CFP: Culture and Society in Post-Colonial Nigeria in honor of ULLI BEIER

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Institute of African Studies

CALL FOR PAPERS

Culture and Society in Post-Colonial Nigeria in honor of ULLI BEIER.

November 28 – 30, 2011

The conference is being organised in honour of Ulli Beier, not only to invoke his memorable role in the cultural production in Nigeria from the years immediately before and after the independence, but also to incite robust discussion on his entire oeuvre as a cultural interventionist. In literature, in performance and in Visual Arts, the long list of artists that Ulli Beier’s many fora (Black Opheus, Mbari, Mbari Mbayo) fostered is a proof of his sterling contribution to African culture.

Culture itself encapsulates the dialogic production of meaning and aesthetics through a variety of practices. It also captures discourses associated with a mix of public and private institutions such as cinemas, the media, museums and other sites of socio-historical production. Discourses around such issues expose the mindset of a people; they mirror where a nation is coming from and the direction in which it is moving. After fifty years of independence, Nigeria requires looking back to assess itself. The project of evolving a new Nigeria has placed emphasis on political and economic factors rather than developing cultural potential for sustainable development. This is a huge lacuna given the fact that culture plays a significant role in the life of a nation.

The conference is intended to stimulate new dimensions of assessing the predicament of pre-colonial Nigeria, privileging cultural history and production. More specifically, we anticipate an interrogation of the double-bind of fusion and rupture of politics and culture. In an attempt to answer many questions that emanate from this, we expect that the conference will generate theses from a wide range of perspectives such as economics, art and science, among others.

Sub-themes include but are not limited to the following:

* Culture Theory

* Culture, Gender and (Wo)Men’s rights

* Culture, Democracy and Governance

* Globalization, Mass Culture and the New Media

* Material Culture and Cultural Performance

* Culture and Ecology

* Traditional Medicine and Spirituality

* Conflict Prevention and Management

* Social Movements and Ethics

Keynote speakers:

Professor Akin Ogundiran, Chair, Africana Studies Department,University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC.: Topic: Crises of Culture and Consciousness in the Postcolony: What is the Future for Nigeria?

Professor Wole Ogundele, Director Centre for Black culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, Osun State.: Topic: He Lived among the Orisha: Ulli Beier and the Yoruba Cultural Revival.

Conference Venue: Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

An abstract of not more than 250 words is expected to reach the conference organizers through the following e-mail addresses:

Ohioma Pogoson tellohio[at]ahoo.com

Ayo Adeduntan grandeekay[at]ahoo.com

not later than August 15, 2011. Participants shall be notified of the acceptance of their abstracts by August 31, 2011.

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