The 10th Annual African American Studies Spring Symposium will be held at The University of Texas at San Antonio on Thursday, April 6, 2017.
Each year, the University of Texas at San Antonio hosts a daylong African American Studies Spring symposium. On this 10th anniversary, the symposium invites presentations from across the disciplines that examine the complexity of Intersectional Black Identities. The event offers a space to explore all that “intersectionality” has signified and all that it has become.
This stimulating symposium will set the stage for collective exploration and celebration of Intersectional Black Identities across social and cultural realities. Topics will include a broad range of lived experiences, intellectual inquiries, and creative representations. The work of keynote speaker Jericho Brown, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University, provides a pathway for (re)considering the axes and edges of history, community, love, expression and more. This call welcomes papers and presentations covering Black identities marked by intersections with constructs such as the following:
- African Diaspora and Afro-Latinidad
- Who gets to be Black?
- Speculative Blackness
- Medicine, health and ability
- Style-shifting, code-switching and ebonics (e.g., Gullah, Creole)
- The body and sexualities
- Equity and access (e.g., history, race, language profiling, curriculum, health)
- Creative art and interpretation
- Activism, revolution and protest (e.g., #StayWoke, #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName)
The organizers welcome the submission of proposals for organized panels, workshops, performances, and visual media. Each single or multi-author presentation/workshop/performance receives a $300 honorarium.
Submit abstracts of no more than 400 words, in Times New Roman, 12-point font, single-spaced. Clearly articulate your presentation type, focus, and connection to Intersectional Black Identities. Include the presentation title, author’s name, professional title, academic/work affiliation, cell phone number, postal address, and email address. Email abstracts and inquiries to utsaafamsymp@gmail.com.
All accepted presenters must be in attendance for the entire day of the symposium and the evening reception in their honor. Accepted participants will be announced by December 5, 2016.