[Research] Cfp: Migration, culture, identity and scholarship: the role of the ‘arts’ in Sino-African engagements – Nairobi 2016

Call for papers for a panel on ‘Migration, culture, identity and scholarship: the role of the ‘arts’ in Sino-African engagements’

Panel chair: Roberto Castillo, University of Hong Kong, Email: rocas@hku.hk

From film and photography to painting, sculpture, music and martial arts, current Sino-African cultural exchanges involve a diverse range of practices. Without a doubt, contemporary intersections between traders, transmigrants, artists, scholars and media practitioners have altered (and possibly allowed for reconfigurations of) cultural panoramas in both China and Africa. As the exchanges between people in these regions are on the rise, this panel calls for the examination of both the historical and contemporary reconfigurations (i.e. adaptations, innovations, reinterpretations) of certain cultural practices and the possibilities that they offer. Currently, a number of scholars are working on issues related to the ‘cultural aspects’ of Sino-African engagements. By focusing on these aspects, this panel would draw attention to the complex intersectionality of migration, culture, diaspora, identity and representation. Indeed, one of the main questions the panel would examine is: How are contemporary Sino-African cultural exchanges impacting on traditional cultural, national, and ethno-nationally based identities? The panel welcomes multidisciplinary discussion of the above-mentioned issues through the lenses of cultural exchanges, cross-cultural perception/representation, cultural diplomacy, and soft power, but is not restricted to these perspectives/themes.

Submit to: NairobiCAAC2016@gmail.com.

Important dates:

Paper Abstracts Due: 29 February 2016

Notification of Participation: 4 March 2016

Draft Papers Due: 1 August 2016

Symposium & Public Seminar: 17-18 August 2016

Conference dates: 18-20 August 2016