The History in Africa editorial team is seeking submissions for volume 54.
The Archive in an age of Epistemic Anxiety
Call for Papers – History in Africa, Vol. 54 (2027)
Building on our previous theme of the methods of diaspora and transoceanic mobility, the African Studies Association journal History in Africa invites scholars to rethink and reimagine the foundational methods and conceptualizations of archives and archival work in both continental and diasporic contexts.
History in Africa (HIA) was established as a “journal of method” in 1974 and has served for over 50 years as a site of innovative inquiry into the foundations of the historical discipline while addressing the particular intercultural and methodological challenges of African history. Now published by Cambridge University Press, current articles can be found at cambridge.org/hia.
In the rich methodological scope of African history, the concept of the archive is expansive, diverse, and complex, constituted not only in what Achille Mbembe has referred to as “the building itself and the documents stored there,” but also in royal insignia, local and colonial identities, oral traditions, linguistic histories, and, perhaps most importantly, silences. More recently we encounter debates about types of violence, both physical and epistemic, reproduced in the creation and use of constituted archives and the accounts they contain. The expatriation of African archives through digitization, for example, marks a dramatic removal of context that needs critique while also opening valuable and long-hidden holdings to a global network of researchers. In like manner, the processing of oral histories into recordings, transcripts, and digital collections leaves historical voices similarly hanging like ripe fruit ready for decontextualized citation and a lost observance of cultural and physical spaces in which memories are formed and words articulated. In an age of epistemic anxiety affecting politics and public debates, we seek submissions that revisit the archival methods and conceptualizations that serve as the foundation of historical inquiry.
As always, submissions that fall outside the scope of this call are welcome by the deadline and throughout the year.
We welcome single authored and collaborative scholarship from senior scholars and emerging scholars alike.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
Review the journal style guide and submit by September 30, 2026: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-in-africa
Articles selected for publication after peer review will be included in the 2027 volume of History in Africa. Articles may appear in advance of the publication date via FirstView once the copy editing process is completed. Any queries should be addressed to managingeditor@historyinafrica.org.
