CFP: Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa

Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa
CAMRI Africa Media Series: University of Westminster, London, UK

1st Call: Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa Conference: 25 - 26 March 2010

Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa are the topics of a 2-day interdisciplinary conference to be held at the University of Westminster from 25-26 March 2010. Not only are the concepts and practices of racism and ethnicity related and multifaceted - covering issues such as race, sex, colour, status and class - but they are also part of multi-staged pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial realities. The crisis in global capitalism, rising levels of poverty in Africa, together with political mismanagement, appear to be fuelling unprecedented levels of racial and ethnic conflict on the continent. This debate matters because racism and ethnicity have, to a large extent, undermined African efforts that aim to achieve national unity and development. The Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 - 15 January 1970, serves as a prominent example. More recent examples include Rwanda, where, in 1994, RTML radio played a leading role in the massacre of millions of Rwandans. In December, 2007, Kenyan media reports and songs, during what many regarded as ethnic-divided elections, contributed to the violent clashes that killed 900 and displaced more than a quarter of a million people. The ethnic and racial killings in Darfur, the murder of albinos in Tanzania, the 2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa and many other unreported conflicts in Africa raise many questions: How are the mass media implicated in the growing ethnic and racial conflicts and violence in Africa? In what ways are the media challenging, undermining or reinforcing issues relating to racism and ethnicity in Africa? How have African media and journalists covered racial and ethnic topics? Both old and new media have opened new spaces for debates that were formerly suppressed, but have they not also encouraged extremism? This interdisciplinary conference calls on academics, media practitioners, policy makers, journalists, Africa specialists, and development practitioners to debate on the growing linkages between 'racism, ethnicity and the media in Africa'.

Papers may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
- Theorising representation, racism and ethnicity in Africa
- Contemporary and historical dimensions of minority media in Africa
- Racism and the media in Africa
- Ethnic languages and the media in Africa
- Global, National, Local identities and the media in Africa
- Human rights and the media in Africa
- Identity politics and the media in Africa
- Suppressed imaginations and mediation of suppressed histories
- Memory and the media in Africa
- Hate media in Africa
- Reporting tribal, racial and factional politics in Africa
- Capitalism, poverty and marginalisation in the African media
- The politics of funding and regulating minority media in Africa
- Old and New Media (e.g. Internet, Mobile phones) in a Polarised Africa
- Peace journalism/intercultural communication/inclusive media practices in Africa

Please e-mail your 200-word abstract to Helen Cohen at: journalism@westminster.ac.uk.
All submissions must include title of conference, topic, an abstract and should list the author's full name, with contact information and affiliation. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 15 November 2009 and those whose abstracts are accepted will be notified by 1 December 2009.

Conference Fees: Unwaged/Students: £50 Waged/Non-Students: £125 Fees cover registration, conference pack, lunch, coffee/tea and wine reception

Conference Team: Winston Mano, Colin Sparks, Peter Goodwin, Roza Tsagarousianou, Tarik Sabry, Helen Cohen, Maria Way and Brilliant Mhlanga.