By Paul Mukundi Preventing Things from Falling Further Apart: The Preservation of Cultural Identities in Postcolonial African, Indian, and Caribbean Literatures is a ground breaking comparative work that explores a post-Achebe universe in which formerly colonized peoples make efforts to reconstruct their cultures by deconstructing some of the deleterious effects of colonization, while at the […]

SORAC 2010 International Conference Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Africa: History, Myths and Realities Montclair State University   October 7, 8 & 9, 2010   Conference Program   Keynote Address  Conflict Resolution in Africa: Perspectives for Peace Making and Peace Building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Dr. André M. Kapanga (Former) Ambassador of the Democratic Republic […]

October 7, 8 and 9, 2010, Montclair State University. Looking at Africa today, it appears as though the continent has become, in the minds of many around the world, synonymous with all that is wrong with humanity. Genocides, wars, tribal strife, disease and humanitarian disasters seem to have taken, therein and in the minds of many outsiders, a coloration that has reinforced the multifarious stereotypes about Africa as a continent of chaos and misery. Numerous questions do indeed come to mind when looking at the issue of conflict in Africa, namely: What is conflict and how do Africans define, describe and/or understand conflict? What are the causes of conflict in present-day Africa, and what were these causes in pre-Muslim and pre-Christian Africa? How have Africans dealt with conflicts in their pre-Muslim and pre-Christian past, and how have they dealt with them in their Muslim and Christian present? What does/did conflict resolution mean in the African context? Are/were there any principles of conflict resolution in African cultural ethos? Have any such principles been successfully implemented at some point in the past or present of Africa? Is/was there a philosophy of conflict and conflict resolution in African culture(s)? How does/did it manifest itself? Are present-day conflicts on the continent due to an inherent flaw in African culture(s) or have there been too many simplifications in past and present understandings of conflict in Africa? The questions are too many to list here, and the issues vast. In order to begin an intellectual discussion of these complex issues, SORAC calls for papers that would explore the themes of conflict and conflict resolution in Africa from a variety of perspectives (historical, literary, political, etc.) and disciplines (humanities, social sciences, etc.).

Proposal Submission Guidelines: Paper Proposals for SORAC 2010 are due on or before August 30, 2010. Submit a 200-300 words abstract summarizing the content/theory/rationale of your presentation, and include your contact information and institutional affiliation with your abstract (address, title, university or institution, phone, fax, email, etc.). The Program Committee will not review incomplete proposals or late abstracts.

Montclair State University’s 200-acre campus commands a hilltop in suburban Montclair. Broad lawns, flowers, trees, a natural stone amphitheater and buildings that date from the early years of the century to the most modern provide an attractive academic setting. The New York City skyline can be seen to the east. Just 14 miles away, New York offers all the cultural, social and artistic resources of one of the world’s foremost cities.

Daniel M. Mengara, ed. Afrocentricity: Towards a New Understanding of the African Experience. Contribution by Molefi Kete Asante. Coming Soon: To be published by the University Press of America.
Afrocentrism or Afrocentricity as an intellectual movement has grown in strength and respectability in the past four decades mostly thanks to the unwavering efforts of such black scholars and activists as Cheikh Anta Diop, G.G. James, Molefi Asante, John Henrik Clarke, among others, as well as those of early Afrocentrists from the 19th century who spearheaded the movement in their bid to seek the ultimate liberation of black people, whatever such liberation meant for them. The various contributors to this volume will shed further light on the African experience as shared by Africans and peoples of African descent from antiquity to date.

This third volume of the SORAC JAS was inspired by articles from the SORAC 2002: "Internalist vs. Externalist Interpretations of African History and Culture" international Conference. It features 9 articles by Africanist scholars from the United States and Africa. Volume 3, Fall 2005.

African & Diasporic Voices
This second volume of the SORAC JAS was inspired by articles from the SORAC 2000: Black Thought and Movements in World History international Conference. It features 7 articles by Africanist scholars from the United States and Germany. Volume 2, November 2002.

SORAC calls for papers in all fields of African and related studies (history, anthropology, literature, language, culture, sociology, politics, gender, black studies, religion, etc. Cross-cultural and comparative approaches are also welcome) that would critically look at the history of Africa and its diaspora with a view to shedding light on either one of these positions. All periods of African and diasporic histories and their interactions with the outside world (ancient, precolonial, colonial, post-independence, etc.) may be explored. It will also be good for speakers to offer possible solutions to the various issues raised.

SORAC 2002 International conference program and details. The conference features papers in diverse interdisciplinary fields — such as political science, philosophy and religion, literature, anthropology, etc.