[Commlist] cfp: Reflections on Repair, Responsibility, Resistance and Reform: New Pathways

upcoming conference:


Reflections on*/_Repair_/*, Responsibility, Resistance and Reform: New 
Pathways

A conference presented by

The Centre for Reparation Research, The University of the West Indies 
(UWI) & The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University

October 14 -17,  2025

VENUE: The UWI Mona Campus, Jamaica

*Call for Proposals*

What traumas, distortions, rebellions and forms of repair must we 
calibrate within a world where  centuries of intense colonisation and 
associated extractivist capitalism have attempted to erase millenia of 
sustainable traditional ways of being and knowing?

As we enter the second International Decade for People of African 
Descent (2025-2034), and acknowledge the International Decade of 
Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) we face a world defined by layered 
crises and persistent systemic inequities.  Communities across the globe 
continue to grapple with the legacies of colonialism, racial injustice, 
economic inequality, and ecological degradation. This conference invites 
critical engagements and creative expressions that address the themes of 
repair, responsibility, resistance, and reform and how these principles 
can be, and have been, understood, embodied, and put into action. We 
seek to foreground not only what we do but how we do it, affirming 
methodologies and approaches that exemplify collective healing and 
social transformation through anticolonial, decolonial, and 
transformative lenses. We also recognise the significance of such 
approaches across fields of study and activism that have dominantly and 
traditionally obscured diverse expressions of Black life from across the 
globe - this includes queer, disability, and gender studies.   This 
conference will be a space to not only critique but to dream, to 
strategise, and to act together.

In this pivotal moment, we invite scholars, activists, artists, and 
practitioners to contribute to a rich and interdisciplinary dialogue. 
Submissions should engage with the ways in which Africa and its 
diasporas have historically and contemporarily responded to structural 
oppression and propose innovative visions for a future grounded in 
justice, equity, and sustainability. We are particularly interested in 
work that moves beyond abstract theorization and grapples with 
actionable pathways for real-world transformation.

Let us collectively imagine and build extant realities and futures 
worthy of our ancestors’ sacrifices and our descendants’ hopes.

*Conference Themes:*

*Repair and Responsibility*: What does repair look like in a 
post-pandemic world, particularly in the context of communities and 
nations affected by colonialism, imperialism, and racial capitalism? 
What responsibilities do African nations, diasporic communities, and 
global powers have in addressing past wrongs and building a future of 
justice?

○Sub-themes include:

■Alternative Approaches/New Pathways to Repair

■Indigenous Knowledges for Repair

■The Politics of Responsibility

■An Ethic of Economic Repair: New Financial Orders

**

*Response and Reform*: How do African and diasporic communities respond 
to crises of identity, power, and survival? What kinds of reforms—both 
internal and external—are necessary to create systems of governance, 
social structures, and cultural practices that uphold dignity, equity, 
and sustainability? How can we move from theory to praxis in meaningful 
and impactful ways?

○Sub-themes include:

■Strategies for Black Wellness

■Health and Reparatory Justice

●Health; a post-COVID era; intersecting with climate & education

■Violence Response, Prevention, and Elimination (as a Public Health Issue)

■Social and Health System Policies for Repair and Reform: What is Working

■Re-engaging/re-examining educational systems for youth and communities

■The Role of the University

●(Apathy around higher education; young peoples’ decision to disengage 
in formal education; educational enterprise in a historical, 
colonial/postcolonial context)

**

*Resistance and Collective Power*: How have African communities 
historically responded to oppression and how can those legacies inform 
contemporary movements for justice? What does collective resistance look 
like in a world shaped by digital technologies, global activism, and 
transnational solidarity? What does it mean to "reform" from the inside 
out, embracing both individual and collective power?

○Sub-themes include:

■New Paths for Maroon and Indigenous Studies

■Reparatory Justice for African, Indigenous and Modern Slavery

■Centering Grassroots in Repair

■Feminist Solidarities and Resistance

■Strategies/Approaches for Countering Misinformation

●AI, social media

■Reparation investigates every facet of life; colonial injustice affects 
the life of every transported peoples’ from the way we walk to the way 
we talk

**

*Imagining and Building a More Just World*: How can African and 
diasporic artists, intellectuals, and activists imagine a world of 
justice beyond colonial frameworks? How do creative, spiritual, and 
intellectual practices embody the work of reform? What new forms of 
collective action and solidarity are needed to move toward a more just 
and equitable global planetary future?

