Stanford University, California
October 26-27, 2012
DEADLINE: July 31, 2012
The Stanford Forum for African Studies (SFAS) invites proposals for papers by graduate students, scholars, and faculty on the topics of mobilization and mobility – of people and power, of goods and technology – and how this movement affects social, economic, and political processes and practices in Africa today. Interested participants should submit abstracts by email to stanfordfas@gmail.com or online. Please also include your name, affiliation and contact details.
This interdisciplinary conference seeks to explore the movement of people and goods, the transformative nature of local and regional exchanges, and the mobilization of ideas and
ideologies. Ever increasing trade, migration, and availability of technology are changing the
relationships between consumers and producers, state and society, publics and politicians.
We aim to examine the ways in which people interact with their fellow citizens, produce and
promote ideas, share culture and knowledge, and learn and borrow concepts that continue to
shape the future of political, economic, and social development on the African continent. We
welcome proposals that combine insights, methods, and research from all fields and
disciplines, including the sciences, social sciences and the humanities.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Regional integration and the economic effects of migration within Africa
• Technologies of exchange and mobility, including social media and mobile services
• Social and political movements, uprisings and protests
• Class mobility and the making of the elite and middle class
• The governance and regulation of mobility
• Changing nature of physical and social boundaries in Africa
• Entrepreneurship and economic exchange
• Channels and barriers to movement and movements
Please contact Jess Auerbach at jess.auerbach@stanford.edu with any
further questions
