Background

Strong efforts have been made since 2006 to establish a new tradition of African Studies in the Czech Republic by organizing annual conferences focused on various disciplines concerning Africa as its main object of study. So far, three Viva Africa conferences have been organized by the Department of Anthropology and History, University of West Bohemia. Since we can see an extensive academic interest in African Studies research in our country, the decision has been made to provide a wider platform for presenting results of primary research by connecting with another advanced research center, that at the Department of Politics at the University of Hradec Králové.

Format of the Conference

The active participants (paper givers) are anthropologists, historians, linguists, political scientists, sociologists and  other researchers. The conference is open for professors, academic scholars, PhD. students, and other specialists who have Africa as their field of study, and who want to present results of their primary research. Especially M.A. students of African studies are welcome as observers.

The whole conference will take place in the form of plenary sessions in the university aula. It will be opened by the Rector of the University of Hradec Králové. His speech will be followed by short addresses (representatives of the City, etc.). The scientific programme will begin with the keynote address by Professor Patrick Chabal (King‘s College London), one of the most distinguished scholars working on Africa today. Clusters of paper presentations will follow. Each paper will be allocated 20 minutes. The scientific programme of the first day will be followed by a toast of welcome, the Central European launch of Professor Chabal’s newest book and the reception in the lobby of the conference building. The whole Saturday of 25th April will be filled with paper presentations. The formal closing of the conference will be the last.

Language

The language of the conference will be English and no translations will be provided. The papers will be clustered according to the scientific disciplines, i.e. anthropology, history, linguistics, politics, sociology, etc.

Conference fees

There are no conference fees, but the participants are expected to cover their accommodation and travel expenses.