Final Call for Proposals: The ICTM Study Group on African Musics 2nd Symposium, hosted by the University of Ghana's Department of Music, August 9 - 12, 2018

The ICTM Study Group on African  Musics is pleased to announce its Second Symposium on the theme,  " African Music Scholarship in the Twenty-first Century: Challenges and Directions." The symposium  will be hosted by the Department of Music, School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon  August 9 - 12, 2018.

This second meeting hopes to build on the successes of the first, which was held in 2015 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. Several sub-themes will be addressed at this symposium. The symposium is open to all researchers, scholars and interpreters of Africa musical traditions and those of the African Diaspora; participation from Francophone and African Diaspora scholars are particularly encouraged. Some of the sub-themes to be addressed include the following: 

• African and Afro-Diasporic collaborations and exchanges
• Representations and the Francophone presence in African music scholarship
• Music education: Philosophies, pedagogies of African music  
• Interdisciplinarity and African music historiographies in critical perspective
• New analytical approaches to contemporary African art music traditions

While English will be the general medium for the symposium, submissions and presentations in French are welcome; abstracts in both French and English are highly encouraged, especially in the case of Francophone participants.

A schedule of several performance and special cultural events are being planned as significant aspect of the Ghana symposium, drawing on the rich and cultural and artistic events and venues in the Accra metropolitan area. Details about these events-including conference updates and accommodation--will be made available at:   http://afmusgroup.beaconpros.com . (The official website for the African Musics Study Group is at  http://www.ictmusic.org/group/african-musics )

Call for paper and panel proposals

Proposals for individual papers must include the following:

• Title and an abstract not exceeding 250 words;
• full contact information including address, phone and e-mail.

Fully formed panel proposals must include the following

• The Panel: Title and a short abstract not exceeding 250 words;
  contact information including address, phone, fax, and e-mail for the panel chair.
• Individual Papers: Each panel must submit, for each participant, title and an abstract not exceeding 250 words and contact information including address, phone, and e-mail.

The program committee encourages panel submissions with three or four 20-minute papers.  Participants may present only one paper, but may serve as a chair on another panel.

Important Dates:

Deadline for all individual papers and organized (i.e., fully formed) panels is JULY 1, 2017.

Deadline for notification of acceptance: Notifications will be sent by OCTOBER 1, 2017.

Submit proposals by July 1, 2017 to [email protected], with copies to Patricia Opondo, [email protected].

Committee members:

Local Arrangements Committee :

• Dr. Joshua Amuah (Chair, [email protected])
• Dr. Hilarius Wuaku
• Dr. Adwoa Arhine
• Mr. Eric Sunu Doe

Columbia University

2017 IRAAS Summer Institute: "Black Activist New York" 

The Columbia University Institute for Research in African-American Studies (IRAAS) is now accepting applications for its  2017 Summer Teachers and Scholars Institute (STSI). Convening for one week between Sunday July 9  and Friday July 14, 2017.

July 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of Harlem's historic "Silent Parade," when over 10,000 Black New Yorkers marched in protest of anti-black lynching and other forms of violence. In commemoration of that event and the larger movement it represented, and in recognition of the historical trajectory from it to the current moment and movement for Black Lives, the theme for the 2017 Summer Teachers and Scholars Institute (STSI) will be  "Black Activist New York." We encourage you to apply! 

This Summer Institute offers what few others are able: 

• The opportunity to study how New York has been and continues to be a center of people of color feminist and queer political organization, African-American public health activism (HIV/AIDS and environmental justice organizations), and policing reform, among others
• Attend seminars facilitated by today's leading scholars in African-American Studies and Activism
• Visit and tour historical landmarks and institutions around the city
• Receive instruction in the latest research methods and,
• Enjoy afternoon and evening cultural excursions throughout New York City.

This year's lecturers and presenters will include  Samuel K. Roberts (STSI Director), Zaheer Ali, Afua Atta-Mensah,  Dante Barry, Ansley Erickson, Crystal Feimster, Steven Fullwood, Rujeko Hockley, and Minkah Mikalani. STSI seminars and presentations will explore various themes including:

• Pasts, Present, and Futures of Black Activism
• Educating Harlem: Activism for Equality in the Mid-20th Century
• Black LGBTQ Activism and Memory in New York City, 1969-1996
• Using Oral Histories to (Re)Claim Spaces and,
• Health/Medical Rights. 

This Summer Institute offers what few others are able: the opportunity to study Black Activism  through the lens of New York, and in New York.