28226: Davis Call for Papers/Proposals -- African Performing & Visual Arts Conference, April 2007 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: "Davis, Karen" <kdavis@marygrove.edu>

CALL FOR PAPERS

Performing Africa!  Visualizing Africa!!
New Perspectives in African Performing and Visual Arts:
First Biannual International Conference for Performers, Visual Artists,
Educators, Teachers and Scholars

Baker University Center
Ohio University, Athens OH
April 18 -21, 2007

Conference Directors
Dr. Paschal Yao Younge and Dr. Zelma Badu-Younge

The College of Fine Arts in collaboration with the African Studies
Program, Office of the Provost, School of Music, School of Dance, School
of Theater, School of Arts and School of Interdisciplinary Arts at Ohio
University is organizing the First Biannual International Conference on
African Performing and Visual Arts to examine new perspectives in
African Traditional and Contemporary Art Traditions.

The objective of the conference is to create a forum for musicians,
composers, dancers, choreographers, dance therapists, actors,
playwrights and directors, visual artists, educators, teachers, and
scholars to discuss new perspectives in African Performing and Visual
Arts from a variety of viewpoints. The goal is to stimulate interest in
exploring various ways of theorizing, analyzing, performing, teaching,
and researching African performing and visual arts.

The conference directors are interested in a range of new theories,
teaching pedagogies, curricula development, interdisciplinary
approaches, research methodologies and analytic techniques, and
intersections with other disciplines. Presentations may include
individual papers, panels, workshops, performances,
lecture-demonstrations; and other original forms of presentation.
Papers and presentations on African performing and visual arts that fall
outside of the themes of the conference will also be considered, though
will not be given a high priority. Presenters may consider (but are not
limited to) the following categories of themes:

A. Curricula Issues: Cross-cultural, Interdisciplinary, Intercultural
Approaches Section 1
- Teaching African Music in the Academy
- Teaching African Dance in the Academy
- Teaching African Visual Arts in the Academy
- Teaching African Theater in the Academy
- Teaching African Music and Dance to Amateur and Professional levels,
etc.

Section 2
- Developing an African Music Curriculum:  K-12 and College/University
Levels
- Developing an African Dance Curriculum: K-12 and College/University
Levels
- Developing an African Visual Arts Curriculum: K-12 and
College/University Levels
- Developing an African Drama and Theater Curricula: K-12 and
College/University Levels
 - Developing an African interdisciplinary Arts Curricula: K-12 and
College/University Levels

B. Researching, Representation and Transformation Issues
- Transformations in African Arts
a) From the Village to the Stage in Africa: Cities and Urban centers
b) From Africa to Asia, Americas and Europe
- Representing African Arts: What do you keep? What do you eliminate?
 a) Authenticity, Creativity and Originality

C.  Who, How, What to say about African Performing and Visual Arts. Who
is the authority? Theorist, Researcher and/or Practitioner?
- Perspectives of dancers, musicians, actors, composers, choreographers,
visual artists, etc
- Perspectives of educators and teachers
- Perspectives of theorists, critics, ethnomusicologists, art
historians, ethnologists, anthropologists, etc.

D. Documentation and Notation of African Arts
- Oral notation versus Written Notation
- Technological systems-DVD, CDR, Video, CD, etc.

E. African Arts for Development, Education, Empowerment and Change

F.  International Scholarship and African Arts

	G. African Arts and the Media: Films, Radio, Television, etc.

	H.  African Arts and Literature

I. Workshops, Exhibitions and Performances

Conference highlights will include Keynote Speeches by:

1. Kofi Agawu, Princeton University, Topic: New Perspectives in African
Music: Theory, Practice and Research

2. Robert Thompson, Yale University, Topic: Open Your Ears and Hear The
Messages of God:  Towards a History of Mambo

3. Akin Euba, University of Pittsburgh, Topic: Interdisciplinary Nature
of African Traditional and Contemporary Performing and Visual Arts

4. Michael Kemeh, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, Topic: African
Theater for Development, Education, Empowerment and Change in
Communities

5. Nii Yartey, National Dance Theater of Ghana, Topic: African Dance
Forms in the 21st Century

6. Komla Amoako, Ghana Institute for Music and Development, Banquet
Keynote Speech





PAPER AND SESSION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
- Registration for the Conference is free for all presenters
- Each presenter is responsible for his or her own transportation to and

from airport, plus hotel and meal expenses.
- Registration provides free lunch to participants and presenters,
admission to all conference activities including the banquet and
transportation from local hotel to conference venues.

          - Session and Paper Proposals Deadline:
		 	 	November 15, 2006

		- Notification of Acceptance
   		December 1, 2006

TO HAVE YOUR PAPER/SESSION CONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION, send the following
to
conferences@ohio.edu and please type African Arts in the Subject line of

your email message.
- A one-page (150-250 words) abstract with a title
- Full name of presenter(s)
- Position or Job Title
- Affiliation and Department
- Mailing address
- E-mail address
- Telephone and fax number
- Biographical Narrative (1 pg)
- Abbreviated curriculum vitae (1 pg)

For those who do not have access to email, two hard copies of abstracts
and
proposals may be sent to African Arts Conference, Haning Hall 113-A,
Ohio
University, Athens, OH 45701 or  Fax: (740) 593-9476

Papers will be selected on the basis of clarity of the presentation and
on
the relevance and originality of the ideas presented. Submissions that
are
not presented in the required format will not be considered.

Individuals whose papers/sessions are accepted will be asked to:

(1) Submit complete papers by February 1, 2007 for distribution to the
discussants/moderators. The planning committee reserves the right to
remove
from the conference program papers that are not made available by that
date.
(2) Submit a request for audio-visual equipment, e.g., slide or overhead

projectors, cassette recorder, etc by Feb. 15, 2007.  Unfortunately, we
cannot accommodate requests to have papers read in the absence of the
authors.


Conference registration will be available online at
www.ohiou.edu/africanarts in the near future.