Call for Papers: Shakespeare in Sub-Saharan Africa
Call for Papers: Shakespeare practice, teaching and research in Sub-Saharan Africa
A special issue to be proposed for Shakespeare Bulletin
Editorial Team: Ifeoluwa Aboluwade (University of Bayreuth), Henry Bell (University of the West of Scotland), Stephen Collins (University of the West of Scotland) and Chris Thurman (University of the Witwatersrand)
We are looking for article ideas, performance and book reviews and short provocations for a special issue proposal for Shakespeare Bulletin focusing on Sub-Saharan African Shakespeare performance practice, teaching and research. This is an established and constantly growing field of study, addressing engagements with Shakespeare in a geographical area which, according to the UN, spans 46 countries and includes, not counting diaspora, a population of 1.1 billion people.
This special issue will seek to capture some of the momentum created by collaborations between African (or African diasporic) theatre makers and scholars at the University of the West of Scotland, the Tsikinya-Chaka Centre at Wits University in South Africa and the University of Bayreuth in Germany - including the “Shakespearean Pasts, African Futurities” working group and the “Travelling Knowledge and Trans*textuality: African Sources in Shakespearean Drama” project. We seek to further update the field by including work from early career researchers in the field of African Shakespeare Studies alongside established scholars.
We are interested in proposed content that will:
disrupt and re-position traditional narratives regarding the performing of Shakespeare’s plays, and research and practice based on those plays, ‘flowing into’ Africa.
consider how translated and multilingual performances of Shakespeare(s) offer new readings, insights and/or compromises of the plays that develop and extend postcolonial exploration.
assess digital and self-recorded practices that have empowered de-centred approaches to Shakespeare’s plays in teaching or in practice.
reflect on issues in the reception and presentation of sub-Saharan Shakespeare practice outside of Africa (areas of focus could be cultural appropriation and intellectual property issues and the experience of creative labour in non-African contexts).
examine the appropriation of Shakespeare within African politics (considerations of tropes and language use by politicians in Sub Saharan Africa; how do performers and theatre makers respond to this discourse?).
document Shakespearean work in under-represented countries, regions and languages in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In her introduction to her speculative fiction collection, Intruders (2018), South African writer Mohale Mashigo asserts: ‘What I want for Africans living in Africa is to imagine a future in their storytelling that deals with issues that are unique to us.’ As part of the proposed special issue, we would like to re-work the spirit of Mohale’s words into a Shakespearean context through a series of provocations, or other atypical contributions such as interviews or dialogues, which respond to up-to-date issues in relation to Sub-Saharan Shakespeare practice. These could include:
Exploring race in a fashion which is positioned in an African context for Shakespeare performance, related to but not dependent on current discourses in the Global North.
The lived experience of Shakespeare theatre makers in Sub-Saharan Africa and/or African diasporic artists working outside of this context.
Teaching or learning Shakespeare in Sub-Saharan Africa and/or the use of performance resources from this area in teaching or learning outside of Africa.
Please send a 200-250 word abstract and a short bio to africanshakespearebulletin@gmail.com by September 5th, 2021.
Notes:
- This issue is at the proposal stage of development; the editorial team will select content to be part of a pitch to Shakespeare Bulletin.
- The terms of reference in this CfP can be expanded to include other early modern playwrights and performances.
Best wishes,
The Editorial Team