Events

You are cordially invited to a conference organised by

The DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH (UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA) and her sister Departments (ALL, ENGLISH and HISTORY), in collaboration with GRER-ICT (Paris – Diderot) and CREA (Paris – Nanterre)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA

22 – 23 FEBRUARY 2019

CONFERENCE THEME:

RACE, IDENTITY AND GLOBALIZATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA AND BEYOND

Southern Africa has been undergoing radical changes in social, economic and political terms since the onset of decolonization. International interest has focused on the RSA, with its long apartheid period (1948-1990), which established race as the main identity marker in an attempt to maintain “White supremacy”. However the question of race and identity has been a topic of discussion throughout the world, though in varying ways but time and space have brought in a dimension where race and identities have been redefined and viewed in new perspectives even in Southern Africa.

The Department of French at the University of Botswana and two French research laboratories: GRER and CREA propose a conference around the theme of “RACE, IDENTITY AND GLOBALIZATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA AND BEYOND”

Conference Sub-Themes:

Researchers are invited to send proposals in either English or French on the following sub-themes or any other topic related to the theme of the conference. The themes and sub-themes could be analysed from a sociological, political, linguistic and textual representations perspective.

1. A FOCUS ON BOTSWANA
   • Ethnicity in Botswana,
   • Racial and National Identity in Botswana
   • Cultural Supremacy and Politics
   • Linguistic and Cultural Diversities of Botswana;  
   • Botswana amidst hostile settler regimes of Southern Africa
   • Marginalized communities and identity politics
   • Race, gender, class and ethnicity in Botswana
   • Dual and complex identities of Batswana in Botswana and the Diaspora.
   • Cultural Fluency and the politics of Belonging or not Belonging.
   • Performing the Botswana Identity
      
2. INTERSECTIONAL AND RACIAL DIVERSITY
   • Analytical and theoretical frameworks
   • Multilingualism
   • Multiculturalism
   • Multiple ethnic identities
   • Migration and Identities
   • Ke Motswana: Economic migration and geopolitics in Botswana.
   • Diseases and cultural stereotypes
      
3. DECOLONIZATION
   • Decolonizing the curriculum
   • Decolonising the mind
   • Reclaiming the Tswana identity 

The conference communications will be in either English or French.

For more information, please contact:  Jacob K. SELLO: sellojk@ub.ac.bw

Conference Fees and Registration

• Normal Tariff:                                                                     P2000.00
• 50% Discount for the University of Botswana Staff:        P1000.00
• Student rate:                                                                       P500.00

Conference and Registration fees cover: the conference material, meal breaks, and welcome and closing dinner/cocktail.