CALL FOR PAPERS

Transcultural English Studies

Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of the New Literatures in English (ASNEL/GNEL)

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt/M

May 19-23, 2004

After some four decades of international research and teaching in the field variously designated as “Commonwealth Literature”, “Postcolonial Literature” or “The New Literatures in English”, a major paradigm shift seems to be on the way. Where previous approaches had emphasized cultural difference and sought to establish various forms of  “literary area studies”, a spate of recent work has focussed on transcultural dimensions of (both “diasporic” and “regional”) anglophone literatures. This development has arguably followed the trajectory of the New Literatures themselves: transcultural experiences, opportunities and predicaments are no longer exclusive concerns of what used to be conveniently labelled as “migrant writing”, but have become central features of anglophone literatures across the globe – a process that increasingly undermines the habitual classification of literary texts in terms of national or regional literatures.

    The ASNEL Conference on “Transcultural English Studies” seeks to explore the challenges posed by this process for the future development of English Studies on an international scale. What theoretical and methodological resources are currently available for meeting these challenges? How can theories of transculturality and transnationality developed in other disciplines such as the social sciences or cultural anthropology be used productively in literary and cultural studies? How have neighbouring disciplines such as American Studies responded to transnational and transcultural challenges? How do transcultural issues and problematics emerge in anglophone literatures and in other media such as film? How do writers, artists and film-makers position themselves on issues of transculturality? These and other related questions will be explored in a number of thematic sections dedicated to the following topics:

    In addition, a number of anglophone writers and film-makers from all over the world have been invited to present their works and to share their perspectives on transculturality with the conference delegates as well as with a wider audience at public readings and discussions.

    The organizers welcome contributions pertinent to the conference theme that may not fit into the thematic sections outlined above. Online registration will be available by July 1st, 2003.

Deadline for paper proposals: December 31st, 2003

I S O L A
International Society for Oral Literature in Africa

The International Society for Oral Literature in Africa
(Click here for French Version)

Fifth Conference of ISOLA

15-17 July, 2004
(Check news section for update on conference date)

University of the Gambia, Banjul

Call for Papers on the Topic:

THE PRESERVATION AND SURVIVAL OF AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE

Introductory remarks

The persistence of African oral literature and traditions in various areas and facets of culture and society, both on the mother continent and in the African diaspora, has for some time engaged the interest of scholars and artists across the world. This material has been captured in print for several centuries by experts from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. Thanks to their efforts, we have today a considerable body of texts that have given us some insight into the varied achievement of Black oral culture

There are several reasons why the topic of “preservation and survival” of this cultural material is very much called for today. First, the world we live in continues to change at a rather rapid pace. Modern trends in technology, especially in the areas of audiovisual entertainment, have increasingly drawn the youth away from some of the modes of artistic production available in the oral culture. Secondly, the demographic outlook of many societies is increasingly altered as populations move across ethnic, regional, and even national boundaries, so that their oral traditions no longer retain the appeal they had for the old social groups. And thirdly, these population changes have tended to force upon oral traditions, and the languages sustaining them, some adjustments designed to harmonize the old and new outlooks. The time seems right, therefore, for a conference that will take stock of the state of our oral traditions in the light of cultural imperatives forced upon them by time and the changes that it brings. The traditions are part of our “intangible heritage”—to borrow a phrase from a worthwhile agenda currently embraced by UNESCO—because they reflect some of our accumulated cultural wealth that cannot be calculated or grasped as readily as material goods and artifacts. If we do not take proper account of them now, it may be too late to do so hereafter.

We say “proper account” because, although there are large bodies of text of oral literature and tradition available in print, not all have been recorded with adequate care and sensitivity to the physical and cultural contexts within which they were presented or to the outlook of the persons and peoples whom the texts are supposed to represent. The scholars who recorded them were obviously more anxious to tease out what they judged to be their functional content or essence than to acknowledge the creative genius behind their production and the various factors (human and otherwise) aiding the production.

These are some of the issues that this conference will seek to address. We hope to tackle the following subjects: How does the African oral text get to be produced? In what ways can it be properly captured, stored, transcribed, and translated into local and other languages? Raising these questions should enable us to understand the fundamental qualities and character of the oral arts and to recognize their manifestations and relevance in a variety of situations. For instance, what are the relations between the oral arts of the past and their recreations in the changed conditions of today (e.g., the use of indigenous ritual texts for songs composed to aid HIV-prevention programs)? How can we use texts of African oral literature in teaching, with the help of modern pedagogical methods, the indigenous languages from which the texts derive? How can we recognize the various modes of transformation or transfer of African oral traditions from one region to another, whether within or outside Africa? In what ways have modern African literary, visual, and performing artists utilized indigenous oral traditions in their works? If we can recognize the internal connections between a people’s oral and other arts (e.g., sculpture), how can we begin to formulate the fundamental aesthetic and other principles peculiar to the people? How useful will such an exercise be for exploring the relations between one region of Africa and anywhere in the African diaspora that reveals comparable qualities?

