Binyavanga Wainaina: Literary Legacies and Creative Futures
At ASAUK 2020
Cardiff, Wales, UK
08-10 September 2020

Following the general call, we are delighted to share the call for papers for the thematic stream ‘Binyavanga Wainaina: Literary Legacies and Creative Futures’ at ASAUK 2020, organized by Billy Kahora (Bristol) and Kate Wallis (Exeter).

This stream pays tribute to and critically examines the work of writer and literary producer Binyavanga Wainaina. The organisers are particularly interested in scholarly engagements with Wainaina’s memoir One Day I Will Write About This Place, as well as with the significant body of short non-fiction and fiction he produced and that has been collected at https://planetbinya.org/.

B. Wainaina. Image courtesy of Wallis, ASAUK

In addition, you are welcome to submit papers that document and examine Wainaina’s work as a global public intellectual, a Nairobi-based literary producer, a digital pan-African and an LGBTQ+ activist, and intersections between his writing and these multiple identities.

Possible topics for papers include but are not limited to Wainaina’s relationship with literary initiatives from Kwani? to the Farafina Creative Writing Workshop to the Caine Prize for African Writing; Wainaina’s experiments with literary form and image; Wainaina’s writing of childhood, food and place; Wainaina’s work in translation and his relationship to global literary networks; Wainaina’s engagement with artists and musicians from Ukoo Flani Mau Mau to Wangechi Mutu; Wainaina’s work in relation to health, sexuality and to digital technologies. Ultimately, the organisers are interested in sparking wide-ranging and nuanced conversations around Binyavanga Wainaina’s literary engagement that contribute to building and understanding his legacies and creative futures for African literary production.

Organisers: 
Billy Kahora (billy.kahora@bristol.ac.uk) and Kate Wallis (K.Wallis@exeter.ac.uk )

Submission Process:
In order to submit a paper proposal for the thematic stream ‘Binyavanga Wainaina: Literary Legacies and Creative Futures’, you must first create an account to use the Conference Abstract Management System. To do so, follow this link: How-to-create-an-account-for-the-ASAUK-2020-Conference- (1)

Once you have created your conference account, submit a proposal to the thematic stream on Binyavanga Wainaina following the instructions here: How-to-submit-a-panel-proposal-to-the-ASAUK-2020-Conference-F2 (2)

The deadline for submissions is Sunday 22 March 2020. All submissions should be received by this date.

Please refer to the ASAUK website for more details on the submission process.

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The 28th ASAUK conference will take place in Cardiff, Wales from 8 to 10 September, 2020.

The ASAUK 2020 conference will celebrate the diversity and interdisciplinarity of the study of Africa. The conference provides a unique opportunity to connect with hundreds of Africanists, academics with a particular interest in the continent, development specialists, policy makers and others. The organisers are committed to engaging with participants through an energising and informative programme and facilitating networking opportunities

Registration for the ASAUK 2020 conference is now open and will close on Friday 31 July 2020.

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Categories: Calls for & opportunities, Research, Studies, Teaching

Tags: African futures, ASAUK, Binyavanga Wainaina, Call for papers, Conference, Creative Africa, Farafina, identity, Kenya, knowledge production, Kwani?, LGBTQ, Literary criticism, literature, Nairobi, technology, writing