Call for Papers: Asixoxe (Let's Talk) Conference on African Philosophy - Prague 2020
Africa in a Cosmopolitan and Polycentric World
Violence, Conflict Mediation, and Peace Building Dynamics
June 15 – 16, 2020, Prague
For nearly three decades, Africa has been swayed by conflicts of different nature and intensity: the South African apartheid and the conflicts in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola or Sudan, Jihadist incursions in various African countries, the secessionist attempt in Western Cameroon, as well as multiple crises facing the Great Lakes Region, and other conflicts. These phenomena reveal two paradoxical realities. On the one hand, there is the violence and exclusion – including extermination – imposed on the majority of African people today. On the other hand, we must mention the organized activities seeking to find suitable solutions to this suffering through a range of initiatives generically called "peace interventions" which include various actors, philosophies and strategies.
The globalization process and the collapse of the Cold War have both contributed to the reconfiguration of the world order. The abundant literature on this subject sheds light on questions related to this reconfiguration including, for example, the examination of ideas such as interdependence, mobility, polycentrism, multilateral arrangement, cosmopolitanism, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development, climate change, both the new economic and the ecological order, to mention but a few. Being part of planet Earth, Africa cannot be excluded from these concerns.
The Asixoxe (Let's Talk!) Conference on African Philosophy 2020 would like to explore issues raised by the evoked context. The conference focuses on conflicts, violence, conflict mediation, and peace building dynamics currently developing in Africa. It also seeks to analyze the meaning, the nature and the causes of conflicts and violence currently affecting Africa. Subsequently, it also seeks to explore theories and dynamics of peace in the African continent. In addition to this, the conference addresses issues related to African political thought and practice, African languages and literature, African culture and identity, migration and gender, human rights and demography. Possible topics include:
- Concepts and narratives of peace and war in Africa
- Conflict mediation and resolution
- Indigenous knowledge on conflicts and their resolution
- Countries, Ambassadors, and United Nations (UN) approaches to conflicts
- Intercultural and religious dialogues
- African philosophy’s conflict and peace theories
- Interaction between local and global structures for peace
- Non-violence, gender, new technologies, and other related topics
We invite you to explore these issues at the fourth Prague edition of Asixoxe –Let’s Talk! Conference on African Philosophy, organized by the Centre of Global Studies (CGS) of the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The conference will be held in Prague, on 15th -16th June 2020. Titles and abstracts of 200-250 words, as well as any queries, should be sent by 24th April 2020 to Dr Albert Kasanda (CGS, Prague), kasanda@flu.cas.cz Each speaker will be given 20 minutes for the presentation, with subsequent 10 minutes for questions and discussion. We envisage a publication of selected papers from the conference. There is no registration fee for presenters and other participants. English is the working language.
