African Renaissance and Pan-Africanism
VENUE | University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
CONVENERS | Vusi Gumede, Ndlovu Sabelo, Sphamandla Zondi, Prof. V.T. Msila
What is the current state of Africa’s Renaissance?
Pan-Africanism was the rallying point for African unity as well as struggles against imperial domination and control. It was a movement and cultural-cum-political consciousness among Africans on the mainland and their kith and kin in the Diaspora. Despite the hopes and aspirations of the Pan-Africanists, the artificial state structures that the imperialists imposed on the continent at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 have led to what some scholars have called ‘bondage of boundaries’, that have produced territorial nationalisms that need to be transformed into pan-Africanism.
In view of the complicated trajectory of Africa marked by failures and successes, defeats and triumphs, trials and tribulations, as well as hopes and despairs, questions continue to arise about the future of Africa and its agency. This conference therefore calls for papers that focus on the following broad themes and questions, such as: What are the genealogies, trajectories, and horizons of Pan-Africanism? What is the impact of colonialism and coloniality on power, being, and knowledge in Africa? What is the appropriate framework for uniting the African Continent? What is the current state of the Africa’s Renaissance.