"Vision, Praxis, and Legacy: Cheikh Anta Diop, Molefi Kete Asante and the Afrocentric Project," Philadelphia, October 17-18, 2008.

The 20th Annual Diop Conference. Cheikh Anta Diop stated that his work was not only directed toward scientifically re-establishing the place of Ancient Egypt in the orbit of African history and culture, but also toward recovering its rich and varied legacy and using it to advance the horizons of knowledge and history in the interest of African people, humanity and the world. Moreover, he argued for a “return to Egypt in all domains”, i.e., the critical engagement with it as a fundamental source of paradigms of excellence, achievement and possibilities in the various disciplines of human knowledge. Indeed, he contends that such a return for critical retrieval and creative reconstruction “is a necessary condition to reconcile African civilizations with human history; to build a modern body of human sciences; and to renew African culture”. Taking up this multifaceted challenge, Molefi Asante advanced the theory and methodology of Afrocentricity as the fundamental way to address the projects posed by Diop and the critical issues of our times. To practically engage and expand Diop’s initiative and the Afrocentric project, Asante and several colleagues founded the Cheikh Anta Diop Conference in 1988. This year’s meeting marks the 20th anniversary of the Conference and its annual gathering together Afrocentric scholars from around the world to advance the field of Africana Studies, strengthen and expand our scholarly community, and address the critical issues confronting African people, humanity and the world. The conference theme allows for papers and panels on varied aspects of African life, culture, history, thought and practice within an Afrocentric framework. Submissions are encouraged that address intellectual and social problematics, and historical and current issues. Preference will be given to session proposals and papers that address the Conference theme of addressing the work of Diop and Asante, although submissions of panel proposals and papers which address other topics will be considered also. Suggested topics:

• A Thorough Examination of Cheikh Anta Diop’s Work and His Contribution to Africana Studies Scholarship
• A Thorough Examination of Molefi Kete Asante’s Work and His Contribution to Africana Studies Scholarship
• Codifying Afrocentric exemplars (Asante, Karenga, Hurston, Hudson-Weems, Diop, Keto, Obenga, et al.)
• Paradigms of African hero dynamics
• Discoveries and observations of Mdw Ntr
• Revisiting Diop’s Theory of Matriarchy: a Womanist Re-reading
• Diop and the Clarification of Human History
• Diop and the Concept of Return to Egypt
• Diop and the Concept of an Uncompromising Anthropology/Archaeology
• Diop and the Dialog with Egyptology
• Asante and Afrocentric Methodology in the Academy
• Revisiting manifestos of change
• Maat and the Kemetic Concepts of Governance and Justice
• Kawaida and the Development of the Maatian Intellectual and Ethical Initiative
• Kawaida, Afrocentricity and the Diopian Project
• Afrocentric Philosophical and Literary Initiatives: Creative and Interpretive
• Ancient Nile Valley Culture’s Discourse on Women
• Women of Power in Ancient Egypt: Queens, Queen Mothers and Divine Wives
• Womanist Foundations in Ancient Egypt
• Asante, Identity and Concepts of Location and Dislocation
• Afrocentric Concepts of Cultural and Social Liberation
• Afrocentric Engagement of Critical Social Issues: Theory and Practice
• Personhood and Community in Afrocentric Theory
• The Afrocentric University
• Theory, Pedagogy, and Tactics for Afrocentric teachers

For more information, visit: http://www.diopconference.com/.