Call for papers “Africans and Maghrebis in the Iberian Peninsula (1850-1975)”, Barcelona, 29-30 April 2022 — LIMITE: 11/01/2022

International Conference Afro-Iberia “Africans and Maghrebis in the Iberian Peninsula (1850- 1975)”.
April 29th-30th, 2022. Barcelona, Institució Milà i Fontanals – CSIC.

The International Conference Afro-Iberia explores the social and cultural interventions of Africans and Maghrebis residing in the Iberian Peninsula between 1850 and 1975. This period marks the beginning of the effective colonization by Spain and Portugal of their African territories, and the end of its colonization. The conference’s premise is that the presence of Africans and Maghrebis in Spain and Portugal at this time was framed by the rhetoric of Iberian colonialism, which conditioned their settlement, activities, integration, and visibility, also in terms of gender. This conference aims to assemble an Afro-Iberian history that enlarges the scope of existing studies, which until now have mostly focused on the African and Maghrebi presence in displays in human zoos and universal expositions or participation in war or sports activities. The final goal is to collect specific data on the reality and consequences of African and Maghrebian people settled in Iberian peninsula from 1850 to 1975.

Theoretical Approach: Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies
Humanities and Social Science Research: Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Social History, Phylology, Sociology, Literature, Arts.
Applicants are requested to send an abstract of 500 words in Catalan, English, Portuguese or Spanish, and a short bio of 100 words to hispanicafricanmemories[at]gmail.com, no later than January 11th, 2022. The list of selected papers will be announced on January 31st, 2022. The final programme will be announced in February 2022. Registration is free. The number of participants is limited. No fee is required. Participants are responsible for their expenses and travel costs. The conference will be hybrid: the opening keynote and panels online (29th morning and afternoon, and 30th morning) and the closing keynote will be broadcast live from Barcelona and open to registered participants able to attend (30th April evening). Applicants who would like to participate in an edited volume are invited to submit an extended version of their paper for consideration (4.000 words in Spanish) no later than January 20th, 2022: only the best contributions will be selected.

Coordination: Yolanda Aixelà-Cabré, Institució Milà i Fontanals-CSIC (Barcelona)
Organizing Committee: Diana Arbaiza, Universiteit Antwerpen Jacqueline Britto Pólvora, Universidad de Integración Internacional de la Lusofonia Afro-Brasileña (Brasil) Nuria Fernández-Moreno, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Madrid) Mar García, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Jordi Moreras, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona) Ana Lúcia Sá, ISCTE- Instituto Universitario de Lisboa
Scientific Committee: Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, PEN-Català (Barcelona) Eduardo Costa Dias, ISCTE- Instituto Universitario de Lisboa Jessica Falconi, CEAD-Universidade de Lisboa JM. Persánch, Lakeland University (Wisconsin) Elisa Rizo, Iowa State University Remei Sipi, E’Waiso Ipola – Editorial Mey (Barcelona)

This activity is organized by I+D+i Project “Africanos y magrebíes en la Península Ibérica (1850-1975). Una historia en los márgenes de España y Portugal” / “Africans and Maghrebis in the Iberian Peninsula (1850-1975). A history on the margins of Spain and Portugal” (AFROIBERIA) (PID2019- 108397GB-I00/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033), financed by MCIN/ AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and “FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa”. For more information, see website IMF-CSIC (https://www.imf.csic.es/index.php/investigacion/diversidades-emergentes-islam-africa-europa/congresos), website project (https://afro-iberiaproject.blogspot.com/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AfroIberiaDiverseIMFCSIC).

More information: here