Contesting identity and indigeneity in sub-Saharan Africa

A call for abstracts for the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans, LA, November 17-21, 2010

*Please circulate widely*

Dear colleagues,

In accordance with the theme of “Circulation” for the 2010 AAA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, we are seeking contributions for volunteered session that address issues related to the circulation of concepts and ideas in discourses of identity and indigeneity in relation to contested rights, resources, and spaces in sub-Saharan Africa. If you have any questions, or are interested in presenting a paper in this session, please send your name, affiliation, paper title, and abstract (maximum of 250 words) to Amber Huff at ahuff123@uga.edu by March 20, 2010.

*Session organizers:* Amber Huff, PhD Candidate, University of Georgia Dave Himmelfarb, PhD Candidate, University of Georgia

*Preliminary session abstract:*

Issues of identity and indigeneity pose complex and compelling problems for anthropologists. Identity and indigeneity are important means by which people express solidarity, maintain social relationships and negotiate contested physical and cultural spaces. Discourses of identity and indigeneity have also been critical tools of incorporation and exclusion in processes colonial and post-colonial state-making in sub-Saharan Africa, leaving issues of identity and indigeneity highly contested.

In the words of Michael Dove, indigeneity has become a “major force” in international policy. In the past three decades discourses of identity and indigeneity have been used by social movements, which have made great strides in protecting the rights of historically marginalized communities throughout the world. These efforts have culminated in a series of influential and widely circulated international agreements and conventions that lend legal and discursive support to self-identifying native and indigenous groups in their struggles for land rights and self-determination.

With the dismantling of state services as a result of structural adjustment policies, many African governments have become increasingly dependent on international donors for whom upholding human and indigenous rights is a stated priority. As a result, African governmental policies have increasingly reflected these discourses of human rights and indigeneity. While the increased recognition of indigenous rights can be seen as a triumph over centuries of inequity, policies that express a concern for indigeneity do not always achieve the lofty goals touted by international agreements and donors.

Contributions to this session examine discourses of identity and indigeneity in sub-Saharan Africa, and how the circulation of concepts and ideas emanating from states, non-state agencies, and indigenous and human rights movements intersect with existent politics of identity to shape the contour= s of contemporary African conflicts.

Thank you,
Amber Huff
ahuff123@uga.edu

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Amber R. Huff
Doctoral candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Georgia, Athens