Call for Papers - African Studies Association UK 2018: 'Masculinities in
Africa during War and its Wake'

 

Organized by Dr. Holly Porter (London School of Economics and Political
Science) and Dr. Philipp Schulz (Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster
University)

African Studies Association UK, 11-13 September, Birmingham

 

Panel: 'Masculinities in Africa during War and its Wake'

 

Representations of African men and masculinities, although incredibly
diverse, are often uncritically simplistic. Especially within the context of
war and armed conflict on the African continent, the gender identities of
African men are ubiquitously portrayed in strikingly oversimplified violent
and militarized dimensions, framed within ethnocentric and neo-colonial
assumptions and expectations. During situations of armed conflict,
masculinities are commonly linked to the perpetration and elevation of
violence, primarily against women. Violence is often seen as one of the most
central avenues of pursuing hegemonic masculinity. But an over-emphasis on
"violent" and "militarized" masculinities leaves much of what is going on
unexplored. Male gender identities and ideals of manhood - including in
warzones on the African continent - are impacted in a host of ways during
war and its aftermath. 

 

By focusing on the complex and manifold relationships between masculinities,
violence, war and its aftermath across the African continent, this panel
aims to discover and unpack the diverse ways in which masculinities are
linked to violence, and beyond this-how masculinities are impacted and
(re-shaped) during times of war and its wake. The panel seeks to explore
men's (and women's) gendered experiences and lived realities during war and
post-conflict periods while employing a masculinities lens, and the variety
of identities of manhood on the African continent. The papers included in
the panel seek to challenge, contest and complicate stereotypical
representations of wartime African masculinities, instead seeking to paint a
more diverse and rich picture of the working and dynamics of African
masculinities during and after conflict. We thus ask: What are the
experiences and lived realities of civilian and combatant men (and women) in
contexts of war and post-conflict on the African continent? How do
situations of war and post-conflict (re-)shape masculinities, and how are
masculinities (re-)shaped and influenced during conflict and post-conflict
lived realities? How does wide-scale societal violence re-configure (or not)
the interaction of masculinities and femininities, including intimate
relationships and gender relations more broadly? How and to what extent do
peace-building and transitional justice processes consider and address
masculinities? In what ways might masculinities which may motivate some men
to fight simultaneously render them/others vulnerable to violence? 

 

By addressing these questions, the panel seeks to open up critical space for
academic discussions within African gender studies concerning gender,
security and violence, and aims to better understand gendered dimensions and
manifestations of conflict, as experienced by women and men.

 

We invite abstracts for paper proposals of max. 500 words by 1 February
2018. Abstracts should be send to Holly Porter (
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]) and Philipp Schulz
([log in to unmask]) 

 

 

 


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