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Call For Papers: This conference is premised on the recognition that Africa, like other non-western cultures, has suffered from what Edward Said has identified as the phenomenon of “Orientalism”: throughout history Africa has been misrepresented and devalued when compared with western civilizations by images that stress negative values such as disorder, violence, anarchy, and laziness as enshrined, for instance, in historical, literary and artistic representations of Africa , as well as in “documentary” description (including that written by missionaries) and colonial policies. This conference will explore the history of western attempts to categorize the “self” and the “other” in terms of a hierarchy of superiority versus inferiority, a phenomenon which extends its roots as far back as Aristotelian philosophy: man versus woman, freeman versus slave, Greek versus barbarian. By exploring the history of Western thoughts and ideas, and how these came to construct the definition of Africa as we “know” it and have known it over the centuries, we can begin to understand African civilizations better and give them their due place in history.

SORAC 98 Internation conference details, including program description, schedule, accommodation, etc. The conference features papers in diverse interdisciplinary fields — such as political science, philosophy and religion, literature, anthropology, etc. October 22, 23 & 24, 1998 – Keynote Speaker: Professor Martin Bernal.

This page introduces Professor Martin Bernal, SORAC 98 Keynote Speaker to our audiences. For those who have not heard of Martin Bernal, note that he became one of the world’s most acclaimed scholars following his publication of Black Athena in 1987 (Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, New Brunswick; since then, a second volume has been published, a third volume is expected).

With choreography by Karen Love, Umoja performs a fusion of abstract modern and African dance exploring the internal quest for human life in a provocative and forceful fashion. Umoja Dance Company is a New Jersey-based multi-cultural company of dancers established in 1993 by Karen L. Love as a vehicle to educate, preserve and present dance as a communal and spiritual expression of life.

Below are the names of the people who were closely or remotely associated with the selection of the abstracts retained for the SORAC 98 conference.