Call for chapters: Art and Trauma

We are looking for three more chapters to contribute to our volume Art and Trauma in Africa: Representations of Reconciliation in Film, Art, Music and Literature to be edited by Lizelle Bisschoff and Stefanie Van de Peer (co-directors of Africa in Motion festival, both with a PhD in African cinema).

We have become increasingly aware of how visual arts, music, literature and film from Africa have come to deal with the traumatic events of the recent past and the present. African artists have sought to represent in varying ways the traumas of conflict and war of post-colonial African states and attempts towards reconciliation, peace, truth, justice and forgiveness.

The volume will consist of four thematically structured sections, each including three to four chapters: a section on visual arts (sculpture,photography, etc.), one on literature, oneon film and one on music.

Details of the chapters we are still looking for:

1. We would like to add a paper that deals with photography, trauma and reconciliation in Africa, in the context of war and conflict, to explore how photography and memory work together to commemorate and work through traumatic experiences.

2. The second paper we are looking for would have to deal with Rwandanfilm production: in recent years Rwandan films have increasingly dealt with the devastating personal and collective traumas of the genocide. Films by e.g. Eric Kabera have contributed considerably to the collective commemoration and psyche to attempt to overcome the devastation.

3. We are also looking for a chapter on the effectiveness, problems and opportunities offered by the power of music in Africa. Festivals,performances, concerts contribute to the collective experience of music,while the opportunity to work through collective pain also presents itself.

The deadline for these contributions is the end of October 2010. Length of papers is 6,000 words maximum. Inclusion of images is highly appreciated,but copyright issues must be cleared by the contributors themselves.

Please send proposals of no more than 300 words to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by 14th of May 2010.

Cross-posted from H-Africa