between race and childhood
* Indigenous childhoods
* Gender and childhood
* Childhood and trauma
* Narratives of childhood
* Parent-child relations
Submission Guidelines
Proposals should include:
- Paper title
- 250-word abstract
- Biography of 50-100 words
- 2-page CV
Deadline: 31 December 2012; notification of acceptance: 14 January 2013
Submissions should be sent to:
shirleene.robinson@mq.edu.au and simon.sleight@kcl.ac.uk
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
New books November 2012 (part 2)
A selection of new books added to the catalogue and collections in November 2012 (the second of two posts).
New titles cover all areas of the Commonwealth and this month include more titles on contemporary South Africa and Nigeria; Canadian history and vulnerability to natural diasasters.
Marback, Richard C. Managing vulnerability : South Africa's struggle for a democratic rhetoric, Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, 2012.
Mathebe, Lucky. Mandela & Mbeki : the hero and the outsider, Pretoria : Unisa Press, c2012.
Ardayfio-Schandorf, Elizabeth, Paul W. K. Yankson and Monique Bertrand. The mobile city of Accra : urban families, housing and residential practices = Accra, capitale en mouvement : familles citadines, logement et pratiques résidentielles, Dakar, Senegal : Codesria, c2012.
Miescher, Giorgio. Namibia's red line : the history of a veterinary and settlement border, New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Lyew-Ayee, Parris and Rafi Ahmad. Natural hazards atlas of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica : Mona GeoInformatics Institute [and] University of the West Indies Press, 2012.
Akingbulu, Akin and Hendrik Bussiek. Nigeria : a survey; by the African Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, Open Society Institute Media Program , [New York] : Open Society Foundations ; [Dakar] : Open Society Initiative for West Africa, 2010.
Elaigwu, J. Isawa. Nigeria : essays in governance and society, London : Adonis & Abbey, 2012.
Hill, J. N. C. Nigeria since independence : forever fragile, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Khan, Nyla Ali (ed). The parchment of Kashmir : history, society, and polity, New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Teik, Khoo Boo (ed). Policy regimes and the political economy of poverty reduction in Malaysia, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Endicott, Stephen Lyon. Raising the workers' flag. ; the Workers' Unity League of Canada, 1930-1936, Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2012.
Prys, Miriam. Redefining regional power in international relations : Indian and South African perspectives, London : Routledge, 2012.
Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi. Reforming the unreformable : lessons from Nigeria, Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2012.
Osuri, Goldie. Religious freedom in India : sovereignty and (anti) conversion, London : Routledge, 2013.
Lyimo, Francis Fanuel. Rural cooperation in the cooperative movement in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania : Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, c2012.
Campey, Lucille H. Seeking a better future : the English pioneers of Ontario and Quebec, Toronto : Dundurn Press, c2012.
Elaigwu, Isawa J. Topical issues in Nigeria's political development, London : Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd, 2012.
Loh, Kah Seng et al. The University Socialist Club and the contest for Malaya : tangled strands of modernity, Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2012.
Gungwu , Wang and Ong Weichong (eds). Voice of Malayan revolution : the CPM radio war against Singapore and Malaysia, 1969-1981, Singapore : S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2009.
Kapur, Anu. Vulnerable India : a geographical study of disasters, Shimla : Indian Institute of Advanced Study ; Los Angeles : SAGE, 2010.
Mascarenhas, Michael. Where the waters divide : neoliberalism, white privilege, and environmental racism in Canada, Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2012.
Plaut, Martin and Paul Holden. Who rules South Africa? Cape Town : Jonathan Ball, c2012.
Mbunwe-Samba, Patrick. Witchcraft, magic, and divination . Accounts from the Wimbum area of the Cameroon grassfields, Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon : Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, c2012
Matondi, Prosper B. (ed). Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform, London : Zed, 2012.
New titles cover all areas of the Commonwealth and this month include more titles on contemporary South Africa and Nigeria; Canadian history and vulnerability to natural diasasters.
Marback, Richard C. Managing vulnerability : South Africa's struggle for a democratic rhetoric, Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, 2012.
Mathebe, Lucky. Mandela & Mbeki : the hero and the outsider, Pretoria : Unisa Press, c2012.