It is only fitting that our conference should be held in the Gambia. In tracing his ancestry to Juffure, Alex Haley has demonstrated the durability of African oral tradition and pointed the need to explore more stable ways of ensuring its survival as well as its adjustment to the vagaries of history. A visit to Juffure will be one of the highlights of our conference.

Themes of the conference
PERFORMANCE, COLLECTION AND STORAGE OF ORAL TEXTS. What are the situations in which African oral performances are held? What is the nature of the audience and the physical circumstances of the performance? What impact do these factors have on the performance?
What tools and techniques are used in recording the oral performance? How comfortable is the performer with the recording presence and apparatus? Where (e.g., archive, library, museum) and under what conditions (shelf or cabinet space, climatic conditions, etc.) are collected texts stored? How are the texts organized, classified, and coded for future retrieval or reference?

TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION OF ORAL TEXTS. In what dialect/language is the text performed? In what dialect/language is the transcription done, and what technical tools are used to aid the transcription process? What is the relation of the transcription to the system of orthography recognized by the state or the collector’s institution/profession? Are there any official regulations concerning transcription of the text for special purposes, e.g., school instruction? What methods are used for reconciling the verbal text of the performance with other aspects of it—e.g., music, movement, etc.?

Is there any project (official, institutional, etc.) in place for translating the text of a performance into other indigenous languages, for whatever purposes? Is translation of oral texts into non-African (e.g., European) languages encouraged or undertaken for local purposes (e.g., school instruction) or for wider professional interests (e.g., publication in journals or book projects)? What are the problems encountered in each case, and how does the translator get around them?

MOVEMENT OF AFRICAN ORAL TRADITIONS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AFRICA. How have oral traditions traveled from one part of Africa to another (within and across national boundaries), and what are the factors determining the movement? What were the modes of transfer of oral traditions to non-African societies: by enslaved Africans, by (post-abolition) indentured workers, or by groups of immigrants much later? What racial or social groups did the Africans meet when they reached their new abodes? What forms/levels of interaction did the Africans have with these established groups?

What are the obvious African survivals in the folk traditions of these “new-world” Africans? Can the African sources (regional, ethnic, linguistic, etc.) of these survivals be established with any degree of accuracy? What kinds of changes have the African folk elements suffered in their “new-world” setting? What comparable/compatible elements in the host culture may be said to have encouraged the adaptation of the African originals?

AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE AND OTHER ARTS. In what ways has oral literature influenced, or been influenced by, other indigenous arts (painting, sculpture, weaving, building, dance, drama, etc.), whether in Africa or in “new-world” societies? What other influences (cultural, political, cognitive, etc.) have intervened in the exchange of motifs between one form and another?
How have modern artists, working in an indigenous or foreign idiom/medium, utilized African oral traditions in their productions (literature, theater, film, music, etc.)? What kinds of adjustment have they had to make in their exploitation of the traditions, and what are the reasons for the adjustment? To what other uses has African oral literature been put, such as the promotion of local or international programs (agriculture, health, etc.)?

Guidelines for papers
Proposals for papers relating to any of the above four themes should be written in not more than 300 words, giving the title of the paper and a description of its focus and outline. Proposals should be sent to Isidore Okpewho (iokpewho@binghamton.edu), to reach him not later than November 30, 2003. Since we hope to publish a selection of papers given at the conference, final versions of these should reach Isidore Okpewho as soon after the conference as possible, but not later than September 30, 2004.

Registration and other matters
Registration fees for participants from anywhere outside Africa are as follows: Pre-registration, 85 U.S. dollars; on-site registration, 95 U.S. dollars. For participants from Africa, there is a single rate of 25 U.S. dollars paid on-site. Information about mode of pre-registration payment will be provided on listserv and website later this summer.

Arrangements are being made for hotel and other accommodation in Banjul, as well as for travel from various locations, by the conference committee at the University of the Gambia, Banjul. When these have been concluded, information about them will also be provided on listserv and website. The Banjul Conference Organizing Committee is made up of the following personnel: Edris Makward (chair), Professor of English and French and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr Jean-Dominique Penel, Senior Lecturer in French and staff member of Padef (Projet d’appui pour l’enseignement du francais); Dr Nico Awasom, Senior Lecturer in History; Ms Iris Walton, Visiting Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Drama (English Department); Mr Ernest Cole, Lecturer in English; and Mr Momodu Tangara, Lecturer in French.
ISOLA has a new website, and the address is: http://isola.binghamton.edu. It will become fully operational by the end of May, 2003.

Isidore Okpewho

Council President Isidore Okpewho; Secretary Itala Vivan; Ursula Baumgardt, Anne-Marie Dauphin-Tinturier, Jean Derive, Bassirou Dieng, Paul Eguchi, Ruth Finnegan, Graham Furniss, Henry Indangasi, Edris Makward, Fatimata Mounkaila, Jeff Opland, Olabiyi Yai, Kwesi Yankah