African Feminisms (Afems) Conference 2019

African Feminisms (Afems) 2019: Theorising from the Epicenters of our Agency

5-7 September 2019, Wits University, Johannesburg

Organised by the Department of Visual Arts, Wits University and the Department of Literary Studies in English, Rhodes University. The third edition of the African Feminisms (Afems) conference will happen from the 5-7 September 2019 at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, in collaboration with the Department of Literary Studies in English, Rhodes University.

The 2019 theme is based on Nigerian Stiwanist Molara Ogundipe’s conversation in 2002 with South African black feminist Desiree Lewis in which Ogundipe states:

“For me, social ideas should emerge from a consciousness that thinks of what is beneficial to a human being as a person, not because the ideas occurred or are practiced in Europe or America. We need to overcome our endemic inferiority complex towards Europe and things "white," successfully implanted since our colonial education and through its curricula. We should think from our epicenters of agency, looking for what is meaningful, progressive and useful to us as Africans, as we enrich ourselves with forerunning ideas from all over the world including Europe and America. … I felt that as concerned African women we needed to focus on our areas of concern, socially and geographically. I am concerned with critical and social transformations of a positive nature in Africa, positive meaning, "being concerned with everything that maximises the quality of life of Africans and their potentials too.”

The conference program will be available mid-August. Confirmed keynote speakers are Patricia McFadden, Kharnita Mohamed, and Oyella Mary Goretty.

The conference will host creative dialogues with South African curator Natasha Becker and dancer/choreographer Mamela Nyamza, an art exhibition as well as two performance evenings.

Registration Details

To register for the conference, follow the link below:

https://www.quicket.co.za/events/79049-african-feminisms-conference-2019/

For more information, please contact Prof Khan or Dr Spencer on afrifems17@gmail.com.