Ardayfio-Schandorf, Elizabeth, Paul W. K. Yankson and Monique Bertrand. The mobile city of Accra : urban families, housing and residential practices = Accra, capitale en mouvement : familles citadines, logement et pratiques résidentielles, Dakar, Senegal : Codesria, c2012.
Miescher, Giorgio. Namibia's red line : the history of a veterinary and settlement border, New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Lyew-Ayee, Parris and Rafi Ahmad. Natural hazards atlas of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica : Mona GeoInformatics Institute [and] University of the West Indies Press, 2012.
Akingbulu, Akin and Hendrik Bussiek. Nigeria : a survey; by the African Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, Open Society Institute Media Program , [New York] : Open Society Foundations ; [Dakar] : Open Society Initiative for West Africa, 2010.
Elaigwu, J. Isawa. Nigeria : essays in governance and society, London : Adonis & Abbey, 2012.
Hill, J. N. C. Nigeria since independence : forever fragile, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Khan, Nyla Ali (ed). The parchment of Kashmir : history, society, and polity, New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Teik, Khoo Boo (ed). Policy regimes and the political economy of poverty reduction in Malaysia, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Endicott, Stephen Lyon. Raising the workers' flag. ; the Workers' Unity League of Canada, 1930-1936, Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2012.
Prys, Miriam. Redefining regional power in international relations : Indian and South African perspectives, London : Routledge, 2012.
Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi. Reforming the unreformable : lessons from Nigeria, Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2012.
Osuri, Goldie. Religious freedom in India : sovereignty and (anti) conversion, London : Routledge, 2013.
Lyimo, Francis Fanuel. Rural cooperation in the cooperative movement in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania : Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, c2012.
Campey, Lucille H. Seeking a better future : the English pioneers of Ontario and Quebec, Toronto : Dundurn Press, c2012.
Elaigwu, Isawa J. Topical issues in Nigeria's political development, London : Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd, 2012.
Loh, Kah Seng et al. The University Socialist Club and the contest for Malaya : tangled strands of modernity, Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, 2012.
Gungwu , Wang and Ong Weichong (eds). Voice of Malayan revolution : the CPM radio war against Singapore and Malaysia, 1969-1981, Singapore : S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2009.
Kapur, Anu. Vulnerable India : a geographical study of disasters, Shimla : Indian Institute of Advanced Study ; Los Angeles : SAGE, 2010.
Mascarenhas, Michael. Where the waters divide : neoliberalism, white privilege, and environmental racism in Canada, Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2012.
Plaut, Martin and Paul Holden. Who rules South Africa? Cape Town : Jonathan Ball, c2012.
Mbunwe-Samba, Patrick. Witchcraft, magic, and divination . Accounts from the Wimbum area of the Cameroon grassfields, Mankon, Bamenda, Cameroon : Langaa Research & Publishing CIG, c2012
Matondi, Prosper B. (ed). Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform, London : Zed, 2012.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
New Books November 2012 (Part 1)
A selection of new books added to the catalogue and collections in November 2012 (the frst of two posts).
New titles cover all areas of the Commonwealth and this month include a number of new titles on Malaysia; books on South Africa, apartheid and after; elections; differing perspectives on land and the environment; and some new titles on Malawi.
Puri, Luv. Across the line of control : inside Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir, New York : Columbia University Press, 2012.
Schroeder, Richard A. Africa after apartheid : South Africa, race, and nation in Tanzania, Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2012.
Dwyer, Peter and Leo Zeilig. African struggles today : social movements since independence , Chicago, Ill. : Haymarket Books, 2012.
Curry, Dawne Y. Apartheid on a Black isle : removal and resistance in Alexandra, South Africa, New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Gammage, Bill. The biggest estate on earth : how Aborigines made Australia, Crows Nest, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 2011.
Molloy, Patricia. Canada/US and other unfriendly relations : before and after 9/11, New York ; Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement (Solomon Islands) : Translation and implementation framework. Honiara, Solomon Islands : Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement Government 2008.
Murray, Sarah (ed). Constitutional perspectives on an Australian republic : essays in honour of Professor George Winterton, Sydney : Federation Press, 2010.
