BIEA Graduate Conference

November 3rd and 4th 2017

BIEA, Nairobi, Kenya

 

This year’s BIEA Graduate Conference is on the theme of (Re)framing Narratives of Africa.

The narratives used to describe ‘Africa’ have had profound impact on how Africa has been positioned in the World. Yet when it comes to narratives there is a need to question whose voices prevail and when.

How and why do different narratives develop and change at regional and local level? And how do these narratives influence our perception of Africa today?

Narratives are powerful and can shape discourse. At the regional level, the continent was for long described as poverty ridden and war plagued yet more recently the narrative has shifted to the other extreme of that of ‘Africa rising’. Local narratives also form our perception of Africa. For example, out of the recent ‘Unga crisis’ new narratives have (re)emerged such as the role of civil society, political legitimacy and food security.

Not only do these regional and local narratives matter for how we view contemporary Africa and through whose lens but narratives also (mis)inform our understanding of the past and the future. As an example the discussions around colonial legacies and the call for ‘decolonization’ challenges old narratives and puts forward new ways to interpret Africa’s past and future.

This year’s BIEA PhD Conference seeks to interrogate the past and present narratives of Africa to understand topics pertaining to, but not limited to, social change and democracy, contemporary development, knowledge and power, media and censorship, colonial legacies and memory.

The BIEA welcomes submissions for a 20 minute presentation of research or artwork. If you would like to present please send an abstract between 250-350 words on the theme of the presentation and include your Name, Affiliation and Title of Presentation to phdconference@biea.ac.uk by the 30^th September 2017. Notification of acceptance will be given by November 15^th 2017.