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Africa and the Diaspora: Intersectionality and Interconnections
The Mid-America Alliance for African Studies and the African and African American Studies Program, Iowa State University, invite scholars to submit conference papers and full panel proposals for the 2018 conference on Africana Studies. The goal of this conference is to create an interdisciplinary dialogue on the history, contemporary status, and future configurations within the intersectionalities and interconnections of Africa and the Diaspora. Intersectionality presents its various configurations and interconnections across the continent and around the world as a concept, “linking contemporary politics with postmodern theory. In mapping the intersections of race and gender, the concept does engage dominant assumptions that race and gender are essentially separate categories….suggesting a methodology that will ultimately disrupt the tendencies to see race and gender as exclusive or separable….the concept [intersectionality] can and should be expanded by factoring in issues such as class, sexual orientation, age, [colonialism], and color” (Crenshaw, 1991, p.1244-45N9). These intersectionalities of identity interplay within precolonial, colonial, and neo-colonial constructs that develop unique and often conflicting interconnections. Scholars are welcome to submit papers on a range of areas such as cultural, feminist, Pan African, and postcolonial studies. All interdisciplinary and traditional disciplines from the Arts, Humanities, Math, Sciences, Social Sciences, etc are welcome.  This conference provides a venue to discuss intersectionality’s role in understanding Africa and the Diaspora and the interconnections across its people, places, history, present, and future. We invite proposals that address topics beyond the organizing theme as well.

Please submit a 250-word abstract or panel description by September 10, 2018 and register for the MAAAS 2018 Conference at the MAAAS website:
https://www.midamericaallianceforafricanstudies.org/submission-information.html

Mid-America Alliance for African Studies Conference 2018
October 19-20, 2018
Iowa State University
Stephens Auditorium
1900 Center Drive
Ames, Iowa 50011

For additional information, please contact:

Dr. Jamaine Abidogun, MAAAS President (2018-2019)
History Department, Missouri State University
Email:  jamaineabidogun@missouristate.edu