Fall, Ismaila Madior et al. Election management bodies in West Africa : a comparative study of the contribution of electoral commissions to the strengthening of democracy. Johannesburg, South Africa : Open Society Foundations, 2011.
Landau, Loren B. (ed), Exorcising the demons within : xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary South Africa, Johannesburg : Wits University Press ; Tokyo ; New York : published in North America and Europe by United Nations University Press, 2012.
Ganguly-Scrase, Ruchira and Timothy J. Scrase. Globalisation and the middle classes in India : the social and cultural impact of neoliberal reforms, London ; New York : Routledge, 2009.
Irwin, Ryan M. Gordian knot : apartheid and the unmaking of the liberal world order, Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, c2012.
Commonwealth Observer Group. Guyana national and regional elections, 28 November 2011. Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group. London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2011.
Tambyah, Siok Kuan and Soo Jiuan Tan. Happiness and wellbeing : the Singaporean experience, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2012.
Kalinga, Owen J. M. Historical dictionary of Malawi, Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2012.
McCracken, John. A history of Malawi, 1855-1966, Woodbridge, Suffolk [England] ; Rochester, N.Y. : James Currey, 2012.
Datta, Ayona. The illegal city : space, law and gender in a Delhi squatter settlement, Farnham : Ashgate, c2012.
Peers, Douglas M. and Nandini Gooptu (eds). India and the British Empire, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Khosla, Madhav. The Indian constitution. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Müller, Johann. "The inevitable pipeline into exile" : Botswana's role in the Namibian liberation struggle, Basel : Basler Afrika Bibliographien, 2012.
Munro, Doug. The ivory tower and beyond : participant historians of the Pacific, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK : Cambridge Scholars, 2009.
Grant, David. Jagged seas : the New Zealand Seamen's Union 1879-2003, Christchurch, N.Z. : Canterbury University Press, 2012.
Perkins, Anna Kasafi, Donald Chambers and Jacqueline Porter (eds). Justice and peace in a renewed Caribbean : contemporary Catholic reflections, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, c2012.
Rwegasira, Abdon. Land as a human right : a history of land law and practice in Tanzania, Dar-es-Salaam : Mkuki na Nyota, c2012.
Sud, Nikita. Liberalization, Hindu nationalism and the state : a biography of Gujarat, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Banivanua-Mar, Tracey and Penelope Edmonds (eds). Making settler colonial space : perspectives on race, place and identity, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Stark, Jan. Malaysia and the developing world : the Asian tiger on the Cinnamon Road, New York, NY : Routledge, 2013
Rajmah Hussain. Malaysia at the United Nations : a study of foreign policy priorities, 1957-1987, Kuala Lumpur : University of Malaya Press, c2010.
Tajuddin, Azlan. Malaysia in the world economy (1824-2011) : capitalism, ethnic divisions, and "managed" democracy, Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2012.
New titles cover all areas of the Commonwealth and this month include a number of new titles on Malaysia; books on South Africa, apartheid and after; elections; differing perspectives on land and the environment; and some new titles on Malawi.
Puri, Luv. Across the line of control : inside Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir, New York : Columbia University Press, 2012.
Schroeder, Richard A. Africa after apartheid : South Africa, race, and nation in Tanzania, Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2012.
Dwyer, Peter and Leo Zeilig. African struggles today : social movements since independence , Chicago, Ill. : Haymarket Books, 2012.
Curry, Dawne Y. Apartheid on a Black isle : removal and resistance in Alexandra, South Africa, New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Gammage, Bill. The biggest estate on earth : how Aborigines made Australia, Crows Nest, N.S.W. : Allen & Unwin, 2011.
Molloy, Patricia. Canada/US and other unfriendly relations : before and after 9/11, New York ; Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement (Solomon Islands) : Translation and implementation framework. Honiara, Solomon Islands : Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement Government 2008.
Murray, Sarah (ed). Constitutional perspectives on an Australian republic : essays in honour of Professor George Winterton, Sydney : Federation Press, 2010.
Fall, Ismaila Madior et al. Election management bodies in West Africa : a comparative study of the contribution of electoral commissions to the strengthening of democracy. Johannesburg, South Africa : Open Society Foundations, 2011.
