Africana Annual
Africana Annual
In the archives of the Department of African & African-American Studies (AAAS) at the University of Kansas (KU) is a 1973 letter from the International Secretariat of the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (known also as “FESTAC” or “FESTAC ‘77”) formally inviting the University of Kansas “which is already renowned for the importance it attaches to African studies and research […] and for the quality of […] publications” to attend FESTAC and contribute to the “success of the colloquium” on “Black Civilization and Education.” As a world festival, FESTAC was a periodic homecoming of peoples of African ancestry in its widest sense in order to celebrate their various artistic, cultural, intellectual, and myriad contributions to the world and world civilization. The Africana Annual (a Journal of African and African Diasporic Studies) aspires to accomplish on a smaller scale what FESTAC and its predecessor have done periodically on a larger scale. It is an international, peer-reviewed academic journal established by AAAS at KU (an intensive research university and a member of the select group of distinguished universities admitted to the AAU) to publish once a year, some of the intellectual, educational, cultural, artistic, literary, and humanistic accomplishments and contributions of, and about, Africa and the African Diaspora, and as part of the global and international community. The journal thus invites articles from all parts of the world.
The journal is intentionally interdisciplinary in nature to accommodate many fields and branches of research and knowledge as long as their diverse contributions find a thematic and epistemological relationship to Africa and its far-flung Diaspora. While this encompasses the more traditional and established studies in history, literature, music, politics, geography, philosophy, education, economics, business, fine and performing arts, anthropology, communication, linguistics, sociology, culture, and religion, the journal also invites articles from other academic fields such as gender and sexuality studies, global and international studies, comparative studies, environmental studies, film and media studies, digital and emerging social platforms, international and national laws, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Reports from the world of science and medicine that relate to Africa and the African Diaspora are also considered.
While the Africana Annual is open to studies of a single area or phenomenon in the Africana world, it also aspires to reflect the intellectual and broadly-defined “political” connections between Africa and the African Diaspora, offering critical space for scholarly explorations of their shared historical and contemporary realities, and of future possibilities. Authors are thus invited to submit works that examine key issues that deepen interdisciplinary and global conversations on topics about Africa (north and south of the Sahara), African America, the Americas (North, South, and Central), the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe. The journal also visualizes an interconnected world with Africa as its center of inquiry, and welcomes profound articles that elucidate that vision.
Language
The Africana Annual is published in English. It accepts both American and British English, but only one of them should be selected and consistently used in a manuscript. They should not be mixed. Because the Department of African & African-American Studies teaches African & African Diasporic languages, such as Arabic, Haitian Creole, Kiswahili, Wolof, and Yoruba, and the University of Kansas offers languages such as French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, the journal is uniquely well placed to also consider manuscripts submitted in those languages. Such manuscripts should include a synopsis of the paper in English as a requirement.
Manuscript Preparation and Submission Guidelines
1. Submission of a manuscript to Africana Annual will be taken to imply that it is original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere while under review by Africana Annual’s editors.
2. Submissions should have a cover page that contains the following information: (i) title of manuscript; (ii) author’s (authors’) name(s); (iii) institutional affiliation or independent (unaffiliated) scholar as appropriate; (iv) full contact information: phone number, fax number (if in use), email address, and postal address.
3. Length of manuscript, including endnotes and bibliography, should not exceed 30 double-spaced pages. On the first page of the manuscript proper, include: (i) the title of the manuscript and (ii) the abstract. Please, do not include your name or any self-identifier(s). Avoid self-identifiers throughout the manuscript.
4. Length of abstract that clearly states the main argument(s) and idea(s) should not exceed 250 words. The abstract should end with 3-5 keywords.
5. Length of book review essay should not exceed 10 double-spaced pages.
6. Manuscript Style: For endnotes and bibliography, use the current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Use either its “humanities style” or “author-date” citation. Use the chosen style consistently, and avoid mix styles. You will find these two styles in sections 16.1 – 16.4 of the Chicago Manual of Style.
7. Manuscript should use 12-point size of Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and with 1” margins.
8. Manuscript should be processed in Word format only.
9. Authors are responsible for seeking and obtaining permission to reproduce any materials, including illustrations, images, and photographs for which they do not hold copyright.
10. Authors should submit their manuscripts using the journal system.
11. For questions, contact the managing editor at africana@ku.edu.
Due Date
The journal receives manuscripts throughout the year. All manuscripts received by December 31st will be considered for publication in the current issue of the journal. Submissions received after that date will be considered for the next issue of the journal.
Peer Review
The Africana Annual is a peer-reviewed journal. All manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer review. After an initial screening by an editor, manuscript acceptance or rejection is based on anonymous double-blind refereeing by two experts and specialists.
Open Access Policy
Authors retain copyright in their work. All journal content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Copyright Notice
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Editors-in-Chief: Peter Ukpokodu, Ph.D. and Shawn Leigh Alexander, Ph.D.
Managing Editor: James Yékú, Ph.D.
Editorial Office: Department of African & African-American Studies, Room 9 Bailey Hall, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
Establishment: Africana Annual was established by Peter Ukpokodu and Shawn Leigh Alexander
Editorial Review Board:
Tony Bolden, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Mariana Candido, Ph.D., Emory University
Yolanda Covington-Ward, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Dawn Y. Curry, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jessica Gerschultz, Ph. D., University of St. Andrews
David A. Goldberg, Ph.D., Wayne State University
Beverly B. Mack, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Khadija Marouazi, Ph.D., Ibn Tofaïl University
Tanure Ojaide, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Tess Onwueme, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
Nicole Hodges Persley, Ph.D., University of Kansas
David Roediger, Ph.D., University of Kansas
Christopher Tinson, Ph.D., Saint Louis University
Luciano Tosta, Ph.D., University of Kansas