CALL FOR PAPERS
The University of Texas Africa Conference
Development, Urban Space, and Human Rights

Venue: The University of Texas at Austin
April 3-5, 2015
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/2015africa-conference/call-for-papers.php

We are now inviting scholars to submit conference papers and full panel proposals for the 2015 conference on Development, Urban Space, and Human Rights. The social, political, and cultural landscapes envisioned and created under the context of development highlight the historic and ongoing challenges that frame efforts to transform Africa’s development trajectory. The goal of this year’s conference is to generate interdisciplinary insights that can interrogate development paradigms and intervention practices as they relate to urban space and human rights in Africa.

What does development mean in the context of indigenous strategies of self-determination and global intervention? How do notions of development shape urban space and urban policies in Africa? In what ways have development strategies affected human rights? How do indigenous collectives and global activists define human rights and urban rights, and how can these definitions shift notions of development?

Some potential topics may include:

–        Development Debates

–        Narratives of development

–        Concepts of Under-Development, Urban Space, and Human Rights

–        African Development Strategies

–        Sustainable Development, Gender and Development

–        Entrepreneurship and Development, Insurgent Development Practices

–        Development and the aid industry

–        Human Rights Debates

–        Intervention in Human Rights, Border Issues

–        Rhetoric and culture of international human rights

–        Dependency and Human Rights Issues

–        Development, Intellectual Property and Struggle over Resources

–        Urban Space and Development Practices

–        Urban Planning and Development Strategies

–        Urban Rights, Rights to the City

–        Urban Informalization/Informality and Citizenship

–        Social Exclusion, Displacement, and Urban Marginalization

–        Africom and Intervention

–        NGO’s and MCC’s and Prospects for Development

–        Sanctions for Better or Worse (Zimbabwe, Sudan, etc.)

–        Education for Development

–        Children and Youth: development strategies for/impacts, rights and life prospects

As with all our previous conferences, participants will be drawn from different parts of the world. Submitted papers will be assigned to particular panels according to similarities in theme, topic, discipline, or geographical location. Papers can also be submitted together as a panel. Additionally, selected papers will be published in book form.

This conference also has a commitment to professional development which will be fostered through workshops in writing, publishing, and conference presentation. The conference will also provide ample time for professionals from various disciplines and geographical locations to interact, exchange ideas, and receive feedback. Graduate students are especially encouraged to attend and present papers and will be partnered with a senior scholar to encourage their own growth as scholars.

The deadline for submitting paper proposals is November 30, 2014. Proposals should include a 250-word abstract and title, as well as the author’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and institutional affiliation.

Please submit all abstracts to africaconference2015@gmail.com and Toyin Falola: toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu

 

A mandatory non-refundable registration fee of $150 for scholars and $100 for graduate students must be paid immediately upon the acceptance of the abstract. This conference fee includes admission to the panels, workshops, and special events, as well as transportation to and from the conference from the hotel, breakfast for three days, dinner on Friday night, lunch on Saturday, and a banquet on Saturday evening.

It is expected that all participants will raise the funding to attend the conference. The University of Texas at Austin does not provide participants with any form of funding support, travel expenses, or boarding expenses. If the conference obtains outside funding this will be used to help subsidize graduate students’ accommodations on a competitive basis but it is not guaranteed.

Convened by: Professor Toyin Falola, toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu

Coordinated by: Bisola Falola and Ben Weiss, africaconference2015@gmail.com

 

Conference Website: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/2015africa-conference/