While conflict situations in Africa have received significant scholarly and media attention in recent decades, less attention has been paid to the long tradition of peacemaking that kept its societies in peaceful equilibrium. This conference seeks to examine successful handling of potential conflicts that have been resolved in their early stages, as well as the range of ancient, historic and contemporary tools for mediation. WARA/WARC invites proposals on traditional and contemporary methods of avoiding and resolving conflicts in the past and the present.

From the American Institute for Maghrib Studies:

The AIMS Annual Conference had many firsts this year. It was our first collaborative effort as we paired with our sister ORC the West African Rearch Association, WARA. It was the first conference where we received over 100 proposals, and it was our first three-day event. We had noteable attendees including Mary Ellen Lane, CAORC director, and our first Donna Lee Bowen Travel Awardee, Tara Deubel. Her research interests are highlighted in the latest AIMS newsletter, which you all should have received, and it is also available online on the AIMS website. Also on the website are the final conference program and a compilation of presenter absracts.

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Carrefour saharien regroupe des présentations dans les domaines de l’histoire de l’art, de la littérature, de l’anthropologie, du folklore, de l’histoire culturelle, de la géographie, du cinéma, des arts de la scène, de la musique et répond aux questions méthodologiques, théoriques, stylistiques ou aux aspects techniques de la créativité artistique, de la culture et de la performance, à la fois contemporaines ou historiques, qui reflètent la nature de ce discours artistique et qui illustrent comment le Sahara a été une frontière poreuse, un pont plutôt qu’ un obstacle, pour la transmission et l’échange des arts et de la culture à travers le temps.

Saharan Crossroads invites papers in the fields of art history, literature, anthropology, folklore, cultural history, geography, film, performing arts, and music addressing the methodological, conceptual, stylistic or technical aspects of artistic creativity, culture, and performance, both contemporary or historic, which reflect the nature of this artistic discourse and illustrate how the Sahara has been a porous boundary, a bridge rather than a barrier, for the transmission and exchange of arts and culture through time.