1st Congress of the African Sociological Association
The African Sociological Association announces its 1st Congress which is scheduled
to hold in Grahamstown-iRhini, South Africa, from 15 -- 18 July 2007. The Afri-can
Sociological Association was formally constituted in December 2000 on the back of
the 10th General Assembly of CODESRIA, in Kampala, Uganda.
The 1st Congress of AfSA is the first step in giving institutional force to the
objectives of transcending the isolation and fragmentation, and valorising the
scholar-ship of African sociologists and the sense of an intellectual community.
These are vital for creating a viable link between scholarship and social
engagement; be-tween research and policy—of direct relevance to ad-dressing the
pressing socio-economic and political challenges facing our continent. Most of these
challenges are profoundly sociological—issues ranging from poverty and
development, to governance and democracy, health, violence and civil strive,
gender relations, youth, and youth culture. The most viable way of doing this is to
focus on the comparative advantage that scholars have, which is to deepen their
scholarship. The AfSA’s 1st Congress is, therefore, primarily a scientific activity—a
conference; but one that is driven by, and rooted in, socially engaged scholarship.
On the back of the conference, we will address governance issues relating to the
running of the association—including the consideration of a charter for AfSA.
The primary concern of the Congress is to use the platform and the gathering for
reflection, mapping out research directions and activities that AfSA will pursue in the
three-years following the Congress, and means of connecting research with public
policy.
The theme of the 1st AfSA Congress is: Sociology—the African Challenge:
Reflections on Sociological Practice in Africa. The objective is to focus on the
challenge that doing Sociology within the African con-text poses for global Sociology,
and reflect on modes of its practice in the African context. Among the questions that
will be addressed are the ways in which sociological scholarship has benefited from
distinctly African perspective(s). In this regard, we can point to foundational efforts at
articulating and injecting distinctly African insights into sociological scholarship. To
illustrate the point contributions by African scholars to gender scholarship have
focused on distinct epistemic and discursive insights from a variety of African onto-
logical stand-points, in ways that challenged the primary assumptions that gender is
biologically inscribed. Similarly, global Medical Sociology has been significantly
infused by local aetiologies of diseases and curative interventions—with direct
implications for and impact on the practice of medicine and the interpretation of
illness and well-being. The theme is designed to be expansive; enough to
accommodate a range of in-sights and reflections from the wide spectrum of the sub-
disciplines of Sociology.
Sub-Themes:
Each sub-theme will be driven by the conference theme of reflections of the
sociological vocation: conceptual and practical.
The following are the main sub-themes for the conference:
• Sociology and the challenge of African ontological narratives
• Canons and Canonical Works in African Sociology
• African Gender Scholarship
• Regional and National Sociological Traditions
• African Universities, Reforms, and Intellectual Re-production
• Teaching Sociology in the African context
• Sociology and Development in the African context
• Social Policy in Africa’s Development
• Economic Sociology: urban and rural nexus
• Environmental Sociology
• Work, Leisure and Unemployment
• Labour Historiography in Africa
• Health, Well-being and Sociology
• Land and Agrarian Issues
• Environmental Sociology
• Urbanism and Urban Lives
• Race, Ethnicity, Xenophobia, and Genocide
• Indigenes, ‘Strangers’, and Citizenship: the prob-lem of Belonging
• Social Movements and Civil Society
• Politics, Power, and Democracy in Africa
• Globalisation and Transnational Networks
• Sociology, Faith and Belief-systems
• Youth and Youth Culture
• Sports, Leisure and Livelihood.
• Sociology of Education and Schooling
Special Panels:
• Amilcar Cabral: the Unknown Sociologist?
• Frantz Fanon and the Sociology of Race and Colonialism
• Sex, Gender and Social Relations: African epistemic insights
• The Sociology of Akínsolá Akìwowo: a critical engagement.
In addition to the scientific and governance aspects of the Congress, it will also be
an occasion for the African sociological community to recognise and honour some of
its leading lights.
Scholars interested in participating in the Congress are invited to send in abstracts
of their papers which will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee of the Congress.
The Committee will have responsibilities for the peer-review process. Those
interested in constituting panels to address specific issues are also invited to do so.
All abstracts and panel proposals must be received by the conference secretariat
not later than Wednesday 31 January 2007. The result of the evaluation of abstracts
and panel proposal will be announced by Wednesday 28 February 2007.
Full papers from authors of selected abstracts, including those to be presented in
successful panels, must be received by Friday 28 April 2007. The papers will be
available online (on the AfSA website) by Friday 16 June 2007.
Abstracts, panel proposals, and enquiries should be sent to:
The Secretary
AfSA 2007 Congress
AfSA Secretariat,
c/o Department of Sociology,
Rhodes University,
Grahamstown-iRhini, 6140, South Africa
Tel: +27-46-603-8361
Fax: +27-46-622-5570
E-mail: afsa2007@afsanet.org
Further Enquiries
Visit this page regularly for update on the conference.
Facilities for online submission of abstracts and papers will be available shortly
The African Sociological Association announces its 1st Congress which is scheduled
to hold in Grahamstown-iRhini, South Africa, from 15 -- 18 July 2007. The Afri-can
Sociological Association was formally constituted in December 2000 on the back of
the 10th General Assembly of CODESRIA, in Kampala, Uganda.
