The Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (herein after called AE-FUNAI) is one of the twelve new Universities founded by the Nigerian Federal Government in 2011. AE-FUNAI started academic activities in 2012/2013 academic session under the leadership of the pioneer Vice Chancellor, Late Prof Oye Ibidapo-Obe. In 2016, Prof Chinedum Nwajiuba took over as the Vice Chancellor, and currently, Prof. Sunday Elom is the Vice-Chancellor having taken over from the former Vice Chancellor in 2021. As the home of “soaring eagles,” AE-FUNAI’s vision is to become a vibrant centre of learning and research that will be reputable nationally and internationally. AE- FUNAI aims to be a hub for the economic transformation and development of the region, thus it passionately nurtures the spirit of entrepreneurship and self-reliance as can be seen in the partnership agreement between AE-FUNAI and the Association of Nigerian Authors.
Founded by the late Chinua Achebe on 27th June 1981, the Association of Nigerian Authors (hereafter called ANA) is the umbrella body that caters for the interest of all the creative writers & critics in Nigeria. Thus it is the foremost professional body for all creative writers and critics in Nigeria. With branches in almost all the states of the Nigerian federation, ANA’s National Executive Council, currently led by Mr. Camillus Chima Ukah, has the major responsibility of evolving, as well as coordinating most activities of the Association, both at the state and national levels. In order to sustain and successfully implement most of its promotional programmes, the Association has sought and operated different partnership packages with respectable corporate bodies and individuals from both within and outside the country. The present partnership with the Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo, is one good example of partnership that is poised towards sustained collaboration in bridging the gap between the professionals in the Ivory tower and those in the industry. This is a common vision that is passionately shared by the two leaders - Prof Sunday Elom, Vice Chancellor of FUNAI and Mr. Camillus Chima Ukah, the President, Association of Nigerian Authors.Conference Theme
Re-imagining belongingness in the 21st Century Africa
At the core of the concept of “Belongingness” is the need for human beings to feel deeply appreciated and accepted within a certain social community, which could be the family, relationships, school, workplace, religion, tribal group, institution, country or social media groups (Facebook, Instagram, twitter, WhatsApp just to mention but a few). Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary remind us that, while “Belongingness” addresses an innate desire of giving and receiving attention in human beings, it further appeals to their sense of belonging to ‘something that is bigger than themselves.’ The duo further maintain that though “Belongingness” is basically a subjective experience, which satisfies a basic social need, yet its importance stems from the fact that it is anchored on the core nexus for human survival. Thus, when one has a positive sense of belonging, such acceptance brings out feelings of high self-esteem, enthusiasm, happiness, elation, love, higher productivity and greater confidence. Conversely, if one feels excluded, unappreciated, disliked or de-valued, such can lead to negativities such as aggressive behaviour, violence, shame, anger, depression, low self-esteem, anti-social behaviour or possibly, suicide.
Held within the idyllic surroundings of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State, this conference provides an enabling environment for scholars to investigate the different ways that the literary imagination in Africa has captured and interrogated the positive, as well as negative, ideas that are associated with ‘belongingness’ in the 21st century Africa. Particularly of interest shall be the interrogation of the diverse narratives that are associated with the different quests for “Belongingness” (or its variants such as forced belongingness, pretended belongingness, artificial belongingness) and how these are implicated within conjectures of social groupings in Africa such as indigene/non-indigene, netizens/citizens/migrants, gender constructions (male/female/trans gender), sexualities (heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual), rich/poor economic divides, languages, traditions, urbanities, families, schools, the internet, works places, crime, subalterns, terrorism, religion, just to mention but a few. How have these quests or denials of ‘belongingness’ created unities or disruptions in our appreciation of our common humanity and societies in Africa? What are the implications?
Interested contributors should register and submit abstracts (which may be comparative in approach) of 250 to 300 words to our conference portal - www.ana-funai.megaconferences.com. Workshop participants are expected to register online at the same website. Deadline for submission of abstract and early bird registration is June 2021.
For more informaton, please mail: [email protected] or call: +234 803 340 9868