Landau, Loren B. (ed), Exorcising the demons within : xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary South Africa, Johannesburg : Wits University Press ; Tokyo ; New York : published in North America and Europe by United Nations University Press, 2012.
Ganguly-Scrase, Ruchira and Timothy J. Scrase. Globalisation and the middle classes in India : the social and cultural impact of neoliberal reforms, London ; New York : Routledge, 2009.
Irwin, Ryan M. Gordian knot : apartheid and the unmaking of the liberal world order, Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, c2012.
Commonwealth Observer Group. Guyana national and regional elections, 28 November 2011. Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group. London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2011.
Tambyah, Siok Kuan and Soo Jiuan Tan. Happiness and wellbeing : the Singaporean experience, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2012.
Kalinga, Owen J. M. Historical dictionary of Malawi, Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2012.
McCracken, John. A history of Malawi, 1855-1966, Woodbridge, Suffolk [England] ; Rochester, N.Y. : James Currey, 2012.
Datta, Ayona. The illegal city : space, law and gender in a Delhi squatter settlement, Farnham : Ashgate, c2012.
Peers, Douglas M. and Nandini Gooptu (eds). India and the British Empire, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Khosla, Madhav. The Indian constitution. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Müller, Johann. "The inevitable pipeline into exile" : Botswana's role in the Namibian liberation struggle, Basel : Basler Afrika Bibliographien, 2012.
Munro, Doug. The ivory tower and beyond : participant historians of the Pacific, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK : Cambridge Scholars, 2009.
Grant, David. Jagged seas : the New Zealand Seamen's Union 1879-2003, Christchurch, N.Z. : Canterbury University Press, 2012.
Perkins, Anna Kasafi, Donald Chambers and Jacqueline Porter (eds). Justice and peace in a renewed Caribbean : contemporary Catholic reflections, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, c2012.
Rwegasira, Abdon. Land as a human right : a history of land law and practice in Tanzania, Dar-es-Salaam : Mkuki na Nyota, c2012.
Sud, Nikita. Liberalization, Hindu nationalism and the state : a biography of Gujarat, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012.
Banivanua-Mar, Tracey and Penelope Edmonds (eds). Making settler colonial space : perspectives on race, place and identity, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Stark, Jan. Malaysia and the developing world : the Asian tiger on the Cinnamon Road, New York, NY : Routledge, 2013
Rajmah Hussain. Malaysia at the United Nations : a study of foreign policy priorities, 1957-1987, Kuala Lumpur : University of Malaya Press, c2010.
Tajuddin, Azlan. Malaysia in the world economy (1824-2011) : capitalism, ethnic divisions, and "managed" democracy, Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2012.
Monday, 3 December 2012
Remembering Bristol’s Empire: Archives, Artefacts and Commemoration
Remembering Bristol’s Empire: Archives, Artefacts and Commemoration
Workshop - Thursday 13 December 2012
Senate Room, Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol
Prompted by the transfer of the collections of the former British Empire and Commonwealth Museum to Bristol Museums and Bristol Record Office, this workshop will offer an opportunity to discuss the collection, preservation and use of archives and artefacts from Bristol’s (and Britain’s) imperial past.
9am-11am – Roundtable – ‘Remembering Empire: Perspectives from Bristol Academics’
11am-11.30am – Coffee
11.30am-1pm – John McAleer (University of Southampton) and Sarah Longair (British Museum/Birkbeck) – ‘Objects of Empire: Museums and the British Imperial Experience’
1pm-2pm – Lunch
2pm-3pm – Katherine Prior – ‘Collecting Empire: Lessons from the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum’
3pm-4pm – Roundtable – Sue Giles (Bristol Museums), Richard Burley (Bristol Record Office), Tim Cole (History, UoB), Simon Potter (History, UoB)
4pm-5pm – Drinks, Student Common Room, 11 Woodland Road
There is no charge to register for this event, but please email Dr Simon Potter, University of Bristol if you wish to attend – simon.potter@bristol.ac.uk
This event has been funded by a grant from BIRTHA at the University of Bristol.