The 1st Congress of AfSA is the first step in giving institutional force to the
objectives of transcending the isolation and fragmentation, and valorising the
scholar-ship of African sociologists and the sense of an intellectual community.
These are vital for creating a viable link between scholarship and social
engagement; be-tween research and policy—of direct relevance to ad-dressing the
pressing socio-economic and political challenges facing our continent. Most of these
challenges are profoundly sociological—issues ranging from poverty and
development, to governance and democracy, health, violence and civil strive,
gender relations, youth, and youth culture. The most viable way of doing this is to
focus on the comparative advantage that scholars have, which is to deepen their
scholarship. The AfSA’s 1st Congress is, therefore, primarily a scientific activity—a
conference; but one that is driven by, and rooted in, socially engaged scholarship.
On the back of the conference, we will address governance issues relating to the
running of the association—including the consideration of a charter for AfSA.
The primary concern of the Congress is to use the platform and the gathering for
reflection, mapping out research directions and activities that AfSA will pursue in the
three-years following the Congress, and means of connecting research with public
policy.
The theme of the 1st AfSA Congress is: Sociology—the African Challenge:
Reflections on Sociological Practice in Africa. The objective is to focus on the
challenge that doing Sociology within the African con-text poses for global Sociology,
and reflect on modes of its practice in the African context. Among the questions that
will be addressed are the ways in which sociological scholarship has benefited from
distinctly African perspective(s). In this regard, we can point to foundational efforts at
articulating and injecting distinctly African insights into sociological scholarship. To
illustrate the point contributions by African scholars to gender scholarship have
focused on distinct epistemic and discursive insights from a variety of African onto-
logical stand-points, in ways that challenged the primary assumptions that gender is
biologically inscribed. Similarly, global Medical Sociology has been significantly
infused by local aetiologies of diseases and curative interventions—with direct
implications for and impact on the practice of medicine and the interpretation of
illness and well-being. The theme is designed to be expansive; enough to
accommodate a range of in-sights and reflections from the wide spectrum of the sub-
disciplines of Sociology.
Sub-Themes:
Each sub-theme will be driven by the conference theme of reflections of the
sociological vocation: conceptual and practical.
The following are the main sub-themes for the conference:
• Sociology and the challenge of African ontological narratives
• Canons and Canonical Works in African Sociology
• African Gender Scholarship
• Regional and National Sociological Traditions
• African Universities, Reforms, and Intellectual Re-production
• Teaching Sociology in the African context
• Sociology and Development in the African context
• Social Policy in Africa’s Development
• Economic Sociology: urban and rural nexus
• Environmental Sociology
• Work, Leisure and Unemployment
• Labour Historiography in Africa
• Health, Well-being and Sociology
• Land and Agrarian Issues
• Environmental Sociology
• Urbanism and Urban Lives
• Race, Ethnicity, Xenophobia, and Genocide
• Indigenes, ‘Strangers’, and Citizenship: the prob-lem of Belonging
• Social Movements and Civil Society
• Politics, Power, and Democracy in Africa
• Globalisation and Transnational Networks
• Sociology, Faith and Belief-systems
• Youth and Youth Culture
• Sports, Leisure and Livelihood.
• Sociology of Education and Schooling
Special Panels:
• Amilcar Cabral: the Unknown Sociologist?
• Frantz Fanon and the Sociology of Race and Colonialism
• Sex, Gender and Social Relations: African epistemic insights
• The Sociology of Akínsolá Akìwowo: a critical engagement.
In addition to the scientific and governance aspects of the Congress, it will also be
an occasion for the African sociological community to recognise and honour some of
its leading lights.
Scholars interested in participating in the Congress are invited to send in abstracts
of their papers which will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee of the Congress.
The Committee will have responsibilities for the peer-review process. Those
interested in constituting panels to address specific issues are also invited to do so.
All abstracts and panel proposals must be received by the conference secretariat
not later than Wednesday 31 January 2007. The result of the evaluation of abstracts
and panel proposal will be announced by Wednesday 28 February 2007.
Full papers from authors of selected abstracts, including those to be presented in
successful panels, must be received by Friday 28 April 2007. The papers will be
available online (on the AfSA website) by Friday 16 June 2007.
Abstracts, panel proposals, and enquiries should be sent to:
The Secretary
AfSA 2007 Congress
AfSA Secretariat,
c/o Department of Sociology,
Rhodes University,
Grahamstown-iRhini, 6140, South Africa
Tel: +27-46-603-8361
Fax: +27-46-622-5570
E-mail: afsa2007@afsanet.org
Further Enquiries
Visit this page regularly for update on the conference.
Facilities for online submission of abstracts and papers will be available shortly
2007 Congress of the African Sociological Association
AfSA 2007 Congress
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15 - 18 July 2007
Grahamstown-iRhini, South Africa
Grahamstown-iRhini, South Africa
Call for Papers & Panel Proposals
Theme: Sociology—the African Challenge
(Reflections on Sociological Practice in Africa)
(Reflections on Sociological Practice in Africa)