Veranstaltung

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Care in and out of Africa

Datum
25. Juni – 28. Juni 2025 

CfP for a Euro­pean Con­fer­ence on African Studies


CfP for a con­fer­ence on „Care in and out of Africa”
Prague, June 25–28 2025
Organ­is­ers : Lys Alcay­na-Stevens, Clara Devlieger 

Inter­est­ed con­trib­u­tors should sub­mit an abstract in Eng­lish or French by 15 Decem­ber 2024 via the ECAS paper sub­mis­sion form. If you have any ques­tions, please do not hes­i­tate to get in touch with Lys (lys.alcayna-stevens@anthro.ox.ac.uk) and/or Clara (clara.devlieger@unil.ch).

Abstract: Care, both as a con­cept and a prac­tice, is deeply embed­ded in every­day life in Africa. From the inti­mate acts of care­giv­ing dur­ing preg­nan­cy and ill­ness to com­mu­nal rites sur­round­ing funer­als, and the shared expe­ri­ence of food or prayer, care man­i­fests through sen­so­ry and affec­tive engage­ments that shape fam­i­ly and com­mu­nal bonds. These prac­tices are entan­gled with­in broad­er his­to­ries of migra­tion, colo­nial­ism, and glob­al health regimes. This pan­el inter­ro­gates how these entan­gle­ments are expe­ri­enced, con­test­ed, and trans­formed in Africa and among its diasporas.

By bring­ing togeth­er schol­ars work­ing at the inter­sec­tion of care, sens­es, affect, and health, we explore ques­tions such as: How is care nego­ti­at­ed in set­tings of state neglect? What do the ten­sions between patients and prac­ti­tion­ers, and between bio­med­ical pro­to­cols and every­day care prac­tices, show about the entan­gle­ment of care with pow­er, inequal­i­ty, and gov­er­nance? How do they repro­duce inequal­i­ties or serve as sites of resis­tance against neolib­er­al­ism and biopo­lit­i­cal con­trol? Who are the new providers and recip­i­ents of care, and under what con­di­tions does care become politicised?

Chang­ing care arrange­ments high­light inter­sec­tions of polit­i­cal econ­o­my, embod­ied expe­ri­ence, and every­day prac­tice. How does care bring moral and polit­i­cal economies togeth­er? How is care felt, sensed, and enact­ed in var­i­ous con­texts, from health­care set­tings to domes­tic spaces? How does care extend beyond humans to include ani­mals, plants, ecosys­tems, and ances­tors – expand­ing the notion of what con­sti­tutes com­mu­ni­ty and kin­ship and blur­ring the bina­ry of care-giv­er and recipient?