Workshop - Thursday 13 December 2012
Senate Room, Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, University of Bristol
Prompted by the transfer of the collections of the former British Empire and Commonwealth Museum to Bristol Museums and Bristol Record Office, this workshop will offer an opportunity to discuss the collection, preservation and use of archives and artefacts from Bristol’s (and Britain’s) imperial past.
9am-11am – Roundtable – ‘Remembering Empire: Perspectives from Bristol Academics’
11am-11.30am – Coffee
11.30am-1pm – John McAleer (University of Southampton) and Sarah Longair (British Museum/Birkbeck) – ‘Objects of Empire: Museums and the British Imperial Experience’
1pm-2pm – Lunch
2pm-3pm – Katherine Prior – ‘Collecting Empire: Lessons from the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum’
3pm-4pm – Roundtable – Sue Giles (Bristol Museums), Richard Burley (Bristol Record Office), Tim Cole (History, UoB), Simon Potter (History, UoB)
4pm-5pm – Drinks, Student Common Room, 11 Woodland Road
There is no charge to register for this event, but please email Dr Simon Potter, University of Bristol if you wish to attend – simon.potter@bristol.ac.uk
This event has been funded by a grant from BIRTHA at the University of Bristol.
Friday, 30 November 2012
On Freedom of the Press
With discussion in the UK media today about freedom of the press and state regulation or interference in the press I thought it opportune to highlight two archive collections which contain much on the freedom of the press in the Commonwealth and in particular in the developing nations in the post-independence world.
The Commonwealth Journalists' Association was founded by a group of journalists in 1978 following a conference of Commonwealth non-governmental organisations held at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada, with the objective of catering for the needs of individual journalists in Commonwealth countries. The CJA's objectives include the raising of journalistic standards by the provision of training courses, the encouragement of an interest in and knowledge of Commonwealth affairs and the defence of the independence of journalists where a threat is perceived. The CJA takes a particular interest in safeguarding the rights of journalists in countries where press freedom is restricted and has intervened on several occasions, sometimes in collaboration with other interested bodies, to secure the re-opening of a newspaper or the release of journalists from prison.
The Commonwealth Journalists' Association archives date from 1998 to 2003 and detail training courses, conference and activity related to defending and encouraging a feee independent press. The collection was catalogued earlier this year, with thanks to and support from the Scott Trust Charitable Foundation and the Friends of Senate House Library (SHeLF).
The Commonwealth Press Union started in the early 20th century as the Empire Press Union, with the staging of the first Imperial Press Conference, and continued operation until 2008. At its peak, the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) was an association composed of 750 members in 49 countries, including newspaper groups (with several hundred newspapers), individual newspapers, and news agencies throughout the Commonwealth, represented within the CPU by their proprietors, publishers or senior executives. The aims and objectives of the organisation were to uphold the ideas and values of the Commonwealth; to promote, through the press, understanding and goodwill among members of the Commonwealth; and to advance the freedom, interests and welfare of the Commonwealth press and those working within it by i) monitoring and opposing all measures and proposals likely to affect the freedom of the press in any part of the Commonwealth, ii) working for improved facilities for reporting and transmitting news, and iii) promoting the training of all involved in the Commonwealth’s press.
The Commonwealth Press Union archives contain the records and publications of the Empire Press Union, and the Commonwealth Press Union, including official records relating to the administration of the organisation, circulars and bulletins, and conference papers and reports. The records include details of seminars and conferences and case work relating to freedom of the press issues across the Commonwealth. In addition to the listed records availabile on the catalogue an additional donation of material was made in 2009, and with the assistance of a volunteer, a detailed handlist is being prepared for this collection while funding is being sought for a cataloguing project. Any enquiries about this latter material are very welcome.
Both collections provide valuable source material for understanding freedom of the press issues across the Commonwealth as well as an understanding of international cooperation and support for freedom of the press from newspaper publishers and journalists.
The Commonwealth Journalists' Association was founded by a group of journalists in 1978 following a conference of Commonwealth non-governmental organisations held at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada, with the objective of catering for the needs of individual journalists in Commonwealth countries. The CJA's objectives include the raising of journalistic standards by the provision of training courses, the encouragement of an interest in and knowledge of Commonwealth affairs and the defence of the independence of journalists where a threat is perceived. The CJA takes a particular interest in safeguarding the rights of journalists in countries where press freedom is restricted and has intervened on several occasions, sometimes in collaboration with other interested bodies, to secure the re-opening of a newspaper or the release of journalists from prison.
