African Literatures: Materialities, Institutions, Translations
A two-day conference to celebrate the launch the African Language Literatures in Translation book series
Thursday 4 to Friday 5 March, 2027
University of Georgia, Athens GA
Scholars of African literature have long interrogated the sites of production and circulation used by writers from across the continent and in the diaspora. In recent years this interest has intensified with increasing attention to digital platforms. This digital age of African literature has also brought into contestation its materiality, prompting an ‘archival turn’ which takes the form of a renewed concern with the local and global publishing practices that have supported African writing. This conference is organized by the editors (Alexander Fyfe and Christopher Ouma) of the new African Language Literatures in Translation book series. The organizers invite submissions that think through the materiality of African literary and cultural production in the present and through its histories.
Topics for paper or panel submissions may include, but are not limited to:
- Translation of African literatures in practice and in theory
- Institutional histories of literary production and reception
- Archives and the archival
- Digital cultures
- Publishing practices and histories
- Literary networks
- Print cultures
This will be a two-day in-person only event at the University of Georgia, located in Athens, GA. It is sponsored by the University’s African Studies Institute. The conference will include a launch event for the African Language Literatures in Translation book series.
Please send paper abstracts of 200 words or panel proposals of 300 words to africanmaterialsconference@gmail.com by October 31, 2026. Please include short bios for all presenters.