Opportunity for Hausa Female Writers - British Academy (UK) International Writing Workshop

 THEME: Amplifying Women’s Voices in Hausa Cultural Studies: Writing and Publishing

Workshop for Early Career Women Academics from West Africa

LOCATION: Abuja - Nigeria

DATE: 7-11 August 2023

PROMOTERS AND PARTNERS:

SOAS, University of London, Kaduna State University, Nigeria and the Hausa International Book and Arts Festival, (HIBAF)Kaduna- Nigeria, with funding support from the British Academy, UK.

CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

The organisers are inviting applications to a four-day international academic writing workshop for early career women scholars working in West Africa, especially Nigeria and Niger.

This workshop seeks to amplify the voices of West African early career academic women working in the field of Hausa Cultural studies and related fields.

Participants will work on developing their writing, revising for publication, building their research profile, and strengthening their networks. They will also have the opportunity to interact with experts from high-impact journals.

Participants will be expected to prepare and submit a 5000 – 7000 word draft paper ahead of the workshop and to provide feedback on the draft papers of other participants.

At the workshop, they will receive feedback from experienced academics and will be paired with mentors for peer review and one-on-one feedback.

The 4-day on-site workshop will consist of a hybrid of virtual and on-site events. Editors and publishers from international high-impact journals publishing in African literature and cultural studies will provide virtual as well as on-site expert advice.

Participants will interact with academic experts in the field and editors of reputable international journals to learn about writing articles; publication procedures; identifying appropriate journals; research methods; reviews; adapting conference papers and thesis chapters into journal articles; and writing successful grant applications.

Following the physical workshop, participants will engage in a six-month mentorship to revise their articles and ready them for submission to journals. The aim is to publish the revised papers as a special issue in a relevant academic journal.

Participants will further be given the opportunity to participate in the 2023 Hausa International Book and Arts Festival.

Participation in the workshop is FREE. Accommodation will be provided for all participants, and the organisers are also able to offer limited travel bursaries for scholars working in West Africa.

FOR WHO?

This workshop aims at early-career academics based on the African continent.

● To support the expansion of women in the academy in the region, this event will cater exclusively to women.

● At a minimum, participants must be registered for PhD studies.

● As a maximum, participants can have up to seven years of postdoctoral experience.

● Participants should be doing work relevant to the regional focus and the thematic areas outlined.

● Researchers currently affiliated with an African academic institution and independent researchers based in a West African country are welcome to apply.

● Scholars from otherwise marginalised groups are especially encouraged to apply.

ORGANISERS

● Prof. Ibrahim Malumfashi, Kaduna State University. Nigeria.

● Dr. Carmen McCain, SOAS University of London, UK.

● Sada Malumfashi, Open Arts Development Foundation, Kaduna, Nigeria.

The organisers will be supported by a team of academic facilatators and editors who will serve as workshop mentors. They include:

1. Professor Asabe Kabir, Usmanu Ɗanfodiyo University, Sokoto.

2. Professor Saheed Aderinto, Florida International University, USA.

3. Professor Abdallah Uba Adamu, Bayero University, Kano-Nigeria.

4. Carli Coetzee, Editor, Journal of African Cultural Studies, United Kingdom.

5. Moradewun Adejunmobi, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of the African Literature Association, UK.

6. Prof Remi Raji, Co-Editor, Matatu Journal of African Culture and Society, Germany.

7. Janet Remmington, Global Portfolio Director, Routledge Taylor & Francis UK.

8. Oscar Masinyana, Head of Researcher Services and Networks, Taylor & Francis Group Invited UK

COLLABORATORS

The workshop is made possible with funding from the British Academy and the support of the Hausa International Book and Arts Festival, (HIBAF); the African Studies Association in the UK; Hausa Studies Association in Nigeria; Kaduna State University, Kaduna; and SOAS University of London.

THEMATIC CONCERN

Over the past forty years, there have been thousands of novels written in Hausa, many of them by women, and hundreds of films based on these novels or with women’s input as screenwriters or producers. However, of the scholarly discussion of these novels or films that have made it into larger conversations about African literature and film, the most well-known and well-cited scholarship has largely been published by men and international scholars, rather than by women closest to these experiences.

Such research is valuable but incomplete, and these imbalances are echoed in other fields of cultural studies research in Northern Nigeria and Niger. This imbalance comes largely from the inequitable structuring of both international and local university education.

This workshop seeks to amplify the scholarship being done by women from Hausa-speaking regions by providing female scholars access to networking activities, information about international publishing and grant applications, and opportunities to exchange and revise ongoing work.

The organisers welcome applications from scholars working in West Africa with a focus on Hausa cultural studies. While the organisers have specified Hausa-speaking regions, they are also interested in women’s experiences from minority languages and cultures in the region.

Scholarship can be related but not limited to disciplines such as literature and film studies, literary and cultural theory, political science, political philosophy, political activism, history, historiography and literary history, law, cultural history, performance studies, music and visual cultures, environmental studies, and gender studies.

The organisers encourage applicants working on multidisciplinary research to apply.

HOW TO APPLY?

To qualify for the workshop, you must be a woman, either a PhD student or early-career scholar (within seven years of PhD award), based in West Africa and working on any of the above listed areas.

To apply, please fill the following form https://forms.gle/q1CzziMJHb3E8XNm8 including a 300-500 word article abstract and 200 word motivation statement, as well as a short CV with the date or expected date of PhD conferral by 15th June 2023.

Alternatively, fill and send the details of the form below to academicwriting@openartsworld.org

Names

Gender

Highest academic qualification (degree, subject, year, institution)

Current affiliation / career status

Home address

Email address

Where would you travel from to Abuja (if different from home address)

Title of proposed workshop paper

Abstract of paper (300-500 words)

Motivation statement for the workshop (up to 200 words)

Finally, would you like to participate in, and present at, the Hausa International Book and Arts conference following the workshop? Yes or no

If yes, give a brief explanation of your interest.