The Commonwealth Journalists' Association archives date from 1998 to 2003 and detail training courses, conference and activity related to defending and encouraging a feee independent press. The collection was catalogued earlier this year, with thanks to and support from the Scott Trust Charitable Foundation and the Friends of Senate House Library (SHeLF).
The Commonwealth Press Union started in the early 20th century as the Empire Press Union, with the staging of the first Imperial Press Conference, and continued operation until 2008. At its peak, the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) was an association composed of 750 members in 49 countries, including newspaper groups (with several hundred newspapers), individual newspapers, and news agencies throughout the Commonwealth, represented within the CPU by their proprietors, publishers or senior executives. The aims and objectives of the organisation were to uphold the ideas and values of the Commonwealth; to promote, through the press, understanding and goodwill among members of the Commonwealth; and to advance the freedom, interests and welfare of the Commonwealth press and those working within it by i) monitoring and opposing all measures and proposals likely to affect the freedom of the press in any part of the Commonwealth, ii) working for improved facilities for reporting and transmitting news, and iii) promoting the training of all involved in the Commonwealth’s press.
The Commonwealth Press Union archives contain the records and publications of the Empire Press Union, and the Commonwealth Press Union, including official records relating to the administration of the organisation, circulars and bulletins, and conference papers and reports. The records include details of seminars and conferences and case work relating to freedom of the press issues across the Commonwealth. In addition to the listed records availabile on the catalogue an additional donation of material was made in 2009, and with the assistance of a volunteer, a detailed handlist is being prepared for this collection while funding is being sought for a cataloguing project. Any enquiries about this latter material are very welcome.
Both collections provide valuable source material for understanding freedom of the press issues across the Commonwealth as well as an understanding of international cooperation and support for freedom of the press from newspaper publishers and journalists.
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Reminder - SENATE HOUSE CLOSES AT 2.00 TODAY
Reminder- Senate House Foundation Day closure
Today, Wednesday 28th November, due to Foundation Day events, the Senate House building will close at 2.00pm.
This closure means that all the libraries (including Senate House Library and the IHR Library), all meeting rooms and cafes will close at 2.00
Library staff are also required to leave the building so wioll not be available for phone or email enquiries this afternoon.
Normal service resumes Thursday morning.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Workshop: 'Obeah Histories: Exploring Caribbean Lives under Colonial Laws' , 25 January 2013
'Obeah Histories: Exploring Caribbean Lives under Colonial Laws'
25 January 2013
Organised as part of the AHRC-funded project 'Spiritual Politics in Caribbean History' based at Newcastle University and run in conjunction with The National Archives, UK, this half-day workshop explores histories of Caribbean religion and its suppression from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.
Participants will explore original archival documents as well as look at images from The National Archives' Caribbean through a Lens project. The session focuses on Caribbean people’s practice of African-oriented religion and healing. Drawing on legislation and the stories of individuals who faced prosecution, we will investigate practices that were made illegal through colonial laws against ‘Obeah’ and against ‘Shouters’ (the Spiritual Baptist religion).
Venue: The National Archives, UK
Date: Friday, 25 January 2013 from 1pm until 5pm
For more information, venue details, and to book a place, visit http://obeahhistories.eventbrite.co.uk
25 January 2013
Organised as part of the AHRC-funded project 'Spiritual Politics in Caribbean History' based at Newcastle University and run in conjunction with The National Archives, UK, this half-day workshop explores histories of Caribbean religion and its suppression from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.
Participants will explore original archival documents as well as look at images from The National Archives' Caribbean through a Lens project. The session focuses on Caribbean people’s practice of African-oriented religion and healing. Drawing on legislation and the stories of individuals who faced prosecution, we will investigate practices that were made illegal through colonial laws against ‘Obeah’ and against ‘Shouters’ (the Spiritual Baptist religion).
Venue: The National Archives, UK
Date: Friday, 25 January 2013 from 1pm until 5pm
For more information, venue details, and to book a place, visit http://obeahhistories.eventbrite.co.uk
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