CFP Senegambian Studies Annual Conference

In a recent interview, philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne1 stated, “people forget that the Sahara has never been a wall separating two worlds. Trans Saharan routes have always existed, and exchanges between the south of Sahara and northern part of Sahara have always existed, meaning that you had ideas traveling, scholars traveling, all sorts of goods and merchandise traveling”. Diagne invokes that this history of circulation is all the more present in the Senegambian region, which has seen unbridled movements of people, ideas, goods, services, cultures, and knowledge over the centuries. From its historic function as a hub for continental and global trade to its current migratory routes, Senegambia has retained its global relevance and continues to present opportunities and challenges beyond its confines. The region’s cultural influence remains borderless as mirrored by the dynamism of Senegambian communities in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, and Gabon, among other places where they epitomize adaptation and flexibility of belonging. Similarly, religious, financial and digital/virtual networks they have built throughout Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia, connect members to their home region while procuring them with significant leverage on national/regional politics and economy. The transcontinental culinary and musical influences of Jolof rice, Cuban salsa or Calypso in the Caribbean, jamaica or bissap in Mexican markets are products of circulatory modes that have transformed sound and flavorscapes globally. Senegambia is also home and host to growing foreign communities, including Chinese and other African groups who have settled in the region for economic (business), professional, or political (fleeing violence) purposes. In a world that has failed to respond to moral questions of migration, racism, or equalities, indigenous philosophies of hospitality and have become popular counter-discourses to shortcomings in Western

¹ *Souleymane Bachir Diagne with Jonathan Egid, January 5th, 2024. “Philosophizing in…Wolof`”. Blog,

Philosophizing in response to circulations of people, goods and services. Therefore, this conference seeks to address some poignant questions: what influences does Senegambia have in the world?; What new and old forms of knowledge circulate from and through Senegambia?; Where and in what ways is Senegambia represented globally?; What are current preoccupations in Senegambia? What are new ways in which we can develop new forms of collaboration with and about Senegambia and beyond it?

This conference seeks to open dialogues from and about the Senegambian region and beyond from multi-disciplinary perspectives as it pertains to circulation in its many forms (physical and virtual) as exemplified above. We seek abstracts that engage with intellectual and practical examination of historical and contemporary modes of circulation within the region and other parts of Africa and the diasporas, given that Senegambia is connected to a global circulatory nexus. The conference will be an opportunity to create new collaborations with scholars, activists, and publishers working on and outside the African continent. We will have two full days of panels, roundtables, speakers, and a local publishing book fair at the West African Research Center. On the third day, we will have several cultural activities for attendees, which will be decided on.

Submissions include and are not limited to the sub-themes below:

• Border challenges
• Technology and Digital Networks Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Political Violence in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Feminisms and Gender Political in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Financial Networks and Circulation of Capitals Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Social Movements and Contentious Politics in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Regions and Cultures
• Popular Cultures, Music, and Soundscapes in Contemporary Senegambia/Africa
• Literary and Filmic Expressions
• Democracy, Autocratization and Resistance
• History and Historical Representation
• Pan-Africanism and Transatlantic Connections
• Knowledge Production and Circulation in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Methods and Research Methodologies
• Education and Research Challenges in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Artificial Intelligence
• Healing and Traditional Practices in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Public Health and Its Challenges in Senegambia/Africa/Diaspora
• Climate Change/Contestations over land
• The Arts, Exhibition Spaces
• Urban Spaces and Transnational/Transregional Citizenship

Please submit your paper and panel/roundtable abstracts to senegambianstudiesgroup@gmail.com by March 25, 2024. Abstracts should be 250 words. Panels/roundtables may consist of 4-5 people. For individual abstract submissions, please include your name and contact information. If you are submitting a pre-constituted panel, please provide an abstract for the panel/roundtable and the names, contact information and paper titles for all presenters. Upon submission and acceptance, the conference registration fee (which includes breakfast and lunch) must be paid. Registration fees: $100 for professors at American institutions, $50 for fixed income professors on the continent, and $10 for students anywhere.