2019: Tracing the African Diaspora - Places of Suffering, Resilience and Reinvention

The Charles W. Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina, presents its 1st Annual International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora (IGGAD) Conference. This year’s theme—Tracing the African Diaspora: Places of Suffering, Resilience and Reinvention—examines significant social, political and cultural experiences among African American communities and various African and Caribbean nations in the past, present and envisioned future. Papers will contribute new knowledge and understanding in the broad areas of racial identity, feminism, transnational migration, gender studies, public health, religion, slavery, Afrofuturism, Pan-Africanism and Gullah/Geechee. Such discourses will expand our understanding of the uniqueness of the African Diaspora and the commonalities that bind societies within this global phenomenon together.

The IGGAD conference will bring together academics and practitioners from interdisciplinary areas of study, who offer their ground-breaking contributions in the form of scholarly papers, films, performances and spoken poetry. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Sheila S. Walker, cultural anthropologist and filmmaker, and there are exciting performances planned by singers Ron and Natalie Daise, The Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, Step Afrika and Charleston, South Carolina’s poet laureate Marcus Amaker. Of special importance is our conference's emphasis on the community-based participatory model, which recognizes the relevance of cultural practitioners and community participation. To this end, we anticipate critical dialogues and shared learning among scholars, artisans and community members.

Full Conference Schedule