CFP: Mapping Africa in the English Speaking World

[Harold Schiffman]

Forwarded  From: edling at lists.sis.utsa.edu


http://www.ub.bw/events.cfm?m=1&e=99



Department of English in the Faculty of Humanities at the University
of Botswana will host its 5th International conference under the theme
"Mapping Africa in the English Speaking World"



Since 1998 the Department of English in the Faculty of Humanities at
the University of Botswana has hosted a biennial conference to discuss
issues concerning English language and literature in Africa. The 2009
conference, Mapping Africa in the English Speaking World, will provide
a platform for researchers, academics, educators, language planners,
applied linguists, and other professionals interested in English in
Africa to engage with various issues relating to the representation of
Africa, past and present, in English. The suggested themes and
sub-themes of the conference include:



The representation of Africa in various modes of communication (in English) in:

Spoken and written literary texts

The media

Theatre, film and other modes of performance

Music

Anthropology, history, linguistics, sociology and other academic discourses.

Conceptions of African multilingualism, nationalism, identities and
culture in English cultures within Africa and beyond



The English language in Africa:

Advantages and disadvantages of using English in Africa

The English(es) of the African Diaspora

The Africanization/indigenisation of English in Africa

English and postcolonial Africa

Africa's enrichment of English: the contribution of Africa and the
African Diaspora to the communicative and expressive Capacity of
English

Perceptions of power relations between African languages and English

Conflicting interests: teaching African cultures in the English
language; teaching English in an African culture.

Representations of Botswana culture by foreign vs Botswana writers.



The department hopes that dialogue around such issues will contribute
to better understanding of the image(s) of Africa in the
English-speaking world, the relationships between Africa and English
and the extent to which English and other African related issues such
as various languages traditions (written and oral), cultures, etc
inter-relate; the construction of identities and development of
relationships in multi-lingual contexts; how culture and knowledge are
effectively communicated between communities; and so on.



Abstracts of not more than 250 words on any of the above themes and
sub-themes should be submitted via email to: monaka at mopipi.ub.bw.
Abstracts must be Microsoft Word documents. The deadline for
submission is 31 March, 2009. Abstracts should include:

Title of paper

Conference theme and sub-theme addressed

Name(s) and academic title(s) of author(s)

Academic or professional affiliation

E-mail address

Number of words in the abstract



Please note that papers presented at the conference should not exceed
a maximum of 20 minutes. Conference fees and accommodation details
will be communicated at a later date.
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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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