○Sub-themes include:

■Honouring the Spirit of Repair: Somatics, Ethics, Praxis

■Disability, Accessibility, and Pathways for Justice

■Climate Justice and Age of the Anthropocene

■New Forms / Avenues of Global solidarity

**

*Formats and Mediums:*

We welcome contributions that reflect the diversity of approaches to 
these critical questions. This is an *open call* for *abstracts* from 
any medium that embodies the spirit of collective resistance, power, and 
forward movement, including, but not limited to:

●*Research Papers & Presentations*: Academic contributions that 
interrogate the themes from historical, social, political, or economic 
perspectives.

●*Workshops & Interactive Panels*: Spaces for dialogue, skill-sharing, 
and collective problem-solving.

●*Art Installations & Performances*: Visual, musical, theatrical, and 
multimedia works that engage the themes of the conference through 
creative expression.

●*Film & Documentary*: Screenings of works that explore these themes 
through storytelling, activism, or oral histories.

●*Community Initiatives*: Case studies or projects that demonstrate 
on-the-ground efforts to enact repair, responsibility, response, or 
reform within African or diasporic communities.

*Submission Details:*

*Abstracts*: All abstracts should be 250-300 words, clearly outlining 
the contribution and connection to the conference themes and sub-themes.

Proposals for presentation abstracts should include the following 
information: *name of author/authors; email address/es; name of 
associated institution; and keywords of presentation.* For panel 
proposals, please include one abstract for each presenter and a panel 
abstract.

Proposals for film screenings *including a synopsis and video link* must 
be submitted to *this Google Form* 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVw0YasVRdhLe4G3w2O9QJmUdQ0eT7HzVP_liQz8-WsixXhA/viewform?usp=preview>*_._*

*Biographical note*: Each abstract submission should include a brief 
(150-word) bio of the presenter(s).

*Formats:* Please specify your preferred format (e.g., presentation, 
workshop, performance, etc.).

*Deadlines*: **Abstracts and Film synopses submissions are due on***May 
1, 2025 *

          Submission of conference papers, films, community 
initiatives, and

          workshops are due on***May 30, 2025*

Selected papers will be peer-reviewed and published in themed volumes. 
All paper submissions must conform to either the UWI press style or the 
/Journal of African and Diasporic Studies/ both available below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NW6ashBtzIRYSp7FmV4ANwEspG_tGTyW8jabe_5QnbQ/edit 
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NW6ashBtzIRYSp7FmV4ANwEspG_tGTyW8jabe_5QnbQ/edit>

https://www.scienceopen.com/collection/07825627-1541-459d-9ebf-bfee61aa3c6d 
<https://www.scienceopen.com/collection/07825627-1541-459d-9ebf-bfee61aa3c6d>

*Conference Ethos*

In the spirit of /Ubuntu/, we recognize that our collective wisdom, 
compassion, and action are what make us whole. We strive to create an 
inclusive and energizing environment where intellectual exploration as 
well as personal and community connection nourish both the mind, spirit, 
and space where we will meet. The conference aims to address 
accessibility accommodations for conference participants. Additionally, 
childcare services will be available on campus for participants 
traveling with children.

*Submit all proposals here: 
*https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVw0YasVRdhLe4G3w2O9QJmUdQ0eT7HzVP_liQz8-WsixXhA/viewform?usp=header 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVw0YasVRdhLe4G3w2O9QJmUdQ0eT7HzVP_liQz8-WsixXhA/viewform?usp=header>.

*Contacts: *

The Harriet Tubman Institute, York University: (tubman /at/ yorku.ca) 
<mailto:(tubman /at/ yorku.ca)>

The Centre for Reparation Research, The University of the West Indies : 
(reparation.research /at/ uwimona.edu.jm) 
<mailto:(reparation.research /at/ uwimona.edu.jm)>


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