Call for Papers

Building Images: Exploring 21st Century Sino-African dynamics through cultural exchange, media representation, and translation

14-16 January 2016

University of Nottingham, UK

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

Mr Liehui He (African Centre Shanghai, China)

Dr Maurice Gountin (Chinese Cultural Centre, Benin)

Professor Helge Rønning (University of Oslo, Norway)

Professor Ian Taylor (University of St Andrews, UK)

The rapid growth in China’s involvement with Africa since the turn of the 21st century has been the focus of much recent scholarship and media attention. In both the popular and academic coverage of the topic, there is a marked discrepancy between the discourses put forward by China on the one hand, and the West on the other. While China promotes the ‘win-win’, friendship-and-equality discourse summarized in its 2006 white paper, reports and scholarship in the West have a tendency to view Chinese involvement with suspicion, and even alarm, accusing the super-power of taking part in a new ‘scramble for Africa’. Academic research has sought to interrogate some of the myths that have sprung up around Sino-African co-operation, taking the form primarily of case studies of Chinese trade, development and aid in selected African countries. This AHRC-sponsored conference looks to build on that interrogation by exploring present-day Sino-African dynamics from the perspectives of cultural exchange, media representation, and translation. Through an examination of these interactions, the conference aims to identify the images of ‘China’ that are being built in Africa, and vice versa, exploring how these images are constructed, the extent to which they complement or counteract official foreign policies, and the degree to which they are relevant among different sections of society. Papers are invited on any area relevant to the conference theme as outlined above, and may include, but are not limited to the following:

· representations of China in African media

· representations of ‘Africa’ or African countries in Chinese media

· cultural events and exchanges

· cultural diplomacy and soft power

· literary translation

· ‘translations’ of culture in the broadest sense of the term

· African cultural products (songs, films, literature, performances, etc.) that convey certain images of China

· Chinese cultural products that convey certain images of Africa

· FOCAC (with an emphasis on cultural co-operation)

· Chinese cultures in focus / African cultures in focus programmes

· Confucius institutes and Chinese Cultural Centres in Africa

· African Centres in China

· linguistic and educational exchanges

Submitting a proposal

Your proposal should be emailed as a Word document attachment to kathryn.batchelor@nottingham.ac.uk on or before 9 August 2015, and should include the following information:

· title

· 500-word abstract

· 150-word biographical note (for all authors, in the case of joint papers)

· lead author’s contact details (include email and telephone)

Important Dates:

Abstract submission deadline: 9 August 2015

Abstract acceptances announced: 1 September 2015

Registration opens: 1 September 2015

Conference Fees and Bursaries

Waged: £40 (fee for single-day attendance: £25)

Students and unwaged: £25 (fee for single-day attendance: £15)

The conference fee includes refreshments and sandwich lunch on Thursday and Friday, plus free admission to a documentary screening at the Broadway Cinema on the morning of Saturday 16th January. It does not include accommodation or evening meals.

The conference is sponsored by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK). A number of small bursaries are available for PhD students, with priority being given to those whose home institutions are unable to make a significant contribution towards travel costs. Students wishing to be considered for a bursary should send a cover letter and 2-page CV with their conference paper abstract. Please note that bursaries will only be awarded to applicants whose papers are accepted for inclusion in the programme and they are likely to cover only part of any individual’s travel costs.

Publication of Papers

We plan to publish a co-edited volume of essays based on papers presented at the conference. Participants wishing to have their paper considered for inclusion in the volume should submit a full-length version of their paper (6000-8000 words) to Kathryn.batchelor@nottingham.ac.uk on or before 28 February 2016. All papers should be in English.

Further Information

Further information about our AHRC project can be found at: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ctccs/research/building-images.aspx

Conference updates will also be posted there in due course.