Perhaps for reasons related to intellectual elitism or simply because of the lack of an effective means of analysis, African popular arts (Modern African music in particular) keep on being pushed to the margins of academic discourse on postcolonial cultural identities. To this day and more than not, in classroom discussions on African culture(s), a place of pride is ascribed to literature (at films at times) despite the high rate of illiteracy and difficulty distributing them, which makes these products utterly inaccessible to the masses. That African writers like Ngugi (Kenya) and Boubacar Boris Diop (Senegal) decide to take their leave from colonial languages on behalf on “penning” their stories in African languages is sometimes hailed as an exceptional way towards cultural affirmation and identity recalibration. In terms of their production and consumption, however, popular musical forms have an absolute impact on African populations. These forms are transfigurations of the people’s daily life experience in that they bring together and crystallize the identities of the musical forms in question more than any other artistic expression.
Rather than taking part in this categorization of African artistic forms, Cahiers Ivoiriens d’Etudes Comparées (CIEC) / Ivorian Journal of Comparative Studies (IJCS) offers a special issue dedicated to musical forms as an alternative to (written) literature in and from Africa. We welcome contributions looking at musical forms in Africa along the same line as analytical approaches taken to African literary productions in African national languages and/or in French taking into consideration the contribution of these forms to the making or framing of postcolonial African identities.
Submissions
Contributions should be analytical of musical productions from a political, sociological, cultural and anthropological perspective. Most of all, we encourage submissions dealing with the form or content of these musical expressions showing how they give account of people’s aspirations, their wants and needs, and their emotionality far away from the filter of Western languages and traditional academic approach to music. Though not limited to them alone, potential contributors may explore the following themes:
- Popular musical forms: the absence of discussion
- When music and literature cut across
- African music and the question of language and translation (Foreign languages in Africa and African languages)
- Pedagogy of African popular music
- “Do you know who I am?”
- African music and identity construction
- Music and social and political conflicts
- Reggae /African rap and African unity
- African musical forms and Pan-African nationalism
- Musical genres and urban subcultures
- “You Broke My Heart, Honey!”: African music and love discourse
- Music and fashion, etc.
- Music and African immigration
Interested authors will submit a 500-word abstract including a short biography by April 30, 2015 to siendouk@gmail.com and/or boubakary.diakite@marquette.edu. The final article should not exceed 6000 words and must be submitted on July 30, 2015. Potential contributors will refer to website of the journal at http://ciec-ijcs.org/soumissions.php for editorial instructions.