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Call for Papers European Conference on African Studies (ECAS) June 29 - July 1, 2017 Basel, Switzerland Panel “Bus stations in Africa” http://www.nomadit.co.uk/ecas/ecas2017/panels.php5?PanelID=4797 Short Abstract Bus stations are among the most prominent locations of everyday social and economic activity in Africa, and they are surprisingly understudied. In this panel, we seek to explore the significance, multifunctionality and diversity of bus stations in Africa. Long Abstract Bus stations are among the most prominent locations of everyday social and economic activity in Africa. The African lorry park, motor park, gare routière or terminal rodoviário is a hub of travel, transport and mobility; a centre of trade, commerce and the informal service industry; and a nodal point for the circulation of value, knowledge, meaning and ideology. Issues pertaining to social, cultural, economic and political domains fold together in Africa's bus stations in exceptionally dense ways. Comparable to African marketplaces, they are sites of proliferous encounters. Yet as Paul Nugent (2010) has recently noted, while "markets have received their fair share of academic treatment, lorry parks have not received nearly enough attention as interactive spaces". In this panel, we invite Africanist researchers from all disciplinary backgrounds to present their approaches to, and empirical findings on, the significance, multifunctionality and diversity of what Polly Hill (1984) has suggestively termed "peoples' airport" in Africa. We welcome historical and contemporary perspectives on bus stations in both urban and rural settings. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, explorations of bus stations as places of work, trade, travel, commuting, dwelling and crime; their role in African (auto)mobilities, road regimes and infrastructures; their relation to (urban) governance, reform, (de)regulation, privatisation and the political economy. Deadline for paper abstract submission is January 19, 2017. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact us. Michael Stasik, University of Bayreuth ([log in to unmask]) Sidy Cissokho, University of Edinburgh ([log in to unmask]) ************************************************************* * Anthropology-Matters Mailing List * http://www.anthropologymatters.com * * A postgraduate project comprising online journal, * * online discussions, teaching and research resources * * and international contacts directory. * * To join this list or to look at the archived previous * * messages visit: * * http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML * * If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all * * those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: * * [log in to unmask] * * * * Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new * * CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com * * an international directory of anthropology researchers * * To unsubscribe: please log on to jiscmail.ac.uk, and * * go to the 'Subscriber's corner' page. * * ***************************************************************