CFP: Visual & Verbal in African Commerce (African Studies 2003)

[Rachel R. Reynolds]

Hello everyone.

The CFP below pertains to Africa and new African diasporas, so my apologies
to those on the list whose work is not in those areas...

Rachel
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Call for Panel Participants, African Studies Association Annual Meeting,
Oct. 30-Nov. 2, Boston, 2003
Panel Title: The Noise in the Market: Visual and Verbal Meaning in African
Commerce

"The desire to cheat and the refusal to be cheated are the cause of the
noise in the market." -- Yoruba Proverb

We invite abstracts that explore the social, material and meaningful
practices that underscore business in Africa and its New Diaspora. We
anticipate contributions that are theoretical, historical and/or data
driven. In particular, we ask what are the contemporary permutations of
visual and verbal meaning derived from African practices in commerce? What
metaphors and dominant discursive genres run through how business practice
is articulated and carried out? What are the subtle and elusive ways in
which matters such as mores, ethos and affect figure into commercial,
financial and political relationships? How are these matters crafted and
re-contextualized through visual and verbal means, and how are they
interpreted in cross-cultural contexts? What new social meanings arise
through the changing structures of the market and society in African
contexts? Contributions should examine the semiotic and/or rhetorical
(including visual, oral and aural) dimensions of business conducted between
or with Africans, on the continent and in diaspora. Theoretical
implications might involve examining accumulation and circulation in the
contemporary neoliberal moment, in order to better understand how
increasing globalization of African markets has led to a transformation in
how people express their relationship to goods, services and finance. We
seek scholars from diverse regional and disciplinary backgrounds to
contribute papers relating to the changing meaning of African business
exchange in historical, transnational and diasporic perspective.

Co-Organizers:

Beth Anne Buggenhagen
University of Chicago
babuggen at uchicago.edu

Rachel R. Reynolds
Drexel University
rrr28 at drexel.edu


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Rachel R. Reynolds
Assistant Professor
Department of Culture and Communication
Drexel University
3141 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA  19104-2875
tel (215) 895-0498
fax (215) 895-1333
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