15^th ANNUAL CONFERENCE of ISAPS
VENUE: University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
DATE: April 1-3, 2009

CONFERENCE THEME:
RETHINKING THE IDEA OF AFRICA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Over the past two centuries, Western educated Africans have attempted to explain African societies, to define African societal and political organizations, and to imagine “Africanness” from an African perspective. Yet, rather than producing an Afri-centrist representation of things African, African thinkers frequently react to Western definitions of the African subject, which have, since the 16^th century, equated African-ness with inferiority.  This reactionary tendency has led African thinkers and artists to acknowledge that one of the major challenges of African thought is to go beyond the reaction to Western definitions of the old continent in order to imagine Africa from an Afri-centrist perspective.  As early as the 19^th century, Edward Wilmot Blyden, for example, championed the possibility of going beyond the paradigm set by Western imperialist philosophers. More recently, thinkers such as Kwazi Wiredu pondered about how not to compare Africa with Europe, while V.Y. Mudimbe and numerous postcolonial African thinkers call for the conception of an Africa that is neither an invention nor an idea.
ISAPS’ 15^th annual conference, organized in collaboration with Cheikh Anta Diop University, welcomes papers that examine the extent to which discourses on Africa have evolved from the 19^th to the 21^st century.  We invite participants to submit proposals that revisit the implications and possibilities of Afri-centrist conceptions of Africa.  Papers that explore questions of identity, history, language, the arts, democracy, economic development, and otherness are particularly welcomed.

Sub-Themes:

We welcome papers which do not directly address the theme or sub-themes of the conference, but which are relevant to African Philosophy and African Studies.

Membership in ISAPS is by calendar year and includes all Association publications for the year. Unless specified, applications received after 1^st December are entered for the coming year. Membership renewals take place in March/April of each year. Among the benefits of membership are: a Newsletter (distributed electronically); the opportunity to participate in the Annual Meeting at a reduced registration fee; access to an electronic copy of the Membership Directory to download and print (published each May); the right to vote for officers and trustees of the Association, and the opportunity to serve on governance committees.

Membership and conference registration dues (U.S. dollars) are:

Membership and Conference Registration: $120 
Conference Registration ONLY: $100
Student Membership and Conference Registration: $60 

LIEU / VENUE: UCAD II and EBAD, University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal

Chair, Local Organizing Committee
Aminata Diaw Cissé
Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Sénégal
Email: amidiaw@refer.sn

The Conference registration fee does not include the cost of accommodation and sustenance. Recommended Hotels:
University Apartments ($35.00 per person per night)
Hôtel Le Ndiambour (from 40 000 F CFA / $95 per night)
Hôtel Al Fifa (from 34 000 F CFA / $80 per night) 
Hôtel Le Ganalé (from 32 600 F CFA / $75 per night)
Hôtel Faidherbe (from 38 000 F CFA / $90 per night)

The Local Organizing Committee can made and confirm reservations for attendees. All costs are payable directly upon arrival.

Contact Address: Department of Philosophy, Seattle University, Seattle, WA 98122, USA.
Tel: + (1) 206 296 5470; Fax: +(1) 206 296 5997; Email: secretary@isapsonline.com 

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