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Thinking Critical Diversity Literacy, Rethinking African Studies
Thinking Critical Diversity Literacy, Rethinking African Studies Workshop (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 24 November- 30 November 2024
The Africa Multiple Cluster Gender and Diversity Offices (Bayreuth, Germany; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Eldoret, Kenya; Lagos, Nigeria) in collaboration with the South African National Research Chair for Critical Diversity Studies at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, invites applications for an intensive week-long workshop on Critical Diversity Literacy and African Studies.
Critical Diversity Literacy provides us with a robust set of concepts and principles to navigate the intersectional challenges of contemporary Africa and the diaspora. The workshop will bring together scholars from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds to collaborate in developing critical strategies and conceptual tools to reinforce and embed Critical Diversity Literacy in the field of African Studies.
This 6-day [Sunday 24 November 2024 – Friday 29 November 2024, with departure on 30 November] event is planned as an intensive‚ early career workshop. The main aim of this workshop is to engage with the ten Critical Diversity Literacy (Steyn, 2015). We will reflect on how these principles inform and are informed by the concepts of relationality (see Katherine McKittrick, 2021: 120-121) and reflexivity (see Chilisa, 2020: 215-216), and explore how to develop a substantial framework using critical thought culled from Critical Diversity Studies, Decolonial Scholarship and Intersectionality Theory.
The intended outcome of this workshop is an integrative theoretical approach that rethinks teaching and researching in African Studies -- at epistemic, structural, disciplinary levels -- where theory can be a place of healing (hooks, 1994: 59-61). The workshop plans for visible representation of diverse African scholars, who can draw on the African knowledge archive (African continental and diasporic epistemic contexts). The event will contribute to a future conference on African Values and Critical Diversity Literacy: Fostering Intersectional Decolonial Thinking in Reconfiguring African Studies.
We especially invite early career scholars (advanced PhD candidates and Postdoc scholars) across disciplines, but we will also welcome interested senior academics. A limited number of scholarships for flights and accommodation are available for selected successful early career applicants.
The workshop will take place in person at a venue hosted by the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Please apply here. Registration link https://forms.gle/pDYuh3XfR8g8kfyr6
The application deadline is Monday 16 August 2024.
For further information, please contact Prof. Melissa Steyn and her team at this email address. info.wicds@wits.ac.za
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Friday Reading Group
The WiCDS Friday reading group is for all NRF-SARCHI chair funded students at WICDS, although all students studying with the centre are encouraged to attend as part of the scholarship development program.
The guidelines
- The facilitator should submit the reading to be shared at least 2 weeks before the reading.
- Ad hominems (personal attacks and references) should be avoided. This is still very much an academic space.
- We only read published articles, or sometimes articles accepted for publication – this is not a forum for testing out our own writing (we do that elsewhere).
- The articles should preferably be someone else’s (Not your own published work).
- The idea is not to dominate the discussion but to lead the group to engage deeply with the text.
- The ideas of the person leading the discussion are not the main point of the session, but those of the author.
- The session should begin with a brief explanation for why the article was accepted and a short summary of the main argument.
- it is advisable to lead the group through the text by highlighting certain sentences/paragraphs for the group discussion to focus on in-depth.
- The emphasis should be on theoretical concepts and the implications of these (rather than just the empirical data) as we are trying to enrich our conceptual tools for CDL.
Join the Reading group blog:
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The Paul Chappell Disability Reading Group
Dr. Paul Chappell was a selfless brother, friend and passionate researcher in the field of disability and diversity who passed away on 18 July 2018. Paul worked as a researcher in disability and sexuality at WiCDS and had over 15 years of international experience in the field of disability and diversity. His research interests included the development of sexual identities amongst young disabled people in the African context, and the intersections between gender, race, queer and disability studies.
In memory of Paul Chappell, WiCDS renamed the Disability Reading group, The Paul Chappell Disability Reading Group. This reading group tries to honour his immense contribution to disability scholarship and activism through scholarly engagements on disability-related scholarship. The reading group usually involves the reader sharing and discussing a reading that is key to their work or their own work. The reading group seeks to grow our theoretical understanding of disability and how it is framed not only in Africa but South Africa and the Globe. The reading group is usually hosted in a hybrid format or at the WICDS centre in person or the disability rights units. Usually on a Friday from 2 pm -4pm.
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WiCDs Wednesdays
WiCDS Wednesday is a monthly seminar event that normally takes place on the last Wednesday of every month during the school term. The seminar(s) seek to bring together civil society, academics, and activists to discuss topical issues that affect our society and the world. The event also tries to improve our understanding, grow our knowledge, and create a space for critical and constructive discussion on issues affecting society. The seminars take place in our offices and the event takes a hybrid format (online and in-person) to cater to people who are not locally based and in-person for people who can attend. The seminars are usually 2 hrs in nature and start at 14:00 to 16:00
