Dear Faculty and Students,

The African and African Diaspora Graduate Student Association invites you to a day of professional development Thursday February 2, 2012 and to Academic Paper Presentations Friday February 3, 2012. Please come out and support the event. Participation for all FIU students faculty and staff is free. Below you will find the 2012 AADSGA Conference Agenda.

Linda D. Smith
AADSGSA 2012 Conference Chair

Thursday February 2, 2012

Labor Center Rm 110  Florida International University, Miami campus

9:00am 10:00am – check in and breakfast

“Some advice about publishing your first paper in a scholarly journal,” by Dr. Jean Muteba Rahier

“The nuts and bolts of doing conference papers and why doing them is a good idea , by Dr. April Merleaux

12:30- 130pm Lunch Karell Lecture by Laurel Burchfield

Title: Conflict Early Warning and Response: Practice and Progress in the Horn of Africa

“The components of a CV: A workshop on the connection between the Curriculum Vitae and academic jobs.” by Dr. Tonette Rocco

Lecture and interview: Dr. Kate Ramsey, Assoc. Prof. History, University of Miami.

Performance by Louines Louinis, Afro-Haitian Dance Theatre.

Friday February 3, 2012

Labor Center Rm 110  Florida International University, Miami campus

8:30am-9:30am Check in and Registration

Welcome: Linda D. Smith, AADSGSA 2012 Conference Chair

Chair: Elizabeth Kersjes, Florida International University

From the Forgotten Shores: The Slave Trade from Madagascar to Jamaica

Justin Dunnavant University of Florida

Bèlè Dance/Music Revival in Martinique: the Performance of French Caribbean Cultural Citizenship

Camee Maddox, University of Florida

Videastes vs. Cineastes: the (cinema.identity) crisis in African

Manouchka Kelly Labouba, University of Southern California

Spirituality in Hip Hop: A case study

Christina N. Bazzaroni, Florida International University

Discussant: Dr. Alexandra Diallo, Florida International University

Chair: Angela Gapa, Florida International University

The Role of Presidential Leadership in the Transition to Democracy: An Example of Three African Francophone Leaders: Abdoulaye Wade, Laurent Gbagbo, and Blaise Compaoré

Samba Camara, Ohio State University

The Quasi-Rebel Julius Malema: An Examination of Black Radical Thought in the African National Congress

Charles May, Florida International University

The Three Approaches to Study of Eritrean National Identity under Construction

Mirsad Krijestorac, Florida International University

Thinking Beyond The Nation- State

Jhanell Haynes, Florida International University

Discussant: Edmund Abaka, University of MIami

               2:45-4:15pm Panel III: The Role of NGO’s

Chair: Laurel Burchfield, Michigan State University

Structural Adjustment as Credible Commitments: Sub-Saharan Africa and the IMF 1990 - 2004

Ransford Edwards, Florida International University and Sylvan Lee, Florida International University

Soul City as a case study of how non-governmental organizations can successfully use edutainment as social marketing for social entrepreneurship.

Eduardo Hernandez, Florida International University

Establishing Free and Fair: Are International Election Observer Missions Truly Neutral?

Anna Kapambwe Mwaba, University of Florida

Discussant: Dr. Ronald Cox, Florida International University

Chair: Charles May II, Florida International University

The Embodiment and Presentation of Racialized Gender and Sexual Identities at Atlanta Greek Picnic: Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLO) in Motion

Synatra Smith, Florida International University

Que dança é essa?: Reflections of gendered power relations and sociocultural expressions of sexuality in agarrada dancing to Roots reggae in São Luis do Maranhão, Brazil.

Gee Yawson, Florida International University

Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance as a post-colonial Space and Movement

Felix Jean Louis, Florida International University

Cartographic Inscriptions of the Black Sexual Subject: Women's Politics of Place and Body

LaToya Eaves, Florida International University

Discussant: Dr. Steven Blevins, Florida International University

Closing Remarks: Jean Rahier, Director of African and African Diaspora Studies Florida International University

APCN Spring 2012 Film Schedule:

January 24: Lumo is an intimate look into a woman's tragedy and healing process, and, by extension, into the scourge of rape that marks the war-torn politics of central Africa.

February 7: Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo.

February 21: Sweet Crude examines the humanitarian, environmental and economic devastation caused by 50 years of oil extraction in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.

March 6: War Dance: Three children living in a displacement camp in northern Uganda compete in their country's national music and dance festival.

March 20: Throw Down Your Heart follows American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo and record an album.

All films will be held at Nova Southeastern University in DeSantis 2081 and will start at 2:30 pm. Please contact Carlyn Jorgensen (cjorgensen[at]africapeace.org) if you have any questions.

Climate Change and Conflict in Africa

APCN researchers have illuminated the connections between climate change, resource competition, and conflict in Africa, and APCN is working to help understand and address these challenges.

Gender Sensitive Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Interventions
Conflict Resolution Training and Capacity Building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Francophone Africa For more information or to participate, contact Naupess Kibiswa, naupesskib[at]yahoo.fr

Obtaining a Positive Peace in Nigeria
Nigeria, known as the "giant of Africa" has enormous influence on the western subregion and the continent as a whole. Overcoming the legacy of intercommunal conflict in Nigeria would thus be a giant step forward, as it could act as a stabilizing and unifying force in the continent.

If you wish to participate in the planning and organization of these or other APCN projects, please contact us. Check here regularly for updates on our plans and activities.

For more information or to participate, contact Naupess Kibiswa, naupesskib[at]yahoo.fr

Selected Past Projects

• Victims or Beneficiaries?: Women's Status and Political Conflict in West Africa. Comparative study by Mark Davidheiser and Veronika Fuest. Supported by the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany
  
  
• Symposium on the Darfur conflict on March, 29, 2007. The distinguished speakers included ambassadors and other diplomats, UN officials, researchers, refugees and displaced persons

• Symposium on the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The distinguished speakers included ambassadors and other diplomats, researchers, and genocide survivors

• Presentation and open discussion of the challenges of peacebuilding in post conflict Liberia

• Presentation and open discussion on the dynamics of the Darfur conflict in Sudan led by Mamane Sani Moussa, Return, Reintegration, & Recovery Officer, United Nations Mission in Sudan

• Presentation by Chief Michael Fonkem on the Anglophone Conflict in the Cameroons

• Presentation by Jeff Mapendere, APCN member and Assistant Director of the Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program, on the dynamics of peace negotiations with rebel groups

• Oil and Identity: The Ogoni and conflict in southeastern Nigeria. Presented by Austin Onuoha

• Islam, Weapons, and War: US Military Engagement in Africa. APCN Residential Institute Fall 2007 Symposium, Oct 2007

• Advocacy, Fundraising and Assistance for Victims of the 2008 Post-election Violence in Kenya

• Peacebuilding in Zimbabwe and Beyond 2009

• Challenges for Human Rights Enforcement in Africa 2009

• West Africa Peace Initiative Conference     Dakar, Senegal   2009

• Darfur Calling Symposium   2009

• DR Congo: Practitioner report: Conflict Resolution Training & Capacity Building in the DRC 2011 

• Second International Conference of Alternative Perspectives in the Humanities and the Social Sciences  Culture: Heritage and Legacy   San Jose, Costa Rica  APCN is a sponsoring org. of the conference. 2011